JAVA Looks To Get Younger Players Interested In Volleyball

The Jamaica Amateur Volleyball Association (JAVA) is actively seeking to secure the long-term development of the volleyball in Jamaica, by getting younger players involved through a league that involves local Primary and Preparatory schools.

President of JAVA, Wayne Robertson, said recently: “We are hoping to introduce volleyball at the primary/preparatory school (level) in 2010. The sport needs to be expanded and we need to introduce it to younger players and get them involved. We already have a high school league but that is not sufficient I believe the time has come for us to revise the high school league (which) is administered by ISSA (Inter-Secondary School Sports Association) and we basically just provide the oversight so to speak, but I believe that we really need to increase the number of schools that are currently playing the sport at that level.”

Currently, volleyball is largely played at the club and university / college level here in Jamaica. ISSA also administers a high school league, which acts somewhat as a feeder for the national age-group teams.

Robertson is reportedly also looking into the establishment of an Under-10 and Under-12 program to support the current Under-15 and Under-19 programs - this, as part of a comprehensive rethinking of the association’s approach to youth volleyball development. He has said however that securing financial support for this will be a challenge.