U-21 volleyballers take third at CAZOVA Champs
Published:Saturday | July 16, 2022 | 12:09 AMSharla Williams/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) president Jacqueline Cowan has hailed the Jamaica Under-21 male team for their third-place finish at the recent Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Men’s Under-21 Championship in Trinidad and Tobago.
“I think they did very well under the circumstances,” she said.
“The tournament was organised in May so they really did not have a lot of time to prepare but, based on the fact that we went there and performed, I am very proud of them.”
Jamaica finished the championships with a 2-2 record, taking third place behind second-place finishers Suriname and first-time winners Haiti.
Jamaica also received three individual awards, as Damion Smith was named best server and best opposite player and Kenneth-Roy Clarke was named best outside hitter.
She said, although she is happy with the outcome, challenges such as finalising the decision to participate and getting flight tickets earlier could have helped improve Jamaica’s placement at the tournament.
“All of these factors actually contributed to the preparation but we still continued to train, even though we were not sure if we were going to go. It was really a lot of things that were out of our control,“ she said.
Cowan said the team will shift their focus to the Under-23 CAZOVA Championships as they begin preparations for the competition scheduled for Aruba in December.
“Most of the boys who took part in this competition will be eligible to participate in the Under-23,” she said.
She said she also hopes these boys will remain in the programme, as JaVA has plans to help them transition to the senior team so that they can continue to make Jamaica proud.
“We are hoping to keep them in training, and they will be in training through the schools and through the club league. So they will always be in some form of competition,” Cowan said.
Five teams took part in the 2022 CAZOVA Men’s Under-21 Championship – Jamaica, Haiti, United States Virgin Islands, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.