Coach Rose hails ‘awesome’ performance of Knox’s U19 girls
Published:Saturday | March 30, 2024 | 12:08 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
AFTER securing their second all-island volleyball title in as many seasons, Knox College’s head coach Leon Rose says the performance of the under-19 girls was ‘awesome’.
The defending champions defeated Wolmer’s Girls 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18 (3-1) in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association girls under-19 volleyball final at the G.C. Foster College Gymnasium earlier this week and according to Rose he’s very proud of the accomplishment of the group.
“This is an awesome feeling as I never thought that I would be in this position. After experiencing winning a title and now to retain it is just on another level for me and I’m proud that my girls stuck to the task,” he stated.
While he described Wolmer’s Girls as a solid all-round team Rose said his team could have sealed the match by the third set but made a number of unforced errors which gave the opponents an opening.
“We faltered in the second set, but as true champions we knew how to pick up ourselves and take home the title. Wolmer’s Girls are a good all round team but gaining so many points and even winning the second set was a result of us making a lot of mistakes,” he added.
Coach Rose, a past student of the school, revealed that he offered to help after seeing his alma mater struggle during tournaments in the 1990s.
“There has always been a volleyball culture at Knox College as history has shown us that from back in the 1980s through to the 1990s. However, after the 1990s there was a lull and then I was invited to officiate in a few matches and I said this isn’t the Knox that I know. I asked to assist with the team and I’ve been there from then until now. Therefore we are now reaping the rewards from the work that we’ve put in,” he explained.
The veteran coach added that he was pleased with the overall level of competition that he witnessed throughout the tournament as he saw teams making adjustments during games. This he believes augurs well for the future of the sport in Jamaica.
“I saw where every single team was improving game by game. You had a system where you played each team twice, home and away, so you saw the changes in each team. This augurs well for volleyball because I always love to see other schools developing,” coach Rose added.