V’ball wraps up junior trials

THE four-day term one school holiday junior beach and indoor volleyball trials ended on Friday with friendly trial matches at the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.
“The match was basically a wrap-up for our four-day junior trials so it gives opportunity to these young boys and girls to put into practice everything that they have learnt,” PNG Volleyball Federation general secretary Ronald Omoa told The National.
“Most of them are already exposed to the sport, others are new. The kids played in two age categories, Under-14 to16 years old (group 1) and U17-U19 (group 2).
“In that way it helps us identify them correctly so they will play in their correct age groups and will be possible for us to pick out the best ones in each categories.
“The top crop of players from U14-16 will move on to the U17-19, and then the top crop of the U17-19 group move into the senior team.
“We want to create a pathway for the kids to play and enjoy at their age category and at the same time find the top players to be part of the national programme preparing them for bigger events, especially the upcoming Mini Pacific Games in Palau.”
Omoa said it would be much better if outside centres had the same development programme. “Beach volleyball we had 20 kids turn up on the first day, and it increased up to 30 on the second,” he said of the participation.
“Then here at Taurama, we had over 150 kids turn up for the indoor volleyball trials and now it’s already over 200.
“It’s a very good sign. I don’t know about other centers but hopefully this kind of number can be achieved in other centres as well. Come school holiday term two then we will invite the other outside centres to bring in their teams to play with our school kids here in POM.”