[ad_1]
Pago Pago, American Samoa— Last week, local volleyball coaches were upgraded not only in coaching strategies but also in their knowledge of sports psychology and sports medicine at a course coordinated by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), the sport’s world governing body.
In an exclusive interview with course instructor Aaron Alsop, he said the purpose of the trip was to work directly with the American Samoa Volleyball Association (ASVBA) to assist in the development of their coaches and learn about the systems and structures they have put in place to help grow the sport of volleyball in the region.
“I have been working with the ASVBA President and coaches to identify appropriate strategies to enable them to begin preparations for the Pacific Mini Games in Palau in 2025,” he said. “The FIVB is committed to taking every opportunity to provide good coaching programs to prepare the National Volleyball Associations of the Pacific to compete in international competitions.”
Currently living in Samoa, Alsop is a FIVB certified Level 2 coach for indoor and beach volleyball. For the past 13 years, he has been commissioned by the FIVB to teach theory and practical courses to coaches and players in the Pacific region.
He has worked full-time in Papua New Guinea for five and a half years, in Vanuatu for six months, before that in Samoa for a year in preparation for the 2019 Pacific Games, and then in Tuvalu for four and a half years to establish the National Sports Institute in the Solomon Islands.
During his one-year tenure in Samoa, Alsop served as head coach of the Samoa beach volleyball team. That year, he led the team to the Arafura Games in Darwin and defeated Australia to win the gold medal.
“This is a great opportunity to learn how other countries are developing their volleyball programs and to try and assist in sharing knowledge on how to develop coaches and talent identification programs to recruit young athletes to the sport,” Alsop said.
Three months ago, Alsop, whose wife is Samoan, moved back to his hometown with his family and is committed to helping the local team develop.
“The purpose of these sessions is to ensure that the training we do produces quality athletes ready for international competition, whether it’s the Pacific Mini Games, Pacific Games, Oceania Championships or other championships we compete in in the region.”
“I’ve heard about American Samoa volleyball since I first came to the Pacific,” Alsop revealed. “I remember in 2015, when I was working in Papua New Guinea, the American Samoa National Women’s Team won gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball.”
“The Papua New Guinea men’s national team won gold in beach volleyball and fourth in indoor volleyball. It was a very tough tournament and obviously American Samoa has a very strong athlete base and we know that there are a lot of athletes coming from overseas as well.
Speaking about his latest assignment with the FIVB, he explained that it was to improve the coaching standards of local players so that they could be on par with those from outside the island.
“We’re working on how we can strengthen local programs here at home to complement overseas athletes so they can get the best coaches and athletes for the region in any competition they participate in,” he said.
“The ASVBA can coordinate regular domestic competitions which is vital for these young athletes, giving them the opportunity to develop and test themselves by competing against teams from Samoa and other neighbouring islands.”
He also pointed out that this is a good opportunity to promote and develop beach volleyball.
“During the course, we developed a curriculum on developing the overall knowledge of the coaches so that when I visit again next month, I will be able to observe their coaching process and give feedback on their coaching practice,” he said.
“Through this process, we will also have the opportunity to identify young talent that the ASVBA can begin to focus on in preparation for next year’s Pacific Mini Games and the 2027 Pacific Games in Tahiti.”
Alsop said he was from Queensland, a state with a long history in volleyball, and had worked to build high-performance units in Pacific countries and territories appointed by the FIVB.
“So my main role is to work with governments in the Pacific to help them build high performance programs and to help them identify and develop high-quality athletes and coaches who compete internationally,” he said.
Young players learn to play beach volleyball during a volleyball coaching session at the Ottoville Beach Volleyball Association court last week. (Photo: Asi A. Fa’asau)
“So I’m working in 30 to 35 different sports at the moment, trying to help the government, together with the federations and the Olympic Committee, put in place structures and systems to ensure that when teams go overseas to compete, they are the best prepared teams possible.
“So we start with talent identification of young athletes, work with coaches and focus on the well-being of athletes so that we fully support the development of athletes. We also ensure that government investment, whether it is infrastructure investment or investment in programs and services, has strategic goals and does not just throw money into temporary projects that we do not think will produce results in the long term.”
He said that is the ultimate goal for American Samoa, but it can only be achieved after meeting the initial requirements targeted by the curriculum coordinated by the FIVB for the region.
Alsop also wished American Samoa all the best in its bid to host the 2029 Pacific Mini Games, noting that it would bring a great boost and vitality to sports in the region.
“I think the opportunity to host this event is something that will appeal to everyone, so I really hope everyone will get involved and support the Mini Games bid because it will bring so many positive outcomes to the Northern Territory, not just in terms of sport, but also other tangible benefits that we’ve seen in previous Pacific Games,” he concluded.
ASVBA President Ben Sauvao said the course has been very helpful in maintaining the coaching skills of local coaches and he is looking forward to continuing last week’s course.
[ad_2]
Source link
