The future looks bright for Bahamian volleyball as American coach Del Hughes expressed surprise at how well the youngsters have improved in the seven years he has been coaching at the annual summer Back to Basics Volleyball Camp. Hughes along with his wife Arlene Hughes and Vanessa Johnson were greeted by more than 70 young Bahamian volleyball players, who were ready and eager to showcase their talents. The annual volleyball summer camp got on the way on Thursday and will conclude Monday afternoon. "The main goal when we first started coming was to insight and bring about more interest and I think that has happened," said Del Hughes. "We have had more than 56 kids on day one and there has been an increase today (Friday). If things hold true to posture, then we will have more kids everyday. So I am looking to have about 80-90 kids by the end of the camp." During the course of the five days, campers will go through a series of drills designed to improve their over and under hand passing, serving and overall game performance. Del Hughes noted that there are more senior players in the camp now than in the past. As a results, drills can be turned into game situations easier. He added: "Now that we have accomplished the initial goals, I think that we are getting a lot more kids in there. We are getting a lot of advance kids, so that court is full and it is looking like the novice side, back in the day. That means that kids are starting to pick up their skills and that will help us to enhance on some of the basic stuff. Even though this is a back to basic camp, we might start doing some of the finer things in volleyball." Invitations are extended to the American coaches every year by organizer Jackie Conyers and the Bahamas Volleyball Federation (BVF). Conyers, a former national team standout, believes that more structured programs are needed in the country to assist with the growth and development of our athletes. The veteran player noted that there were no volleyball camps when she played, however, the commitment was still seen. She expressed special thanks to all persons who have supported the camp over the years. A special thank you was said to parents for allowing their children to come out and participate, the federation for sanctioning and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for thier continued support. She said: "The camp has grown tremendously. We have persons who have graduated from the camp and finished high school. They've also gone off to college and some of them have returned to assist. There are a lot of new faces and persons who have expressed interest in continuing on in the league. The newer kids they are eager and willing to learn. "We didn't have any camps when I was playing, we just had club team practice and national team practices. But that didn't stop us from learning. We were once where these same kids were. We had the natural talent but needed the basic fundamentals. That is what they are lacking, the basic fundamentals of sport. They have natural talent and you can see that, but the basic fundamentals like bumping and foot position is lacking. Once you have the basic fundamentals you can only love the game, grow and excel. "We are trying to get volleyball back to where it use to be. This camp is a feeder program for the junior and night league programs. This is where we are going to take athletes from and move them into the junior program." Assisting with Del Hughes are coaches Laval Sands, Glen Rolle and Kirk Green. The camp hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. On Sunday, play will start at noon until 4 p.m. and again on Monday at noon until 5 p.m.

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