With foreign coaching expertise in town, The Bahamas' senior men's national volleyball team is expected to make tremendous strides, particularly with the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games rapidly approaching.
The Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) announced yesterday that the Bahamas Volleyball Federation (BVF) will benefit from the arrival of a top level FIVB (International Federation of Volleyball) certified coach and instructor here in The Bahamas. Brazilian Augusto Jose Sabbatini is here for one month, September 13 to October 13, as part of NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation), CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) and the Bahamas Olympic Committee's plans to build capacity in the Olympic sport of volleyball here in the country.
"This is a great partnership between the Bahamas Olympic Committee and the Bahamas Volleyball Federation," said federation president Joe Smith yesterday. "He's (Sabbatini) here for coaches development and athletic development, working along with the Bahamian coaches to further polish the skills of all volleyball players, but especially the senior men's national team, because they got us to the level where we are at now," added Smith.
The senior men's national volleyball team has been successful in a number of tournaments over the past three years, and is scheduled to represent The Bahamas at the CAC Games from November 14-30, in Veracruz, Mexico. Smith said that the goal remains to one day qualify for the Olympic Games.
"We came to the realization that to get to that next level, and to get to the Olympics, we need some professional help," said Smith. "We came to an agreement to have a coach sent to The Bahamas for one month. He already has gotten to work as he worked with the national team on Monday night, and will continue working with national teams, and the youth and junior programs. He'll be working with the coaches as well. We want to upgrade the skill level of the various coaches here in the country. Hopefully, we'll be able to get him in Grand Bahama for one week to work with some of the coaches there. We might be able to get some of the Abaco coaches to join us in Grand Bahama as well. The goal is to strengthen the program."
Smith added that at this time the primary focus is to enhance the senior men's national team, with that team set to participate at the CAC Games in Mexico in November. He said that they are poised to do very well at the CAC Games.
"I think that, once we fine tune certain areas, we will be in a better position to play against the bigger teams in this region," said Smith. "We played some of the bigger teams in the region before and gave them tough matches, so who knows what cam happen once we enhance our skill level."
As for Coach Sabbatini, he said that he is grateful to be here in The Bahamas, and is looking forward to working with the Bahamian players and coaches.
"The Bahamas has a very good team - not far from the top teams in the region," he said. "I want to get The Bahamas closer to that top level. We need the new talent to come into the picture. It's a good team but could imagine how good this team could be with improved facilities where the team could train every day, about two times each day. The team has to put in the work," he added.
Sabbatini has been involved in coaching volleyball for the past 23 years and intends to bring a new dimension to the sport here in The Bahamas.

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