Senior Women’s Volleyball Team Gets Outside Help

The Antigua and Barbuda Volleyball Association (ABVA) has employed the services of a Barbados youth coach as the senior women’s team prepare for the second round of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) World Qualifiers starting here next week.
Former national player with the Barbados national team, Elwyn Oxley, is currently on island and set to work with the 12-member squad as they sharpen their skills ahead of the important round.
One member of the association’s executive and also a national player, Rosemarie Simon, explained that Oxley brings the added experience needed to push the team to the next level.
“Our local coaches are pretty good and knowledgeable but Oxley is no stranger to the Antigua team,” she said. “In the last qualifier we had, he came here and helped us out tremendously. He is like family to us, so any help we could get from him is greatly appreciated.”
The competition spikes off next Thursday at the indoor volleyball facility at the YMCA sports complex with six teams competing in two separate zones.
“All the teams should be here by Wednesday [next week] and the tournament starts Thursday morning. All the games in the mornings are basically free because we are trying to get as much people in as possible to come and support the ladies. The evenings though, we are going to have an entry fee of $5 and for the finals it will be $10,” Simon said. 
Oxley, who retired from international volleyball in 2010, said Antigua and Barbuda has the ability of become one of the top volleyball playing nations in the Caribbean, should the players utilise the amenities currently available to them.
“I think Antigua is very blessed,” he said. “You have the YMCA that you can just go there anytime — come off the street and go in as long as you are interested, because the facility is there. Antigua is one out of the many Caribbean countries I’ve been to that has the natural facility to train anytime. They are honestly better than Barbados and it’s just a matter of being committed, putting in the work and Antigua can be up there with the rest of the region.”
The morning matches are slated to start at 9 while evening matches will start at 7.
Squad: Nyota Peters, Tanya George, Vanessa Burk, Joelle Thomas, Giselle Azar, Kwansia Carr, Naheemah Wilson, Tessa Payne, Nadege Augustin, Allisha John-Baptiste, Rosemarie Simon and Tia Walker. Reserves: Annette Beazer and Tyke Hawkins.