By Neto Baptiste
National volleyball player and right-side hitter, Adrian Constant, said senior team players are motivated by the fact they have never won the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship slated for July 6-11 here in Antigua.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, the former National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Midway University student-player, said the entire team is inspired to bring the title home while eyeing the opportunities to be presented throughout the country’s hosting of the nine-team championships.
“This is a tournament we’ve never won. We’ve won other championships and we came very close the last time where we lost in the fifth set 15-13. So yes, I can show off my talent but it’s more about can we get the job done as a team. There are scouts coming to watch the tournament and I’ve been contacted by teams. I was supposed to have been in Korea since October [last year] but because of Covid, everything has been pushed back again, so that team will definitely be watching closely. Hopefully other guys from the country or even the rest of the tournament can get selected as well,” he said.
Hosts Antigua and Barbuda will be joined by St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Dutch St Maarten, Dominica, Bermuda, Grenada and St Lucia for the championships.
Coach Fitzroy Benjamin said the tournament comes on the heels of the national championships which has given the team’s preparation a significant boost.
“The good thing about it is that we had a local league which gave the players some competition at the start of it to get them tuned up. We went into training for like a month after that and it was just for the players to turn out to practice and jell together, get the system working for the national team selection,” he said.
“There are days we are not pleased about [the turnout] but the guys are working and we have to understand that, because volleyball can’t pay them. So we appreciate the efforts they make when they show up and we work with it accordingly,” he added.
Meanwhile, assistant coach and women’s national player, Rosemarie Simon, explained that the teams will play in three groups of three before the start of the final round.
“The main concern for everyone is basically where Antigua is going to be placed. Antigua is going to be in group three where they will have Dominica, Antigua and Bermuda. We will have St Lucia, Anguilla and St Maarten while we will have St Vincent, St. Kitts and Grenada [in the other group]. If there are any changes we will let the public know but for now this is where we stand,” she said.
Constant is joined by veterans Olsen Joseph, Jamarie James and Michael Hamilton.
The other members of the squad are Cairon Davis, Yashid Auguiste, Itiro Jenkins, Kylon Cabral, Dwight Bonnie, Barrymore Daley, Dave Rouse, Brendan Hopkins, Jarett Isaac, T’mar Seaman, Dominick Anthony, Nathaniel Santana and Alvin Valcin.
Matches will be played at the indoor volleyball facility at the YMCA Sports Complex.