ANOTHER Jamaican volleyball coach will have the opportunity to further develop his technical competence when a FIVB Level I Coaches Course serves off in St Lucia from July 21 to 31.

Haile Mikael, who has been the brain-child behind Primary-level school volleyball in Westmoreland, will attend the course.

“Haile is an inspiration to me,” said Major Warrenton Dixon, President of the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA).

“It was he who conceptualised and implemented the current Primary-level school volleyball competition, which he initiated in Westmoreland. He is primarily responsible for my belief that despite all the odds, the competition could be run if we wanted it to.

“We have been doing so without sponsorship since 2009 and I had the joy of watching a product of that competition compete in the Under-19 Beach Volleyball Championship in Portugal recently. Mikael’s continued involvement at the grass-roots level of volleyball is therefore well worthy of this investment.”

Mikael has coached three of the teams to have won the four-year-old Westmoreland Primary-level Schools Volleyball Competition. He is also currently involved in the execution of the JaVA U-13 volleyball programme in Westmoreland.

“I am very pleased that JaVA considers my effort worthy of investment and has sent me on this course,” stated Mikael. “I am very passionate about volleyball and I like the direction in which it is heading in Jamaica. Grass-roots development in any sport is very important for sustainability, so I lift my hat to JaVA for the emphasis they have placed on this.”

Mikael was slated to depart the island yesterday, and he returns on August 2. The cost of his participation in the course will be covered in the main by the North, Central America and Caribbean (NORCECA) Volleyball Confederation.