The Sunday News
THE Luveve Volleyball Academy is fast growing to be an integral part of the high schools volleyball scene, with the annual tournament, which is held in the second term of every year being a major highlight.
Just last weekend, the annual competition although ill-timed, proved to many from near and yonder that Bulawayo and the surrounding areas boasted some of the greatest players in the country. From the sharp spikes, the potent digs and the sturdy blocking, teams displayed great ability and agility, which were a show of what young players from this part of the country have to offer.
Mpopoma girls and Induna boys were on pole position in the secondary schools segment while Josiah Chinamano and Usher primary schools snatched first position in the primary schools division for boys and girls respectively.
Luvac, whose influence goes further than the boundaries of Bulawayo, has constantly received support from schools from as far as Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South, with schools like Usher and Mbakwe featuring in this year’s games.
The inaugural competitions in 2011 saw 10 teams contesting. Last year’s competitions which were held at Luveve High School saw 19 primary schools and a whopping 29 high schools taking part in a contest that saw Eveline coming tops in the girls section while Mpopoma bagged the boys category.
“This year we have seen a significant improvement in the level of competition and this is one of the most significant milestones we have hit as an academy thus far. When we started out, you would almost think that schools just picked random children and put them on the court.
However, what we have seen this year is really staggering. The young people have upped their game and this is a joy to see,” said William Mazviro, who is the organising secretary of the academy.
Mazviro revealed that one of the major mandates of the academy was to develop talented youngsters from grassroots levels, hence the primary schools programme, and it was encouraging to see such an improvement. Since last year, some of the players that have gone through Luvac tournaments are now regulars at some of the top clubs in the city, including Railstars and Cresta.
Twenty six secondary schools and 23 primary schools turned up this year with many schools failing to make it as the term was about to end.
“For the time of the term when we held these games, I must say that the turnout is impressive. I am of the feeling that next year we might have to turn away many other schools as our maximum can only be 32.
Were it not for our timing, we would have had more schools signing up with us for the games but we are, however, happy with how things went. It’s a great day for schools sport when such support is evident,” he noted.
Bekezela Ndhlovu, who is the vice-chairperson of the academy and is a prominent figure in local volleyball, also confirmed the improvement in the level of play but noted the need for more technical training so that the coaches and teachers grow in knowledge together with their players’ growth in play.
Beke, as Ndhlovu is popularly known, who was a volunteer in the Youth Sports Exchange programme in 2010 in Namibia, made it into the history books by becoming the first Zimbabwean female volleyball international umpire. She came up tops in the International Refereeing Candidate Course that was held in Kenya in March this year.
The head of Luveve High School, Thobekile Dube, who is the Luvac board chairperson, said she was impressed by the turnout and the level of play and expressed hope for better things in the coming years.
“We are hopeful for better games in the future and an even higher standard of play than the one we saw at these past games,” she noted.
