Bajan volleyballers create history by qualifying for World Championships

Joshua Ashby and Cael Greenidge smashed their names into Barbados’ sporting history by securing a spot in the Under-18 Beach Volleyball World Championships.

The duo booked one of the final remaining spots at the just concluded NORCECA Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic, becoming the first Barbadian volleyball team to ever qualify for a World Championship event.

After losing their opening match 2-0 to Puerto Rico, Ashby and Greenidge needed to win their remaining two games to have any chance of advancing to the World Championship, which will take place in the Hague, Netherlands from July 8 to 12.

Playing against Costa Rica, the Barbadians rebounded from losing the opening set to win a hard-fought contest 18-21, 21-18, 15-13.

Up next was the decisive game against a strong Canadian unit. 

Barbados lost the opening set 18-21, after three consecutive points from their opponents broke the deadlock. They however, bounced back to set up a decider after taking a close second set 21-19.

In the final set, neither team was able to take a decisive advantage early on as they traded points. Ashby, however, delivered two crucial points with the scores locked at 13 to secure a sensational 15-13 win for Barbados.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY from the Dominican Republic, an elated manager, Anica Wood said key to the team’s success was hard work and dedication.

“There’s definitely the commitment and the endless hours they would have put in at home with our coaches. We have Mark Lewis and our Cuban coach Jose Hernandez Murray, who have been putting in a lot of work for the past few years actually and I think it’s now all paying off.

“In particular Ashby, he’s very dedicated to beach volleyball. Cael is as well and they really wanted it. Coming up on that final day against Costa Rica and Canada, in their minds, when they knew fifth qualifying place was still up for grabs it was like a different mindset and they grabbed hold of it and capitalised on the opportunity,” Wood said.

Despite the team’s success,  Wood believes a number of tweaks will need to be made to ensure Barbados can consistently qualify for global events.

Key among them, she said, is a need for more specialisation.

“Right now our challenge is basically trying to balance the workload of our athletes, because most of the athletes who play volleyball, they play beach and they play indoors. 

“In the past, we would have a junior tournament and a senior tournament for indoor and then for beaches just a senior beach tournament, but now there are so many age group tournaments; there is the Under-17, Under-19, Under-21, seniors and these boys are doing all,” Wood explained.

“So I think it’s going to be hard considering how small our population size is, but to be honest, the structure needs to change a bit where they’re either a beach athlete or an indoor athlete, so we could really dedicate or fully dedicate the time to that training. That is the only way that we can excel consistently. 

“I mean this time around Joshua and Cael, they have been putting in a lot of work on the beach, but if we want to continue to get to this level we will definitely have to have dedicated beach athletes,” the manager further added.

Ahead of the upcoming World Championships, Wood is optimistic the local pair will be able to compete on the NORCECA circuit to sharpen their skills.

“You can only do so much at home with our local practices and competitions, but being able to explore and experience what it’s like to play teams from Central America, North America and the Caribbean, that does a lot for their confidence. So some funding to help us get on as many NORSECA circuits as possible, that will definitely aid in terms of their development,” she said.

Wood was also full of praise for the recently opened dedicated beach sports facility at Wildey, which she said was a key cog in the team’s success.

“We have been utilising that facility since the launch. Now that we have a facility where there are lights; you know our struggle in the past after school, after work, persons coming to the beach would only  get like an hour or so before sunset. Now we actually have a facility where we train both morning and in the evening time and we’re able to put in twice as many practice hours. We are very appreciative of that facility,” Wood said.

In girls’ action, Destiny Layne & Gabrielle Sandiford competed in the ninth place classification and defeated the Cayman Islands 21-9, 21-8 and Nicaragua 21-8, 21-18 in their final two games.

kurtishinds@barbadostoday.bb