Coach Matias De Fulvio with BVIAVA President Sabinah Clement, Jackie Weekes and Henrietta Alexander.

Coach de Sulvio is confidant from what he has seen that the BVI will progress when the Volleyball World Championships Qualifiers take place here from June 7th

Coach de Fulvio, brought in by the BVI Volleyball Association to enhance their chances of progressing from the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) World Qualification Championship Tournament being held in the Territory from June 7 to 10, 2012 at the Multi Purpose Sports Complex, has spent a lifetime playing and coaching a game he clearly loves and has studied intensely in his native Argentina, Italy, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Here for a month, he brings a wealth of international Volleyball experience and whilst never progressing to National levels as a player he has spent the last several years coaching First Division teams in Italy. Previously to that, he worked with many clubs in his native Argentina and this will be his third international assignment.

In the short space of time, he has had to work with both the male and female squads and de Fulvio has set up dynamic work outs and practice sessions that are designed to increase fitness levels and give the players an understanding of the game strategy he wishes to implement.

“I prefer dynamic, intense sessions but also varied,” he commented. “One day might be physicals and another skill work, but we also do a lot of repetitions to make sure the teams are well prepared for the Tournament. Everything, physical or skill, has an element of a game situation.”

He admitted that he doesn’t know much about the likely opposition the VI will face, but his understanding is that most of them are at a higher level than the VI at the moment.

“The level here is medium,” he said, due to the population, pool of players available and the competition. “The male team has caught my attention. They have a lot of height and a lot of potential. The women are a little slower but are also learning fast.”

De Fulvio will be looking to maximize skill sets and work on a few fundamentals as well as adding his own style and experiences from the international circuit.

“Utilizing new techniques and a style of play I am confident of progression to round 2 of the Tournament. My philosophy for the team is to play rapido, quick, easy ball all the time. Basically to simplify what we sometimes make difficult, using height and speed of the players to attack the opposition’s weaknesses.”

With the help of some of the local Spanish speaking players and coaches, but more importantly through the universal communication of the game itself, he doesn’t foresee any problems with getting his point across during games and hopes some of the local coaches will come out and that they can share ideas and thoughts on how to develop the game in the Territory and continue the improvements being made by the BVIAVA locally.

The Tournament itself has pitted the BVI Men in a pool alongside St Kitts, Dominica and Montserrat whilst the women face St Maarten, Dominica and Antigua.

Three teams from each of the men’s and women’s will progress to round 2 of the World Championships, which will also be staged in the Caribbean.