Young volleyball players in Windhoek are being introduced to the sport at an early age through Afrocat Volleyball Club's junior clinics, currently taking place at A. Shipena Secondary School during the May school holiday.
The youth development programme is hosted every Wednesday and Friday and caters for under-10, under-13, under-15, and under-17 players.
The initiative aims to strengthen grassroots volleyball development by helping young athletes improve their skills, teamwork, discipline, and understanding of the game from an early age.
Afrocat Volleyball Club coach Ishitile Alousius explained that although similar initiatives were held in the past, this year's programme is more structured and consistent, with training sessions planned throughout the school holiday period.
He also explained that he initiated the programme after identifying a gap in volleyball development, where many players only begin participating competitively at older ages compared to other countries.
"This is mostly our development programme for Afrocat, so that players can grow in the club from an early age. When they're 13, we're pushing to play for under 13, under 15. We have teams that are participating in the school league and also in Central Volleyball Association league, so that's where our players go. I have been invested in development for years now. But I realized that the development of volleyball is very slow because we mostly target people who are 17, 20, and some of them are even reaching 30. There is a very big gap between us and other countries"
The programme has also attracted young participants with ambitions of pursuing volleyball at a higher level in the future.
Participant Violet Shikwamba said her passion for the sport motivated her to join the training sessions, with hopes of becoming a professional volleyball player one day.
"Training has been going well. I joined this training camp yesterday, and I started playing volleyball in 2024"
Another participant, Victor Festus, said he joined the youth training sessions as part of his preparation for upcoming trials for a major volleyball tournament.
"I started playing volleyball in 2023. I love teamwork. Teamwork is the main thing in all sports, because you can't win alone. You have to have a team, and the trust that your teammate has in you is very good."
The Afrocat Junior Clinics continue to provide young athletes with a platform to develop their abilities while contributing to the long-term growth of volleyball in Namibia.