Burkina Faso: local coaches trained in mini volleyball

Keen to improve the image of the sport and raise the level of its national athletes, the Burkinabè Volleyball Federation (FBVB) ran a two-day grassroots training course in Bobo-Dioulasso, the economic capital of Burkina Faso, for around twenty youth coaches. The sessions were rich in learning and shared experience, and the participants were equipped with a range of skills relating to the sport.

"When you look at our elite volleyball, there are certainly imperfections that you can see, but how do we correct them? It starts with training. If we have problems with setters today, we need to fix that from the grassroots up. It rests on the important role you have played through training courses", said Wendlasida Yelkouni, vice-president of the Burkinabè Volleyball Federation (FBVB).

According to trainer Yassia Sawadogo, the participants worked through modules essential to coaching young players and leave better equipped to pass on their know-how: "This course allowed us to cover, in theory, what children's training in mini volleyball involves, at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. How should they be coached? How should the game be played at each level, with rules simplified to suit the children's age?"

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This initiative, which is about training the trainers, now needs to help promote volleyball across Burkina Faso. "We have learned a great deal from this course. We gained theoretical and practical knowledge that we are going to put into practice on the court", said Moumouni Sessouma, one of the participating coaches, at the end of the course.

One of the highlights of the course was the handing over of volleyballs to the clubs, a symbolic and motivating gesture to encourage participation in the sport and its development. The participants, for their part, leave with certificates of completion.