At the conclusion or 2024, I retired from full-time teaching at Vancouver Island University. This provided me the opportunity to accept two, 3-month FIVB Empowerment postings with the Bermuda Volleyball Association (BVA) in 2025.
The first 3 months (April-June) focused on developing and implementing a comprehensive Beach Volleyball structure and pathway programming. My time included both leading and mentoring coaches in youth programs as well as Next Generation and Senior National Beach Teams.
During the second 3 months (August-October) my primary focus was the selection and preparation of the Bermuda National Indoor Women’s Team who participated in the Eastern Caribbean Final Four Championships in Antigua. Although we fell short of winning the Championship title and qualifying for the 2026 XXIII Pan American Cup, our second place finish and overall tournament play was a very positive step forward for the BVA.
Also, during the Fall posting, I continued coaching the Men’s National Beach athletes, who through their participation and results at NORCECA Continental Tour events have now qualified for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games to be held in Santo Domingo, DR.
The final area of emphasis with the Empowerment Program that bridged both appointment terms was a transfer of knowledge and best practices for the BVA coaching community. I facilitated athlete training sessions, mentored coaches and presented numerous coaching education workshops as my schedule allowed. Examples of my workshop topics include: “Technical Cues for Athlete Development”, “Developing Season Benchmarks”, and “Effective Practice Design”.
While the Volleyball community in Bermuda is small, their leadership team and coaches are passionately committed to proving opportunities to foster each and every participants potential in the sport they love. It has been an honour and privilege to support this process, as I look forward to a lengthy collaboration with the BVA in future years.