High-performance coach João Carlos Campos travelled to Bermuda last month to assist with the Bermuda Volleyball Association’s efforts to lure more of the island’s youth to the sport.

During his visit, the Brazilian placed emphasis on the introduction and development of volleyball, assisting in various schools’ physical education classes and school teams.

He also dedicated time to assisting with junior national team training.

“Coach Caffé has been an integral part of the junior girls national team in our first months of training for the 2016-17 season,” Gary LeBlanc, the head coach, said in a BVA statement. “He has helped to put together a foundation that the team will build on for its future success.”

The North American, Caribbean, Central American Volleyball Association high-performance coach’s mandate is to travel around the Caribbean to islands such as Bermuda to assist with the promotion of the sport and the development of local coaches and players of all levels.

“We appreciated Coach Caffé’s assistance with our practices, it helped to reinforce the basics with the players,” Juanita Blee, the Mount Saint Agnes teacher and head coach, said. “It also demonstrated another level of volleyball that some of them were not aware they could accomplish.

“Coach Caffé helped the players to understand that the basics in skills need to be practised and understood to elevate to the next level.”

The BVA has gone to great lengths to increase participation of volleyball among the island’s youth.

To help achieve its objective, the association became involved in the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation’s after-school programme last year. The programme has been deemed a success, with coaches visiting various primary schools on the island, creating a fun, playful sporting experience for students.

More recently, the association donated volleyball equipment to various schools to help to support and to grow the sport in their schools.

“Volleyball at school remains a fundamental tool for the introduction of volleyball to young children through simple game like drills,” the BVA statement added.

“Volleyball is a terrific way for children to work on teamwork, co-operation and team spirit in a non-contact environment. It’s a sport that can be played by people of any age, anywhere in the world.

“The BVA is proud to be a part of sharing this amazing sport with our youth.”