West Side Stars Volleyball Club ranked 1st in U19 tourney

THE West Side Stars Volleyball Club (WSS) has been ranked second in the U15 female category and first in the U19 female category of the TT Volleyball Federation's National Volleyball Development tournament.

A release from the club thanked the TT Volleyball Development Academy for working with its members and improving their game, such that the club now has the first and second rankings for the U19 and U15 categories respectively.

The club has been registered with the TT Federation since 2006.

It has won numerous titles as well as played in almost every female category volleyball finals in the country over the last ten years.

The club, the release said, not only holds the title of National B Division Champions but is also the reigining National A Division Champions.

In 2019, WSS dominated the TTVF’s National Volleyball Female Championships securing both titles. Since then, there has not been an A or B Division National Tournament, owing to the covid pandemic, leaving West Side Stars Volleyball Club the top female volleyball team in the country.

In 2022, the federation hosted the National Volleyball Development Tournament for various age categories. Under new rules, the coach who won the age category would become the national head coach for the team in that category. WSS did not win these tournaments but threw its support behind the two coaches who came out victorious.

After this tournament, the club’s head coach Deon Hutchinson realised a lot of work was needed to raise the standard of volleyball not only of the club's athletes but throughout TT.

He restarted the TT Volleyball Development Academy, which has been registered since 2016.

Before covid19, this organisation invited athletes from other clubs to training and those who attended received coaching for the development of volleyball nationally.

As a result of the development academy's being restarted, Deon’s Executive Taxi Service Ltd, a sponsor of the academy, has invested over $700,000 to date.

The Ministry of Sport and Community Development, the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) and other sponsors have also invested in the academy over the last two years.

Victory for the club's U19 female team means its head coach, Deon Hutchinson, would now have the opportunity to become the National Head Coach for the U19 squad.