CEV School Project instils love for the game in schools across Croatia

This past month, the Croatian Volleyball Federation did further expand the reach of the CEV School Project ‘Play Volleyball – Grow with it’ especially in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. 

The first school visited was Župa Dubrovačka Elementary School, where a training session with a total of 33 fourth-grade students (17 girls and 16 boys) was held, including eight girls who already play Volleyball together with the Župa Volleyball Club. Among the students there were also three with special needs who managed the session very well and did all the assigned content within their motor skills. The training started with general preparatory exercises for the whole body. In the main part of the training, the kids practiced basic volleyball elements. The students had the most fun doing methodical exercises for spiking, where they showed their impressive motor skills. They did the underhand serve, and finally they played Volleyball in a circle and mini volleyball over the net. 
 

The second school involved in the programme back in April was the Elementary School Stjepan Radić in Dubrovnik, where such a session was run with 34 students (18 girls and 16 boys) of the fifth grade, including six girls playing for Metković Volleyball Club. After warming up with various athletic exercises, the kids performed basic volleyball elements using balls, hoops, and cones. Afterwards, they executed methodical exercises for spiking which the boys really liked, and they quickly mastered the basic movements required. They also tried the underhand serve, which was dominated by girls who showed greater concentration and precision. The last part of the training involved playing Volleyball in a circle and mini volleyball over a lower net. 

In the Mokošica Elementary School, a session involved two classes of students from the fourth grade and a second such workshop was addressed to second graders. The 18 students (nine girls and just as many boys) from the second grade were the first to join, including three girls who attend the Sports School Club Mokošica. The session started with fun games without balls, where the goal was to develop a quick, visual overview of the entire playground and teamwork. In the main part of the training, the kids did basic volleyball elements using balls, hoops, and cones. In the last part, they played Volleyball over a lower net, which was extremely dynamic. With fourth-grade students (32 in total; 14 boys and 18 girls), the coaches worked on the basic elements of Volleyball, mainly the spike and underhand serve. At the end of the lesson, the students played mini volleyball.

In the Marin Držić Elementary School, a demonstration training was held with a total of 24 students (13 girls and 11 boys) of the third grade including five playing the game in after-school activities run by the Sports School Club Držić. The session followed the same programme as in other schools, and the students showed exceptional motor skills, especially in games where agility was needed.

In April, the coaches of the Croatian Volleyball Federation visited two schools in Bjelovar - Bilogora County as well. The first one was the Garešnica Elementary School, which is attended by about 450 students. The coaches were hosted by Nikica Katić, who himself played handball, but lately there has been a great interest from the local children in Volleyball, so he has established a volleyball group. They cooperate very well with the volleyball club Daruvar, which is only about 20 kilometres away from Garešnica. It is a club with a tradition in younger age categories, although in the past it also competed in the highest echelons of Croatian Volleyball. The club sometimes gives balls to the school in Garešnica, but that is not enough. Balls and bands from the CEV School Project will greatly help them, especially when working with the youngest students, who will now find it much easier to learn the key elements of the game. 25 students from the 6th grade took part in the demonstration training and truly enjoyed playing the game.

The second school is the Czech elementary school in the small town of Končanica, just a few kilometres from Daruvar. The coaches were especially surprised by how much time they dedicate to sports even in such a small environment. The school with only 118 students has a sports hall better equipped than many other schools in Croatia. The session gave the coaches hope that one day some of the students from this school will join the Daruvar club to continue playing Volleyball. This school signed up for the project to enjoy even better conditions. Balls and ribbons provided via the CEV School Project will help teachers to incorporate Volleyball into their programme more easily.