Estonian Federation grows next generation of players and referees through School Project
News
The Estonian Volleyball Federation (EVF) continued visits in November to Lääne county to spread the CEV School Project ‘Play Volleyball – Grow with it’ even further across the Baltic country. With the participation of the former captain and setter of the Estonian men’s national team and recently appointed EVF Sports Director, Kert Toobal, Haapsalu Primary School, Haapsalu Middle School, Uuemõisa Primary School, and Oru Primary School all received visits – with as many as 130 kids overall involved in School Project activities.
Together with CEV School Project, the EVF delegation brought volleyballs to the schools as a gift, and teachers were given handbooks with a personal greeting from Kert Toobal. The training sessions were conducted with local youth coach Meelis Nukki, who has been coaching children at the Läänemaa sports school since 2019.
"It is a pleasure to note that many boys and girls have found their way to Volleyball training and have also gained their first competition experiences. The school visits organised by the Estonian Volleyball Federation certainly have contributed to this, especially since Volleyball is introduced to young people through top players,"
Meelis praised the project and added that hopefully the school visits also injected the Volleyball bug into the children and the first new enthusiasts will soon find their way to local clubs.
In the Volleyball lessons, run under the guidance of Kert Toobal, the children were taught the technique of overhead and underhand pass, and Toobal also demonstrated his ability to touch the school ceiling with an overhead pass. In addition to signing autographs, the lessons ended with asking questions, where the children learned, among other things, that Kert wore an average of two-three pairs of training shoes during one season at a top-level club and that his personal record is wearing seven pairs in a single season!
Toobal, who started playing the game at the age of eight, recounted the beginning of his training path, emphasising that it is important to want it with all your heart and never give up.
“Whether you are tall or short, the most important thing is to overcome difficulties and make your dreams come true, even in difficult moments,”
he said and told the children not to forget to exercise during their free time. “Wanting is the basis of everything,” emphasised Toobal, relying on his experiences. EVF school visits will continue soon.
The second set of events held in November were seminars for young referees. On November 20, a three-hour seminar was held in Jüri Sports hall and on November 22, a second followed in Tallinn with participation of 60 students and PE teachers. International referees taught the kids all about the game, including rules, and answered questions. Erko Varblane and Marek Vitsur shared their knowledge. Participants were taught how to whistle, how to move, how to use their hand signals, how to choose match balls etc. Participants got a certificate and are now able to referee at school competitions. The ones willing to learn more can move forward to getting licensed as a referee in the future. The aim of the Federation is to organise this sort of courses for kids all over Estonia, so they would know Volleyball better – and to find more referees in the smaller areas of the country as well. It should also help improve the level of school Volleyball competitions.
Referee Marek Vitsur was very pleased with the level of the kids. At the beginning all were a little shy, but with time they got more and more confident. “You have to start with an open heart, and everything else comes with practice,” he said. Those who attended the course are now definitely a step closer to becoming a top referee, should they wish to continue educating themselves.
