THE Volleyball Association of Singapore (VAS) has teamed up with the Education Ministry to groom talented young players - just in time for the Asian Youth Games (AYG) next June and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010.
Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday, which allows the VAS to take top school players under its wing.
Under the MOU, players from the Singapore Schools combined volleyball squads will also form the spine of the national youth development teams, who will begin training next month.
According to VAS president Baey Yam Keng, this is an ideal arrangement because the association does not have its own youth teams in place for both indoor and beach volleyball.
'This collaboration will set the foundations for the AYG, which features beach volleyball, and the YOG, which includes indoor volleyball,' he said.
'The aim is to build a pipeline of talent, not just for the Games, but for the national team in the future.'
The new indoor volleyball youth teams will have up to 20 players for each of the boys' and girls' squads. For beach volleyball, each squad will have up to five members.
The players, aged between 14 and 18, will be trained by VAS coaches, including new national head coach Anusorn Bundit, who was part of the coaching set-up for Thailand's national junior teams.
Over the next few weeks, the VAS will assess the players, and will announce the final line-up for its AYG and YOG squads by the end of next month.
Joelle Lim, the Singapore Schools girls' indoor volleyball team captain, believes the tie-up between VAS and MOE is a big boost for young players.
Said the 16-year-old Xinmin Secondary School student: 'This will give us more opportunities to train, and will improve our chances of playing at the YOG in Singapore.'
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