Starlings v-baller gets scholarship

POWERFUL outside hitter Abigail Gloud of Starlings Volleyball Club has obtained a volleyball scholarship to Siena College of New York. Gloud signed a letter of intent and completed the documents pertaining to the NCAA requirement for award of a full scholarship for a four-year period. The 17-year-old has been under the tutelage of Starlings’ head coach Danwantee Nado Deonath at Barrackpore Senior  Comprehensive School. Barrackpore are the South Zone champions and national runners-up.

It was Deonath who introduced Gloud to the game and then brought her to Starlings. Despite her outstanding performances for Barrackpore and Starlings, the six-foot two-inch tall southpaw was never called to practise with the national junior team. But her talent was spotted by international coaches including Cuban Anna Maria Estevez who selected her among twelve other Trinidadians to attend a special two-week training camp in Cuba last year. According to Starlings club president Terrence Honore, because of “Gloud’s athleticism and hand speed, at least three United States universities have expressed interest in having her join their ranks.”

“The scholarship offer has been a challenge for the gifted teenager, but she has been prepared for the transition from club to college volleyball through the Starlings Volleyball Club development programme,” he said. “The club’s head coach (Danwantee) Nado Deonath has done a great job with the girls and we  are now seeing the results of her dedication,” Honore said. Honore’s eldest daughter Nadiege and son Marc Anthony also graduated through the Starlings Club Development programme and both are currently on volleyball scholarships in the United States.

Nadiege was a member of the national junior and senior teams. She gained the highest ranking of any Trinidadian player ever at a NORCECA Championships when she placed third as a middle blocker in the regional championships staged in Guatemala in 2003. Nadiege Honore is at Siena College on a US$30,000 scholarship programme. She started last year and once all goes well, she will be joined by her junior Starlings clubmate Abigail Gloud. Gloud recently demonstrated her skills as member of the victorious Starlings “A” Team which emerged at the top of local volleyball with a convincing win at the Peter Mungal Grand Champions Cup (Women) “Big Four” Tournament.

Starlings, without any national player, dethroned the highly-favoured Glamorgan (with eight senior and junior national players) in the final at the Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena (CRISA) two Sundays ago. Honore is proud of his club’s achievements and of being able to provide the opportunities for members to advance their careers in the United States. He said: “Gloud is a unique player with great potential. Tall left-handers are not very common in the sport. She is one of four such players at the club, and she makes a positive contribution to the team’s offence. Head coach Deonath has high hopes for the girls and we are also happy with their  progress.”