Debe High in historic v-ball win

Debe High School have made an historic winning start in their first ever Trinidad and Tobago Secondary Schools Volleyball League competition.

Playing in the South Zonal Under-17 competition, DHS travelled to Barrackpore Senior Comprehensive and registered an impressive 25-23, 25-15 victory over the defending national and zonal champion “B” team. Sparked by the brilliance of attackers Avinash Persad, Shane Ramsahai and Toolsie Ramnarine as well as the solid support from setter Kevin Seepersad and libero Bradley Bernard, Debe’s outfit outplayed the homesters and rejoiced at their first major success in schools competition. The article “Debe High School aims for v-ball success” which appeared exclusively in the Newsday on October 30 served to inspire the school team.  Their manager and school teacher Katrina Inglis said: “The story in the Newsday helped to inspire the players. Everybody in the school was so excited and the players were very nervous. It was the first time they were going to play for the school. With their picture and story in the Newsday, they did not want to fail. They really put out everything to win their first match. “We were so excited to win. Everybody’s feeling great and ecstatic about the result. We will take each match seriously. The boys know that they will face tougher opposition but to win in your match is always special. I am sure they will take the game more seriously,” she said.

Former national player Himanshurai Roy Manlal must be credited with the success in this first outing. Having taken over the squad for the past six weeks, Manlal drilled the guys and got them to improve their overall approach and tactics in becoming effective as a team. He said, “The boys are young and willing to learn. That is what made the difference. They listen and play to my instructions. To win was a really good experience for them but they have a lot to learn. They have just started and there is far way to go to become a top class player.” Manlal was the former coach of Barrackpore Senior and he helped them win over seven national titles. “This team is now learning and a lot depends upon the amount of time spent in training. They have to work hard in improving their technical skills, team tactics and strategies. They have to learn to adjust the different game situations. They will definitely play against better teams in the competition and nothing will happen overnight,” stressed the coach.