Belize’s Men’s Volleyball Team Turns Persistence into Gold

After years of knocking on the door, Belize’s men’s national volleyball team has finally kicked it down. In a victory that will be remembered as a turning point for the sport, Belize stunned regional giant Costa Rica in four sets to claim its first-ever Central American senior title at the AFECAVOL Men’s Final Four. For Belize Volleyball Association President Allan Sharp, a former national player who has witnessed the highs and heartbreaks of the program firsthand, the championship is more than a gold medal. It is the reward for decades of sacrifice, persistence and belief.

 

Allan Sharp, President, Belize Volleyball Association

“I gotta tell you, Shane, I watched the game locked up in a room with nobody around me, lots of anxiety, lots of emotions. Years and years of emotions coming. I mean tears – me myself in my room jumping up and down screaming whilst they ran around in the court. It brings out a lot of emotions to think about the gold medal. I must say the complete mental attitude, the approach for this team was hunger, belief, if nothing else, belief, a lot of confidence. I don’t think they in one moment thought that they would not win, that they did not deserve to win, that they would not be the champions. They had the hunger to be champion. They put in the work to be champion. They thought they would be champion. They played to be champion. And now they are champions.”

 

Shane Williams

“What’s the plan to welcome them home?”

 

Allan Sharp

“They’re coming in tonight. So we’re trying to work with some organizations to try and get something ready, at least for tomorrow or, or as quickly as possible.”

 

Team Belize returns home through Belize’s northern border around four this evening. They will be greeted at the Belize Elementary School by the volleyball community around 6:30 tonight.

 

Sharp Says Volleyball Success Can Be Blueprint for Belize Sports

 

For Allan Sharp, this championship is about more than volleyball. As President of both the Belize Volleyball Association and the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, Sharp has spent years pushing for the growth of sports across the country. He says Belize volleyball’s rise proves that local athletes can achieve at the highest levels when they get the right support, planning and commitment. And in his view, that same formula can work for every sport in Belize.

 

Allan Sharp, President, Belize Volleyball Association

“When a small country like Belize does something like this, you know, we’re less than one tenth the population of any of our neighbors, and that’s being nice, one tenth. You know, so it is a major accomplishment when you think of what we’re doing in male and female volleyball and on a sustainable, consistent basis. It’s not a one-time thing. Like I said, these guys last year were second. Now they come home with the gold. Now they’re ranked number one in Central America. They qualify to the Men’s Pan American Cup next year. So these are major accomplishments. This is something very big for them and for volleyball and for sport in Belize. You know it shows that things can happen in sport if we have the programs first of all and there’s investment and support behind the programs. Facilities is must. Lots of things at play, right? The coaches. I mean, we cannot forget the coaches who have put in tremendous time and effort over this long haul. So you mean our guys have shown that they have the talent but talent is not everything. These guys have put in the work because talent doesn’t – is not what’s going to make you win. It’s putting in the work and having a program and then you work. You work on your craft. You work on what you’re going to do. And so this is years and years.” 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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