BVA To Send Teams To Nike Boston Festival
The Bermuda Volleyball Association [BVA] announced teams will participate in the Nike Boston Volleyball Festival.
A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Volleyball Association is pleased to announce that we have eight teams travelling to Boston, Massachusetts for the Nike Boston Volleyball Festival. The tournament takes place over two weekends and will take place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
“The girls teams will compete under the club name, Paradise Hitters and the boys will compete under the club name, Big Wave Riders.
“The first weekend of the tournament will take place from February 23rd to 25th with five Bermuda teams competing. These teams leave on February 22nd to compete in the three-day tournament.
“Big Wave Riders U14 include Charles Szakmary, Chase McCrimmon, Daniel Morris, Daniel Smith, Kayden Darin, Kyle Valadao, Kylen Richard, Payton Mora, and Tyler Pethick. Coaches: Andrew Soares [Head Coach] and Kelly Madeiros [Assistant Coach].”
U14 Coach Andrew Soares said, “We have a competitive U14 Boys team excited and ready to compete in the upcoming Nike Boston volleyball tournament. We are fortunate to have five returning players who played at the U14 level last year, where they finished in the silver bracket. The boys have matured as players and are playing at a higher level this year. We hope their hard work over the last few months practicing and preparing pays off with more success this year.”
The spokesperson said, “Paradise Hitters U12 include Ava Schmerer, Zara Soutter, Bronwen Matthews, Capri Tavares, Charleigh Maries, Isla Smith, Lynzy Pittendrigh, Makenna Fraser, Paige Noseworthy, and Victoria Frisby. Coaches: Kamryn Martins [Head Coach] and Jon Noseworthy [Assistant Coach].”
U12 Coach Kamryn Martins said, “For this upcoming tournament, our U12 girls will be the youngest volleyball group to travel. We are extremely excited to see what these girls are capable of, as the majority of our girls have never traveled to an overseas tournament. We are looking forward to having fun and experiencing a level of volleyball for this age group outside of Bermuda.
“Although these girls have only been training for one or two years, we have seen a huge improvement from the start. Throughout these last two years but especially leading up to this tournament, these girls have improved their skills, consistency, teamwork, and technique. This will be an excellent experience and something the girls can look forward to for many years.”
The spokesperson said, “Paradise Hitters U13 includes Alexandra Llewellyn-Jones, Odette Turner, Rielle Gaglio, Zaierra Bean, Anna Friston, Gabriella Francis, Genevieve Silvester, Giselle Castle, Gwennan Matthews, Jurnee Philip, Kate Allington, and Lilian Collette. Coaches: Valerie Martins [Head Coach] and Juanita Blee [Assistant Coach].
“Paradise Hitters U14 includes Cecilia Schmidt, Talia Batista, Taurie Spencer, Violet Neill, Emily Correia, Gemma Batista, Jasmine Mcintosh, Maya Fitzmaurice-Trott, Mia Forbes, Olivia Smith, Raya Burgess, and Sophia Norton. Coaches: Allison Settle [Head Coach] and Tiago Ferriera [Assistant Coach].”
U13 and U14 Coach Allison Settle said, “The U13 and U14 girls have worked hard to improve as a team this season. They have learned how to use positions and strategize playing to everyone’s strengths. These girls experienced winning some games at this tournament last year, so I am looking forward to seeing what level they can reach this year.”
The spokesperson said, “Paradise Hitters U15 includes Evelyn Czember, Gabriela Gonzalez, Gabriella Cabral, Hailey Trott, Jasmine Showers, Olivia Gazzard, Sophie Weikl and Tatiana Sousa. Coaches: Mike Gazzard [Head Coach], Gary LeBlanc [Assistant Coach] and Cailey Longworth [Assistant Coach].”
U15 Coach Mike Gazzard said, “The U15 girls are traveling overseas to compete in the Nike Boston Festival #1 tournament taking place over the weekend of Feb 23-25th. The team will be looking to improve upon their top five finish from the Florida Holiday Challenge which took place in early December 2023.
“In preparation for the Nike Boston Festival tournament, we have ramped up the intensity of our training sessions and the team has done an excellent job of transferring this intensity to our weekly Winter League games where we have had consistent team success. Our team is excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best under 15 teams in the US, and we look forward to the challenge of improving upon our 9th place finish at last year’s Nike Boston tournament.”
The spokesperson said, “The second weekend of the tournament will take place from March 1st to 3rd with three Bermuda teams competing. These teams leave on February 29th to compete in the three-day tournament.
“Paradise Hitters U18 includes Ava Romeo, Caitlin Bento, Chloe Bennett, Chloe Botelho, Cyannah Peirera, Dominique Brown, Isabella Sousa, Kate Marcotte, Lara Simas, Makaylie Smith, Mila Calko and Olivia Porter. Coaches: Braedon Cooke [Head Coach], Hashema Heyliger [Assistant Coach] and Juanita Blee [Assistant Coach].
“Big Wave Riders U17 includes Alexander Rymon Lipinski, Andrew Stegmann, Ciaran Sinclair, Ethan McAlpine, Ishaan Rangta, Jordan Smith, Joshua Wilson, Qeir Yparraguire and Terry Charlemagne. Coaches: Benjamin Barnett [Head Coach] and Andrew Soares [Assistant Coach].”
U17 Coach Ben Barnett said, “This year the U17 boys’ team are playing in a higher age group than in previous years, with many boys eligible younger age groups. Although this will be a challenge, so far, the boys have raised their level considerably and I am confident the team will deliver a great performance in Boston. This year we have focused primarily on our defensive system, and we hope this will pay dividends in the tournament.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to represent Bermuda in indoor volleyball and I am excited to compete with this team.”
The spokesperson said, “Big Wave Riders U18 includes Anijahe Dos Santos Martin, Jacinto Saints, Kyle Mello, Marcus Rodrigues, Nathan Copeland, Nicholas Southern, Robert Stevenson, Skyler O’Connor, Tristan Currelly. Coaches: Kevin Manuel [Head Coach] and Andrew Soares [Assistant Coach].”
U18 Coach Kevin Manuel said, “The U18 boys volleyball team will be the 4th Consecutive year the boys program has been able to send a U18 team to the Boston Volleyball Festival. This in itself is good sign for boys volleyball in Bermuda as over the past 5 years we have been able to sustain a strong developmental program which is now feeding into the Bermuda Mens National team.
“This U18 team has worked extremely hard all year and is looking forward to see what they are capable of against some very strong competition. There are at least two teams in their division that are ranked top ten in New England.”
The spokesperson said, “The BVA is very proud of its youth program and look forward to the experiences these teams and the athletes will come away with. Good luck to all.
“The teams are playing in the following divisions:
- BWR U14 – Boys 14 Club
- PH U12 – 12 USA
- PH U13 – 13 USA
- PH U14 – 14 Club
- PH U15 – 15 American
- BWR U17 – Boys 17 Club
- BWR U18 – Boys 18 Club
- PH U18 – 18 Club
