Dynamites: a perfect model of development
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday November 20, 2015 11:29
A football club like Uniao Flamengo Santos had a vibrant junior development policy, which produced the likes of Mogakolodi ‘Tsotso’ Ngele and Thato ‘Yellow’ Bolweleng, among others. In volleyball, Cuban expert, Manuel Torres has encouraged clubs to focus on development.
He admires the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) young affiliate, Dynamites.
Torres, who doubles as the volleyball national team’s coach, emphasised the importance of development in sport, saying other teams in the country could copy the Dynamites model that deliberately targets young players for development.
Their focus is not necessarily immediate results.
He said most of the players in the team were part of the national team that participated in the Africa Youth Games in Gaborone last year.
The team’s captain, Jestinah Moyo joined the club as a 13-year old and developed to become the Africa Youth Games’ team captain and has now been drafted into the senior team at the age of 17.
Torres said they want continuity even when the club’s players are poached by other teams. He said every team should have a deliberate arrangement to develop players. “Those players at Dynamites are developing well and have the potential to become members of the senior national team.
They should not be pressurised to win the championship now as that will derail them. Results should be expected in the future,” he said.
Torres said there should be a special dispensation, even from higher sport authorities, to make sure that the players stick together.
“I commend the management of the team to have come up with a model of having a club that focuses on youngsters,” Torres said.
He added he could make himself available to assist the players and the coaches for long-term tactical and technical strategies to ensure they have a well-rounded squad in a few years to come.
His advised club management to organise a training camp for the players at some point during the festive season. He said since most of the players are students, that is the only period they can be brought together. “I know that the crucial thing is funding, but developing talent from that team cannot be ignored if we are to have a complete team to represent Botswana in the future,” said Torres.
Dynamites made history a month ago when they became the first team outside powerhouses Kutlwano and Mafolofolo to beat Kalavango in the Mascom Volleyball League.
Kalavango is one of the three sides that have dominated the top three volleyball spots.
Dynamites coach and founder, Mpho Tlhaselo said the historic result against a big club like Kalavango was no surprise for him and even his players.
“It has been our mission, set some years ago in what we called DynaVision 2015.
We agreed to steadily build our team such that by 2015, we should be able to compete at an equal level with the big three, and should be the country’s best team in the next one or two years.
The result only served to show us that we are on the right track,” Tlhaselo told Mmegi Sport.
He further said at his club, all the players understand that winning games was not important at the moment.
“They know my vision of preparing them to become Botswana’s perfect product of patient development, and they have bought into it.
They also understand our constraints as a team made of players with other compelling commitments that affect our training schedule.
But they remain committed knowing that given their average age of 18, they will grow up well as they currently compete against seasoned players 10 or more years older,” he said, adding his training strategies are deliberately aligned to the Long Term Athlete Development model that emphasises proper development over immediate results.
He said to complement the players’ development, he has enlisted the services of former army man, Bathusi Onneetse, who is an expert physical and fitness trainer, to be part of the technical team.