PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, May 18, 2015 - Nineteen coaches have received their Level II certificates at a special ceremony held at the Sport for Hope Olympic Center in the presence of Haiti's Minister of Sports Jimmy Albert and Margaret Graham, president of the Haitian Volleyball Federation.

The course had a 13-day duration and 25 Level I coaches participated in the course that began on May 1. More than 50% of the participants were able to approve the Level II.

The course was possible thanks to the IOC Olympic Solidarity, the Haiti Olympic Committee and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

A smiling André Glaive, FIVB Instructor, said to be satisfied with the participation of the group of coaches he worked with.

Glaive knows most of the local coaches as this is his sixth visit to the country and 23 of the 25 participants seeking to get the Level II certificates, had gone through the Level I course two years ago.

Questioned about the importance of the Level II course, Glaive said "it is oriented to the high level, emphasizing on the physical preparation, the training plan, the season's program, etc and it is the one of the elite stages of the International Volleyball Federation."

And if sometimes the courses are affected by the problem of communication with the duality of French and Creole that was not the case with the 2015 Level II promotion.

"The language problems are the Achiles heel of the high level courses that are prepared in French. I am in my sixth trip to Haiti but unfortunately I don't speak creole so I have some restriction to communicate in French during the training sessions. However, I am glad that the participants in this session had a good level of French," Glaive continued.

 "I want to congratulate the federation for setting the foundations for the development of volleyball," said Albert, minister of Youth, Sports and Civic Action. "I am very glad to assist the different national federations and to accompany them in their activities. We don't have a lot of resources but I am committed to be with them for the next seven months that I still have in the job."

Most of these young coaches who just passed the Level II are already aspiring to the Level III. To get into that category they have to spend at least two years of practice before being eligible to realize their dream.

One of the technical directors, Yves Larrieux, told them the road to follow: "Now you have to fine tune your knowledge and put in practice your experience for the development of the young players of volleyball in Haiti. Above everything you can improve and never quit as you continue searching progress."