Sześćdziesiąt trzy akademie, ponad sześć tysięcy młodych siatkarek i siatkarzy oraz 13 milionów złotych wsparcia. The Volleyball Academies Certification Program is one of the most important projects for the future of Polish volleyball. It combines financing the daily work of the academy with raising training standards, educating coaches and building a path from the first training to senior sport.
Projekt ma dwa główne cele: uporządkowanie struktur klubów, tak aby obejmowały wszystkie grupy wiekowe oraz rozwój nowoczesnego szkolenia. We want to support coaches with knowledge in the field of methodology, sports psychology, communication and media education - says Artur Popko, president of the Polish Volleyball League. The program already covers 63 academies, and the interest in the community shows that the needs are much greater. This is systemic support for training, education and upbringing, which should also be developed to include a central junior league and help players transition to senior sport.
We need to invest in clubs
The first phase of the program provides PLN 13 million in funding for the entire project. Clubs can allocate funds, among others: for coaches' salaries, rental of sports facilities, purchase of equipment and organization of matches. These are expenses that determine the availability of classes, their quality and development opportunities for young athletes.
If we want to have a fantastic national team, we must invest in youth and clubs - argues Jakub Rutnicki, Minister of Sport and Tourism.
Siatkarskie Ośrodki Szkolne były pierwszym krokiem, a brakującym ogniwem jest właśnie program certyfikacji. I am proud that in dialogue with the Polish Volleyball Association, as well as other sports associations - because this program covers volleyball, handball and basketball - we have created a project addressed, in the case of volleyball, to over 400 teams. This means systemic support for thousands of children. It is crucial that the level of training in each club is high enough and that Polish sports associations can provide real assistance - adds the minister.
Specific requirements to be met
The Volleyball Foundation Polska is responsible for implementing the volleyball program. Financing is accompanied by specific requirements: consistent training standards, improving staff qualifications, education of training staff and monitoring of work quality. Digitization is also an important element, including the construction of an integrated database.
First of all, we want to unify the training system by introducing consistent training standards, improving the qualifications of the coaching staff, as well as developing and educating training staff and digitizing processes, i.e. building an integrated digital database - explains Wojciech Stępień, president of the Volleyball Polska Foundation. W kolejnej edycji chcemy dojść do stu certyfikatów.
The program already includes 63 academies: 19 with a gold certificate, 25 with a silver certificate and 19 with a bronze certificate. For the first time in this type of MSiT program, the amount of support for volleyball academies was linked to the level of certification. This is a clear impulse to improve the organization and quality of training. The club's development may translate into more funds for further work.
We have Volleyball School Centers and well-organized clubs, and this project is another brick in building our training pyramid. From the clubs' perspective, it is difficult to point to an earlier program that would support all these activities so strongly - says Wojciech Szczucki, national coordinator of the program.
The breakthrough nature of the project lies in the combination of money, knowledge and long-term requirements. Academies receive tools to take better care of the development of players and encourage more children to be active.
