The coach of South Sudan men’s senior National volleyball team, Marna Paul Puk said he is presenting a formidable team at the 2023 African Games in Ghana.
Puk told www.aclsports.com that the first hurdle is to pick one of the available slots in the qualifiers of the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone 5.
He said the coaching crew are working hard to recruit more young talented players and infuse them into the national team before the qualifiers.
The former Cobra VC of Juba player said the 2021 African Nations Volleyball Championship gave him the opportunity to play against some of the best teams in Africa.
He said, “Preparations are ongoing in order for South Sudan to present a formidable team at the 2023 African Games in Ghana. South Sudan is in CAVB Zone 5 consisting of Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia. Our plan is to pick one of the available slots for the games.
“Our chances basically capitalise on strengthening our league on the national level and forming other domestic competitions. We are also working hard to recruit more young talented players.
“The 2021 African Nations Volleyball Championship was a great experience for me. It gave me a chance to play against some of the best teams in the continent and also learn new skills.”
On putting together a formidable team, Puk said, “The modalities is to start working hard from the grassroot level and creating more Volleyball academics to promote the young ones, but also working to recruit new talented players in the national team. I would love to play against teams like; Tunisia, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda and Morocco if given the opportunity by the South Sudan Volleyball Federation because I believe they will have a huge impact on my team”.
Puk said the challenges faced since he became the senior national coach includes lack of refresher courses for younger coaches in the country.
The former National team player said, “There are so many challenges I have faced since I was appointed coach of South Sudan. The inconsistency of the league, absence of capacity building courses and training are some of the challenges facing us as coaches in South Sudan.”
Marna Paul Puk played for the senior national team at the 2017 CAVB Zone 5 Championship in Rwanda and played one season for Shrehi VC of Rwanda.
