Raiders gear up for title defence

The club began preparations on Wednesday by holding their first training session of the year. They have high expectations of a successful defence of the silverware.
True to the adage that the early bird catches the worm, the Raiders team               are hoping that their early preparations will pay dividends at the start of the season.
At the moment a date has not been set as to when the league will commence as a national executive annual general meeting is yet to be held. It is set for 28 January.

This was confirmed by the vice-chairman (technical) of the Bulawayo Volleyball Association, Brian Manuel, yesterday.
Despite all this, coach Vulindlela Jasper Moyo, who is also the women’s national volleyball team gaffer, said as champions they had their own set of standards which they were looking to reach and as such training had to begin early so as to gear the team for this year’s challenges.

“It was great to win the provincial league last season but for this season we are aiming to surpass that achievement and do even better. That is why we started training yesterday, much earlier than any other team. I am also happy because all the players reported for training and we also had new members who came for trials.

“We have our goals as a team that are independent of any provincial associations desires hence we are training even before a date for league commencement has been set,” he said.
Moyo also said he hoped the team would make the cut for the Zone Six Championships to be held towards the end of the year and the women’s national league that is supposed to begin this year.

“We are looking forward to the new season in which we hope to defend our title and even go further by qualifying for the Zone Six Championships.
“Again we are looking forward to being included in the national women’s volleyball league which is to be formed this season,” said the Level Two coaching certificate holder.

On another note, Raiders men’s team also started training yesterday as they prepare for the new season and they too are seeking to stamp their name in the volleyball circles and lift the Bulawayo league to great heights alongside Railstars.