The very first think you notice is the painted logo on the side of the wall on the cement courts outside.
It is run by a gentleman named Saad Mifdal, a lawyer during the day and at 4p every day, comes to open his gym. He has always had an interest in youth sports being a soccer player in his youth. In the early 2000's, he started a soccer club, then tennis, then back to soccer before he settled on and fell in love with volleyball. He gives time, money and the energy to making AMDS, despite its humble surroundings and facilities, one of the premiere training sites in all of Morocco.
Much like the Outrigger club in Hawaii who has accounted for 15 Olympians, AMDS accounts for roughly half the Moroccan National Teams, both men's and women's and several of the Junior National Teams. This despite working with athletes in the Derb Sultan area which is very poor, crime riddled and a place where cell phones are hidden even on the shortest of walks.
During a tour of the club, it was obvious why there was a HUGE difference between this club and the others that continue to be coached and trained by Moroccan coaches like it's still 1967.
First, the practices see the balls coming from over the net.
Second, even the players that are off to the side, not involved in practice, are playing pepper but with a setter and they are taking full controlled swings, not roll shots.
Third and most important, they have a "short court," roughly 15' by 30', 450 sq. ft. v. the normal 900 sq ft of a full volleyball half court.
During the tour, a bunch of the boys from the practice that just ended sprinted outside, grabbed the net and set up the short court. (The club is under some renovation and while it is normally up all the time, it has to be put up and taken down for the next month or so).
The small court rules are as follows: 2 v. 2. If there are players waiting, games are to 6. The third contact can NOT be a set over or a push over, full swings or cut shots are encouraged. If not, you lose the point. If your team doesn't get three touches, you lose the point.
As I was there, a men's National team player that played at AMDS strolled in and began to pepper with some of the younger players. About 20 minutes later, another libero playing on a professional team at the moment, grabbed a ball and began to work and pepper with a couple of other young players. A third Men's National team player came in a little after that. All are from around the area, all coming back "home" for a couple of hours.
The kids weren't being lectured, they weren't bored and they were all working with a ball, attacking, setting, digging.
Outdoor cement courts, one beach court, an indoor gym with a floor that should have been refinished 10 years ago, and yet National Team level players are flowing out of AMDS.
One such player, middle blocker Kabira Najim, begin her volleyball career at AMDS. "I joined this team at the late age of 16. It is a very wonderful experience and the head of the team is very wonderful and takes care of the children. I took training from him for two years after which I went to the Royal Army (club)." Kabira is now a professional player and is a regular on the Moroccan women's National Teams during competitions.
"What I like about the club is the team spirit and the way the President treats the children," Kabira adds. "It was not a team but it was a school that taught us how to play and the spirit of brotherhood."
"It was a successful start for me, with this team, and the confidence that I got. The culture of the team was that I could be better." She adds.
The day after the tour, the U14 team travelled 90 minutes to south to El Jadida for the Moroccan Girl's Club Championships. The U14 team, made up of 12 and 13 year olds, looked 16, taking big swings, big serves and playing solid defense.
AMDS won the Country wide Club Championship in straight sets against the home team, El Jadida.
It's not a secret. The 2 v 2 games that the young athletes start with gives them more and valuable touches in the training sessions, instilling habits they will use their entire careers. The drills are game like and link perception and action. Even off the court, the pepper includes a setter and big swings and digs.
Most of all, in this neighborhood, it is an escape, a release. It's an oasis of fun, adventure, exploration and competition for young boys and girls who must learn the ideas of team, brotherhood, culture and competitiveness in a less than optimal environment.
Kabira puts it succinctly. "It is a very special place."
No comments:
Post a Comment