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10th December
Coach Pinder To Offer Volleyball Scholarships

Another avenue for scholarships is about to open up for the volleyball fraternity in the country.

In an exclusive interview with the Journal, Shane Pinder, the Bahamian, who is the Head Coach of the Liberty University Lady Flames, said he would like very much to tap into the talent base here in The Bahamas to fortify his programme at the Lynchburg, Virginia institution.

"What's going on down there? I would really like to connect with the programme there in The Bahamas. I could be able to get some really good players and bring them back here to Liberty," said Coach Pinder.

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Interesting...I didn't know he was from the Bahamas. Anyway, as volleyball programs continue to add international players to their roster, having a pipeline from the Bahamas would not be a bad idea. The Carribean as a whole has a lot of great volleyball talent.

The only problem is only 1 out of ever 10 Bahamian is not lazy! Ha...seriously though this could be very good in the future...it's crazy the amount of attention Liberty has gotten in the Bahamas, we're talking news paper interviews, TV interviews...they take sports very seriously down there, they just havent had that many things to be proud of...and I believe Coach Pinder is the second Bahamian to be a Division I coach and maybe the only to make the NCAA's....maybe this article gives those stats I need to read it

A little off topic, but don't a lot of runners at LU come from the Bahamas as well?

well its ok if 1 in 10 bahamian athletes is lazy b/c they're ALL gonna have to go to Pinder if they wanna play D-1. shoot, 1 in 100 is fine when you have 1000 athletes competing for 1 or 2 spots... its all a numbers game

There is a Bahamian named Frank Rutherford who brings the top athletes from the Bahamas to Houston to go to high school and then they get bigtime scholarships with Division I schools. But I digress ...

Here's an update from a Nassau fishwrap:

20th December
Another Big Honour For Bahamian Coach

The honours continue to pile up for National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I coaching standout Shane Pinder. In November, the Big South Conference named the Liberty University mentor as Volleyball Coach of the Year.

Then, on Tuesday, the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced its All-State awards and the native Bahamian garnered his second major accolade. The VaSID State Coach of the Year is a supreme achievement, putting Pinder on a great roll.

When talking with Pinder, one gets the clear understanding that, while thrilled with the recognition of his efforts, he is simply going with the flow, keeping focused but enjoying every moment of it.

"This is great. I'm blessed with a great group of athletes. I'm very happy to have been able to advance the volleyball programme here at Liberty," he said.

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And the Pinder love continues in Nassau:

1st December

NCAA Coach Pinder Bringing Recruitment Programme Home
Multiple honouree Head Coach Shane Pinder wants a heavier Bahamian influence on the campus of Liberty University. To be more precise, he wants his Lady Flames team to include a solid nucleus of Bahamian players.



his could be a great shot in the arm for Bahamian volleyball.
Not since the heyday of recruitment maestros Tom "Bird" Grant and Cynthia "Mother" Pratt has the local programme been offered such an opportunity for high-level volleyball assistance. During the 1970s and 1980s the Grant-Pratt connection was a recruitment dynasty that helped develop some of the better volleyball players in the history o the country.

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Sounds like Coach needs to schedule a preseason match in the Bahamas to me. We'll go watch them play.

Vadim wrote:Sounds like Coach needs to schedule a preseason match in the Bahamas to me. We'll go watch them play.

Want to pay for a plane ticket and hotel room for the reporter who has faithfully followed the team over the past 2 years?

If coach can't schedule a preseason game in the Bahamas, San Diego should be his next choice. That way all of you can fly out for a LU fans party at my house! Anybody game for this? If not San Diego, Oregon will do and we will invade Gymtalks house!

i could be down for that!

chopertony wrote:If coach can't schedule a preseason game in the Bahamas, San Diego should be his next choice. That way all of you can fly out for a LU fans party at my house! Anybody game for this? If not San Diego, Oregon will do and we will invade Gymtalks house!

Depending on funds and the fall tennis schedule, I could arrange a flight out there.