HORSHAM’S voice within Volleyball Victoria is set to get even louder next year when Matt Berry takes over the role of development coordinator with the state’s sporting association.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Berry said he was excited for the opportunity to do something different.
“It’s obviously something that is right up my alley,” he said.
His role within the association will see him work hard to roll out Spikezone, volleyball’s equivalent to Auskick, across the state.
“We also want to be building partnerships with primary and secondary schools to make sure volleyball is being played in schools so that there is always some sort of competition for kids to play in,” Berry said. “We are also working towards the appointment of a Western Development Officer which has been in the pipeline for about twelve months.”
Berry will join Scott Davidson, who took over the role of pathways coordinator during 2017.
Berry and Davidson have taken similar paths on their way to being employed by Volleyball Victoria.
“Our background has definitely helped us get to the positions we are now in,” Berry said. “We’ve both come through a successful volleyball program and we’ve both done sports management course at Ballarat Uni which have set us up well. The Wimmera Regional Sport Assembly is also funded by similar partners to Volleyball Victoria and both have similar objectives, it’s just that we’re now focused on one sport.”
The two positions were formerly one until Berry’s predecessor suggested the position be reviewed due to an ever-increasing workload.
It means the two will be working closely together once again.
Berry is leaving the sports assembly after five years and thanked the board for all of its support especially in terms of the partnerships formed to boost Access All Abilities sport in the Wimmera.
“Volleyball wants to get into more AAA areas that they haven’t quite got into yet so I’m excited by that as well,” he said.
Berry said there were plenty more exciting things to come for volleyball in 2018.
“If you didn’t think volleyball was around enough in 2017 it will be around twice as much in 2018,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of initiatives we are going to roll out and the Wimmera will certainly be a bit of a pilot area for us.”
