World ParaVolley is set to run the highly anticipated Level 2 Coaching Pilot this weekend, marking an exciting step forward in the development of sitting volleyball coaching. The programme is designed to elevate the skills of experienced coaches to the international scene. Candidates started with Part A, an e-learning theoretical element, back in July and will come together for the Part B practical part this weekend at the World ParaVolley Development Centre in Hangzhou, China.
A total of 24 participants from 18 different countries have been selected from a pool of 35 applications, reflecting the global interest in advancing coaching standards across all ParaVolley Zones.
This pilot course builds on the success of the Level 1 coaching award, offering a more advanced curriculum to help coaches independently plan, deliver, and evaluate high-performance sitting volleyball activities.
This is an important milestone for World ParaVolley, as it seeks to strengthen the quality of coaching within the sport while providing coaches with the tools to make a lasting impact on their teams and regions.
Leading this pilot Part B practical are four highly experienced Coach Tutors:
- Fernando Guimarães (BRA) has made a big impact on Sitting Volleyball in Brazil as a leader and advocate. A former professional volleyball player in Brazil and abroad, he transitioned into coaching after 1998, working alongside his brother, José Roberto Guimarães, with high-performance teams. Combining his background as a physiotherapist, Fernando became a pioneer in Sitting Volleyball. He is the only coach to lead both men’s and women’s teams to podium finishes at the same World Championship, winning bronze and gold, respectively.
- Lorenzo Giacobbi (ITA) is an Italian volleyball and sitting volleyball coach and has participated with his team in all national and European club competitions. Graduated in Sport Sciences at the University of Urbino and with a master’s degree in Sports Management at the University of Florence, Lorenzo has been promoting Sitting Volleyball since 2014 and for seven years he has followed the School and Sitting Volley sectors for the Marche Regional Committee of the Italian Volleyball Federation. He is currently Head of “School Projects” for the Italian Paralympic Regional Committee. Lorenzo believes that teachers and coaches are the driving forces behind the promotion of Olympic and Paralympic Sport in schools and clubs.
- Robin de Haan (NED) – is an experienced Sitting Volleyball player, coach and mentor who works for the Dutch Volleyball federation as a project manager for the sport focusing on growing sitting volleyball through clinics and workshops. Robin is a trainer coach for a club team in the Dutch top tier and has grown up with Sitting Volleyball always around being the son of renowned international coach Jouke de Haan.
- Alireza Moameri (IRI) – who is supporting remotely – started his career as an analyst with Iranian men’s national sitting volleyball team back in 2007. With this team, he has participated in the Paralympic Games in Beijing, London, Rio and in the world championships in America, Holland and Poland where they were always among the top three teams in the world. For each he was doing the statistics with his own volleyball data analysis software.
The tutors’ combined experience offers participants an unparalleled opportunity to learn from some of the most influential figures in sitting volleyball.
The new course approach offers flexibility to coaches who wish to pursue Level 1 or Level 2 certifications in the future. From early 2025, coaches can apply at any time and complete the e-learning component, followed by practical training whenever a suitable course becomes available.
World ParaVolley encourages all aspiring coaches to take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their skills and contribute to the growth of sitting volleyball worldwide.
For more information on the Coaching Pathway and the Level 2 programme specifically, visit the dedicated pages on the World ParaVolley website:
