Volleyball Empowerment project continues to help youth beach volleyball flourish in Lithuania

The Lithuania Volleyball Federation (LVF) has seen a marked improvement in the country’s girl’s national youth beach volleyball development programmes in the second year of a coach support project under the FIVB’s revolutionary Volleyball Empowerment programme.

Now in its second year, the coach support project has seen Head Coach Aigars Birzulis making an impact as he continues to establish a high-performance programme and effective talent development pathways for young athletes.

Overall, the FIVB has invested around 200,000 CHF to support the development of the sport in Lithuania, with a total of six projects – four coach support, one volleyball equipment and one knowledge transfer project – having been approved so far.

Approved in 2020 as a two-year project, with an additional two years approved in 2022, the LVF’s training programme in Siauliai Sports Gymnasium has enabled the girl’s national youth team to continually train at a high level with an elite international coach. The results of the project can already be seen with the players finishing on the podium in various Lithuanian championships.

FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° said:

“There is clear progress being made in Lithuania’s youth beach volleyball development efforts, and the FIVB is delighted to be supporting the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation on this journey through Volleyball Empowerment. Through our commitment to reinvesting the money that comes from the sport back into the sport, countries like Lithuania can really accelerate their efforts to build strong national teams and be competitive at international events long into the future.”

In addition, the athletes from Siauliai Sports Gymnasium have been able to gain invaluable experience by competing in a number of international and senior tournaments.

LVF President Darius Cerka said:

“Together with the Siauliai sports gymnasium, we are satisfied that our young athletes have the opportunity to train, grow and be led by the best specialist, who has a clear vision of how things should work, has the experience and knows what should be done for them to top podiums at international events.

“The project has been so successful, that the Siauliai city municipality and gymnasium director are exploring the possibility of making this project permanent to ensure a continual development pathway for Lithuanian beach volleyball. But for now, we are focusing on the 2023 season and on giving the players the opportunity to compete at even more competitions.”

Knowledge sharing is also a key focus of the project. Birzulis has been working closely with his coaching assistant Dainius Kucinskas to ensure a thorough understanding of his coaching methodology, and the LVF also plans to hold free sessions for other local coaches to learn from him.

Head Coach Aigars Birzulis commented:

“I see the changes this year. We are slowly moving towards our goals. The girls have grown in technique and physical preparation and are beginning to understand the game plans better. We have also changed the playing style and we are moving forward with my plan.

“Beach volleyball is not an easy game – it is full of very precise aspects and mechanisms. So we are working hard to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to reach their full potential. It is very important that both the players and the coach have all the necessary conditions for improvement, and I am very happy with the conditions we have in the Siauliai Sports Gymnasium.“