Kaduna State will play host to a week-long volleyball coaches training programme aimed at imparting the new rules and regulations of the game on the coaches and umpires ahead of the National Sports Festival billed for Calabar, Cross River State.

The training, which is expected to commence on Monday under the National Sports Commission (NSC) North West Zone, will see two participants from each of the seven states under the zone, namely; Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa and Kaduna.

According to the NSC North West Zone Head of Human resources Management and Finance, Mr. Ogunleye Kayode, the coaching clinic will prepare the coaches for local, national and international competitions.

He told the new executive members of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Sports Writers Association (SWAN) on Thursday in Kaduna: “Arrangements have been concluded for the training of volleyball coaches from within the zone and the environs in a weeklong training programme in Kaduna. Resource persons are drawn from lecturers from Nigerian universities.

“We are expecting more minimum of two coaches from each of the seven states within the zone, but there are states that are ready to sponsor more than two coaches and there are states from outside the zone that have indicated interest in the training.

“The essence of the training is we realise that there are new rules and regulations that some of the coaches and technical officers are unaware of, so to enable them train and prepare their teams adequately and officiate properly during the coming National Sports Festival, coaches need to be acquainted with all the information and the new rules and regulations.”

The 19th National Sports Festival has been scheduled for next month in Calabar, Cross River state.

•Photo shows a volleyball game at the Eko 2012 National Sports Festival held in Lagos.