Saunders family hold court over volleyball skills

photo

Jason, Je'Vaughn, Je'Nae and Kim Saunders pose above from left to right.

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE'S a lot of debate over who is the most talented family when it comes to the sport of volleyball in the country. There's an even bigger argument in Gleniston Park Avenue where the Saunders family resides.

Pioneer in the sport Jason Saunders, his wife Kimley and children Je'Vaughn and Je'Nae Saunders say they have their own dispute constantly over who is the best in their household.

While Jason and Kimley are now retired, they are watching their children Je'Vaughn and Je'Nae continue the family tradition, having just returned from representing the country at the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) Championships in Parimaribo, Suriname.

Je'Vaughn Saunders was the member of the men's team that just got back this week after picking up the silver, losing to Suriname for the second time in the tournament during the final on Tuesday night.

Last month, Je'Nae Saunders played on the women's team that only managed to win one game to finish fourth in their version of the tournament.

Having started playing since 1974 with a number of teams including Beck's Tigers, Condors, Sky Unlimited Falcons, Kalik Intruders, Police Crime Stoppers, Commonwealth Furniture and the Defence Force Intruders, Jason said it's been an awesome experience watching his family play at the highest level in the sport on the national team.

"There were persons who thought I didn't want my children to participate in volleyball," Saunders pointed out. "They were swimmers first and they did a wonderful job there. They were some of the best swimmers in the region.

"So while there were some persons who felt that I didn't want them to play volleyball, little did they know that at home, a volleyball was always in their hand, so they were introduced to it at a very young age, particularly Je'Vaughn.

"What we did was to make sure that they got to work on their skills while they were inside," he said. "But since 1974 when I got started, I've watched just about every game they played here. I don't think I've missed any."

Jason Saunders said he got into coaching women's volleyball with the Central Gas Cougars, then the Panthers before they became the Defenders.

Both children got started in sports as outstanding members of the Bahamas Swimming Federation's national team. But neither Je'Vaughn or Je'Nae could pass up the opportunity to follow in their parents' footsteps.

"I was playing organised volleyball for 13 years, but I've been around volleyball all my life watching my mother and my father play," Je'Vaughn said. "I was in the gym since I was a toddler, so I've always been around the sport.

"I think I really got interested in playing the sport when I got to SAC and I tried out for the junior team and from there, that was it."

Having watched his father play a little more than his mother, Je'Vaughn said his father inspired him and taught him a lot about how the game should be played.

"He really inspired my decision to play the game," said Je'Vaughn, 28. "He also coached me on our club team, the Defenders (in the New Providence Volleyball Association)."

Today, Je'Vaughn is following in the footsteps of his father as a coach. After graduating from SAC in 2007, he went on to Lindenwood University where he finished in 2013. He has spent the past three years back at SAC as a coach of the junior boys' teams.

"I think it just goes to show that if you put in the work, you can achieve anything," he said. "There were a lot of successes and failures. I didn't automatically make the senior team. I was cut many times, but didn't give up. I guess the proof is in the pudding. The hard work paid off."

After playing right side when he first made the national team seven years ago, Je'Vaughn was converted to a setter three years ago so that he could "maximise" his talent as a volleyball player.

"I think we did an excellent job," said Je'Vaughn, about the Bahamas' latest showing in Colombia. "After a heartbreaking experience last year when we played last, to come back this year and to get a silver medal is a major achievement.

"Obviously, we would have liked to have won the gold, but we are very happy that we overcame a lot of obstacles to win the silver after last year's season."

Je'Nae Saunders, considered the quiet one at age 23, is employed at Deloitte & Touche, but was seconded to the Ministry of Transport. But she feels she has made her impact in the sport from when she started playing in grade nine at DSAC.

"I tried out for my first team and I liked it," Je'Nae stated. "From there, it was history. We always argued over who was the best and I think that competitive spirit around the house made me love the sport even more.

"Having the opportunity to represent the country and to go off to school also helped me to appreciate playing the sport even more."

As a 2012 graduate of SAC, Je'Nae went on to excel at Benedict College up until she completed her tenure in 2016. She's been on the national team ever since.

"I guess after I got to like the sport, I saw myself playing at a high level," she stated. "It was a pretty good decision because after I got injured in grade ten when I was swimming, I decided to switch full time to volleyball and it has helped me to get through college and travel with the national team."

This year's national team was a relatively young one and Je'Nae said one of the things that worked against them was the fact that they didn't get "the chemistry with the players and the chemistry with the coach together" in time.

"I think there are a lot of things that we need to change as a federation to get to where we need to go, but that will come in time," she pointed out.

As for the argument at home, Jason Saunders said that's not really the case. Instead, it's just a matter of each person stating their case on how they feel as they critique each other.

"Out of all of us, I'm the most athletic," he insisted. "There's no argument about that. The argument comes with who's the better setter. There's things that I was able to do as a setter that Je'Vaughn nor Je'Nae will ever be able to do.

"Obviously, there are things that Je'Vaughn does as a setter that I will never do and Je'Nae is a player who has some ways as a setter - I've never seen women put themselves in a position to set balls that I've seen her do."

What Jason Saunders, 56, feels separates him from his children is the fact that he was also known as a fierce defender, something that Je'Nae does a little more than Je'Vaughn.

Je'Nae Saunders said the argument normally starts with positions and as a "hitter," their mother was out of the equation, but there is no dispute with their father, who feels as if he's best all round.

Kimley, a 55-year-old banker at British Fidelity, is separated because she performed primarily as a spiker, so there is not as much debate as there is between the other three, who are all setters.

"The discipline is the key and that is something that I try to instill in them," stated Kimley, who played for Beck's Ravens and the Defenders for 15 years with five years on the national team. "Volleyball is a disciplined sport in that you only get out of it what you put into it.

"So the same level that I played in volleyball, Je'Nae is now playing as she represents the Bahamas. But I think she's a much better player than I was as a setter and her defence is better too. So I'm really proud of what she and Je'Vaughn have produced."

So the argument will continue to brew in the Saunders family.

"We talk about volleyball a lot as a family," Je'Vaughn stated. "After every practice, we have a discussion, after every volleyball game, we have a discussion. Sometimes we have random discussions, but volleyball is definitely a major part of our lives, a part of our daily routine."

The Saunders family at times makes some comparisons to the Rolle family where the husband-wife combo of Carl and Yvonne have both played at the national level and three of their children, Carl Jr, Krystel (Brown) and Sherise (Bain), all competed as well.

Then there's the Wilsons, including father Raymond, son Prince and daughter Tia, who played on the national team, as well as the mother-son duo of Margaret Albury and Byron Ferguson Jr, the first Bahamian professional volleyball player, and the Grand Bahamian father-son pair of Oriel and Renaldo Knowles.

They were others, including federation president Bishop Joseph Smith and past president Leslie 'Russia' Cartwright's families. But the Saunders family stands out as one that has seen every member excel at the international level.