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One of the teams to look forward to in the Prime Volleyball League is Hyderabad Black Hawks. The team had some big names in Carson Clark and Alex Bader in their ranks in the earlier seasons. The Hyderabad Black Hawks now have ambitious plans for the future.
Abhishek Reddy, the franchise owner of Hyderabad Black Hawks, was bullish on having a team with players from the grassroots from the hinterlands of the state. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Abhishek Reddy said the team will look to thrive on having local players as their heroes.
“I can definitely tell you about our involvement in the local players. Now that we are a little more involved in the league, we get to see the benefit of how it affects the volleyball players. It is imperative that we have somebody who is not at a national level and we pick an upcoming star from the local zonal level and we'll have to do a scouting. The excitement always goes to the grassroots. We have a player picked up from the grassroots, he will be a hero in this entire thing.”
Focus on volleyball from the hinterlands
Abhishek Reddy said the Hyderabad Black Hawks franchise would work on setting up academies and creating a feeder system for volleyball in the coming years. The franchise owner explained:
“I think the leagues do not work without academies. I think initially, maybe not in season one or two, but what we want to do is leverage the brand to open up academies and leverage our proximity to the coaches to convince them to come and make a difference here. Once you have a passion for the game, you better be all the way through it. It's more of how does it affect the rural and also the economic situation of the players as well.”
Read: Prime Volleyball League might be played in Kerala only, player auction in December: Joy Bhattacharya
The franchise owner believes that a healthy mix of foreign and local players will help volleyball grow and also be beneficial for Hyderabad Black Hawks in the league. He heaped praise on how Carson Clark made a difference in the team and how players were enriched with conversations from some of the best volleyball players.
“It was amazing to see legends play up close. It gave the players an opportunity. The fact that they get to play up close, they get to learn something (from foreign players) and in turn, it's a huge opportunity for the league. So, this year is going to be the same thing. We are going to rely on a lot of foreign players,” he said.
The Prime Volleyball League player auction will take place in December this year. The league will be broadcast on Sony Sports Network in the country.
