SHAYNE FAIRMAN, STAR Writer

Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) development manager Major Warrenton Dixon has lauded the fighting spirit of the country's beach volleyball teams to overcome Caribbean challengers, while noting, successful qualification to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hinges on tactical/technical awareness and consistency.

Dixon is looking ahead with caution, following both male and female teams' passage to the second round of qualifiers of the NORCECA Continental Cup.

The women won in Jamaica, while the men finished runners-up behind host Trinidad and Tobago.

"I am happy with the wins, this is an Olympic qualifying tournament and we don't want to only win games against other Caribbean teams but we have to prepare for (Olympic) qualification and mean serious business," Dixon noted.

"We plan to qualify and go there (Rio) and be recognised. We just have to be hungry, and have the desire," he told STAR Sports.

"(JaVA) still have limitations financially as we are without a sponsor. Not having one affects technical and tactical development of the team," the manager underlined.

"Our players don't think, play together or live together on a continuous basis so it affects their game tactically," he added.

Dixon noted that JaVA plans to approach the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) for support with development and training.

"We want to get professional help, our players need to be able to perform under pressure," he underscored, while noting that the men's team who lost to Caribbean neighbours Trinidad and Tobago did so courtesy of some degree of "errors and mental lapses"