Australian coach Adam Maskell has walked through the dark hole of South African volleyball for the past few weeks, but it didn’t take him long to see the light. He’s in the country on a two-year contract, courtesy of the sport’s international governing body, FIVB, to help develop the sport here.

As a code, volleyball has been mired in administrative controversy, and despite enjoying some impressive funding over the years — with revenue exceeding R45m in the past six years — there’s little to show. Since 2004 just four beach volleyball teams — two men’s and two women’s — have been to the Olympics, with only one outfit, 19 years ago, winning matches in Athens. There hasn’t been a senior national indoor team selected for more than a decade.

But Maskell — who recently completed two years in Vietnam, taking their women’s beach team from 390th in the world to 100th — has seen promise on his trip so far, in terms of resources and skills. “The talent that we have at the moment is, I would say, potential world class. We have three, four players, if given the right funding and environment to blossom, could potentially turn into world-class athletes,” he said, pointing out these players didn’t include veteran Leo Williams, the top player in Africa. “It’s not as if you have nothing.”

Maskell’s hoping to work out of the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre, which already has a beach court and all the support facilities needed within a 100m radius. “To have good resources is so important if you want to compete internationally,” he said.

The key to his plans is funding. Maskell’s immediate priority is working with Williams and other top players to try to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Then while that’s bubbling away there’s another tier where we’re looking for a group of 14-year-olds,” said Maskell, who will be courtside at the under-20 Brics Games in Durban from Wednesday to Saturday.

Playing frequent international competitions is vital. “If you’re expecting someone to train for six months and then you send them off for one international tournament, don’t expect them to give you their best result.”

Learning on tour was invaluable. He went through Australia’s youth and junior programmes, competing in countries and discovering the discomforts of traveling, from time zones to dodgy food. “We had dudes who [soiled] their pants playing, throwing up on the side of the court. You hated it when you were there, but you learned how to show up when you’re not feeling well.”

Maskell, whose partner and three-year-old daughter are still in Adelaide for the moment, would like to incorporate performance analysis software, a common resource for top teams.

While beach players need support to compete on world tours, the pathway for indoor players is different, with the goal being to secure contracts in professional leagues abroad. Maskell also wants to develop more coaches. “Ultimately what you want is me being here constantly building the program and the athletes and having the coaches going away with the teams.”

Now it’s about making the program happen. “I’m confident we have the pieces to get success if we’re given the chance.”