A busier year has begun than any other year. From the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) to the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September and the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, there has been no idle ball game. The athletes are busy and the leaders are put to the test.
On the 16th, the women’s volleyball team unveiled a press conference and training site ahead of the ‘2023 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) VNL’ at Jincheon National Training Center in Chungbuk.
Korea was placed in Group 1 with Turkey, Thailand, Italy, Poland, USA, Serbia and Canada in the first week. In week 2, they were tied with Brazil, Croatia, USA, Japan, Germany, Thailand and Serbia, and in week 3, they were matched with USA, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, Dominican Republic and China.
Currently, coach Cesar Hernandez of the women’s national volleyball team joins directly from Turkiye without entering the country due to the league schedule of her team, Vakif Bank SK (Turkiye). In addition, Kim Yeon-kyung participated as an advisor and once again wore the Taegeuk mark. Han Yu-mi becomes the new coach of the national team and leads the team. As a key player, captain Park Jung-ah stepped forward and expressed her determination.
After conducting a standing interview for about 40 minutes, some of the stretching and training sites of the national team were revealed. The team, led by coach Han Yu-mi and advisor Kim Yeon-kyung, started with a light warm-up, and then began full-scale ball training.
The coaching staff, including Kim Yeon-kyung and Han Yu-mi, threw the ball themselves. Earlier in the stretching time, Kim Yeon-kyung wandered around among the players and looked at her physical condition and condition.
During the stretching session, there were intermittent laughter. The team atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. The player who appeared on the court relatively quickly before the interview was conducted was Lee Joo-ah. Not long after the interview began, the team gathered behind the reporters to practice.
In the women’s volleyball team, a generational change was inevitable as veteran players such as Kim Yeon-kyung, Yang Hyo-jin, and Kim Su-ji returned the Taegeuk mark after the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. As a result, a new team was built with young players whose average age was in their early 20s.
However, in addition to the lack of experience, Kim Yeon-kyung’s offensive power was not able to fill the gap, so last year’s VNL and World Championships suffered very hard. VNL won only 3 sets in 12 matches, and recorded 1 win and 4 losses in the world championship.
Accordingly, from this year, advisor Kim Yeon-kyung and coach Han Yu-mi were newly put in as firefighters. Along with Yumi Han, who is beginning her career as her coach, Yeonkyung Kim’s presence comes as a familiar reassurance to her players, even if they don’t directly participate in the game.
However, it is not easy to drastically raise the low grades. Until now, her performance has usually depended on one ace, and now there is no transcendent solver.
Coach Han Yu-mi said at the scene, “Personally, I want to win one win every week”, saying that they focused on growth rather than grades. In addition, Kim Yeon-kyung, who watched the scene, also said, “This time, there are many young players like last year.안전놀이터
In this process, leaders conveyed a common message. “Last year I had no experience, but this year I am better prepared than last year” and “Everyone already knows that I have to perform better than last year” came out.
Lee Young-taek, head coach of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, who had an individual interview with this magazine in early May, looked at the current women’s volleyball team from the position of leader and said, “Still, this year is probably better than last year. My friends also came in this time, and I don’t think there will be a total loss like last year.”
Director Cesar was not present at the scene in Jincheon, so he could not hear other opinions. However, at the New Year’s press conference held in February, he said, “It was good to be able to provide experience to young players.”
In common, the importance of ‘experience’ was mentioned. The Cesar coaching system was also the first last year, but not this year. After experiencing a lot of rapidly changing global volleyball and getting used to it, the strands were set to grow gradually.
Meanwhile, VNL matches will start on the 30th. Korea will play its first match two days later, on June 1. The first match (May 30-June 4) will be held in Turkiye, and the second match (June 13-18) will be held in Brazil. The last three weeks (June 27-July 2) will be held at Chilbo Gymnasium in Seosuwon, Korea.