Last weekend, without much noise, it was announced that the Latvian men’s volleyball team would compete with Finland and Austria in the qualifying tournament for the European Championship. Last autumn, after a break of 26 years, the Latvian national team returned to the final tournament of the European Championship and the appetite grows by eating – again this time the goal will be to enter the final tournament. After the previous final tournament, the work of the team was completed by the Estonian specialist Avo Kēls, but now the Polish specialist Mihals Gogols has joined the national unit, who is expected to be baptized at the helm of our national unit in the summer. The Polish specialist emphasizes that there are difficult opponents in the qualification group, moreover, when playing in a group with three teams, you have to think about every detail.
“Our group is very demanding, I would like to say that we have one of the most difficult groups.
It will be a challenge and I am sure we have the quality to fight for a place in the finals. The teams are very equal and everyone will look for opportunities to move on. Finland on paper are favorites because we see their players and experience. Our team is young, we are hungry, which is our biggest strength, ”says the Polish specialist, while pointing out that it is important to maintain the rhythm of the game in a group of three teams. “We will have only four games in the group, there are no additional two games with the fourth team. We will have two games, but then there will be an empty stage until the next ones, so we have to fix it with some friendly matches, because we need the rhythm of the game. Even before the official games, a lot of test games have to be played. By that I mean at least three or four. We won’t have time to check if we’re ready for the tournament – we have to be ready right away, because every point and every set will be weighted. ”
The players of the opposing teams, whom Gogol knows personally and with whom he has worked in clubs, also predict that this will be a difficult group. “I was written by one of the Finnish builders, Eemi Tervaporti, with whom I have worked at the Szczecin Club, and he wrote – we have had an easy group. Of course, he thought sarcastically.
The Finns also believe that there will be a tough fight. “
The group’s favorites are the Finns, but the Latvian national team played against the Austrians in the 2018 European Silver League, when we won two victories (3: 1 and 3: 2). Although the Austrian team has not been among the strongest in recent years, they should certainly not be underestimated. “Austria has several interesting players, such as Alexander Berger, who played in Italy for a long time and is now in Poland. We spend much less time with players in the national team than in clubs – we meet in May, we have three weeks, which is very little and we have to find a game system. You need to understand what works best for your team. Of course, individual players and their talent are important, but at the national level it is even more important to find a system for everyone to play together and make the most of the team’s potential. ”
The Polish specialist also points out the psychological aspect and the fact that opponents must not be sorted out. “We know which games will be more important, but we can’t focus only on these opponents, because they have a better chance of winning. Each game must be played to its full potential and you will be rewarded for it. Let’s not sort the games – it’s easier for them, it’s harder for them. No, with full force in every game.
Players have to go on the field with the idea of victory. ”
One of the issues in the context of the Latvian national team was the full headquarters of the coaches. At a reconnaissance press conference in January, Gogol has not yet been able to name his coaching staff, but now the head coach of the national team is already much clearer who will help him with the team. “One of my assistants will be the local Latvian coach, but I can’t reveal his name yet, because the last contract negotiations are underway. I think it’s very valuable because he knows the players and is experienced. When we talked, I was very happy to hear it, because our volleyball philosophies coincide. Two Polish specialists will come with me. One of them will be a fitness coach, who has worked with Polish league clubs, has also been in top clubs in Russia, gaining huge experience over the years. I will have another coach with me as a statistician. He will help me and focus on research and analysis, which is his specialty. ”
The upcoming summer for the volleyball team will consist of two parts – first the European Gold League in June, and the qualifying for the European Championship in the second half of the summer. The new coach hopes to start the camp before the Golden League at the end of April to give the camp as many players as possible. Most likely, the most experienced volleyball players and long-time players of the national team will be given time to rest and adjust their health, in the first half of the camp they will be aware of the wider Latvian national team reserves and their capabilities.
“At the end of April, I want to start working with players who will already be available. I want to gather a wider range of players.
I want to meet them in person and see them in action, not just a video.
There will be some young players who will join the junior national team, because the competition is ahead of it. In the second half of May we plan to gather a Gold League team and we will play this tournament. After that I will give the players time to rest, it will be about two weeks, but we will start again in the beginning of July and then we have 5 weeks until the first game. This is the most important moment and you have to do your best. “
Although the head coach of the Latvian national team lives in Poland on a daily basis, he intensively follows the success of Latvian volleyball players in both local and foreign clubs. Gogol plans to attend the decisive matches of the Latvian championship in person, when the prizes of the Latvian championship will be distributed. “It was very interesting for me to watch Latvian clubs and saw several new, talented players who could be the future of the national team in a few years. Jēkabpils is a team that, in my opinion, works with the highest quality, executes nuances and finds solutions. They can really play very well. Also (RTU-Border Guard) Jurmala is a very interesting team, there are several interesting players to follow. All teams have their strengths, but I don’t want to praise anyone too much. In my opinion, Jēkabpils is very small, but there are favorites, because their performance seems a bit, a little better. ”
The Polish volleyball specialist also points to a lack of young Latvian volleyball players, namely physical fitness. “Don’t take it as a critique, it’s just an observation, but young Latvian volleyball players are skinny. They are fine with the technique, but they are very skinny. It was one of the first things I saw in the Baltic League. It takes athleticism and power to go a step further.
We have to be not only volleyball players but also athletes.
It’s not a critique, it’s something we can develop to make players grow. It takes time and something to sacrifice. You have to work in a weight room, but you may lose some speed and other parameters for a while, but it is temporary, after that you have grown up, a strong athlete. I was told that Latvia is a northern country and the human body is developing and growing a little slower here. I compare it to Polish players of the same age, I’m talking about volleyball players about 20 years old. Polish players look more physically than mature players. This is not about serving, passing, sinking, it is not about volleyball skills, but athletics, ”says Gogols, who is by no means the first coach with a similar assessment of the general physical fitness of young Latvian athletes. Last year, after the U-19 World Cup in basketball, Nikolajs Mazurs, the coach of the Latvian U-19 national team, was very harsh in his conclusions.
The Latvian men’s volleyball team will play its first official match under the new head coach Mihal Gogol in June, competing in the European Gold League with Belgium, the Czech Republic and Estonia, and in August the main summer tournament will follow, namely the European Championship qualification against Finland and Austria.
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