Joel Banks led the BR Volleys to the cup victory on Sunday. The end in the Champions League a few days earlier was a violent disappointment for the club. In the interview, the trainer talks about an emotional roller coaster and his future.
RBB | 24: Joel Banks, after a very tight final, she and your team are freshly baked volleyball cup winners. Why was the game against Düren so surprisingly tight?
Banks: First of all, I have to praise my team: We showed great resilience on Sunday. Düren has how expects an outstanding game made. We knew that they would be very well prepared for the game – they had a lot of time for it. Your trainer Christoph Each is a clever guy. They took high risk in the impact game and put us under pressure from the start. Düren has all the means and great potential to play in the Bundesliga. Your current place in the table [Rang 6, Anm.d.Red] Do not reflect their quality. On Sunday they wanted to take their chance, thrown everything they have and we saw high quality sentences.
RBB | 24: It was a big victory after they had left the Champions League unhappily a few days earlier – almost a emotional railway. How do you manage to keep your team physically, but also mentally, in this phase of the season?
Banks: From the Champions League to flywas very painful. We have very high expectations of ourselves in the club and were not satisfied. Two defeats against Lüneburg were a hard blow. However, we were able to convert this disappointment into fuel for the next game. We worked with the whole team of coach and medical team on the physical regeneration of the team. Sleep and many conversations are particularly important for the psyche. We were honest with ourselves and agreed that we missed our goal in the Champions League, but wanted to make a quick reparation in the cup. We succeeded in fantastic manner.
RBB | 24: In the Bundesliga there are now two main round games before the playoffs begin. What are the goals for the rest of the season?
Banks: We want to become masters. We have this claim, even if it is difficult every season. Every team tries to grow against us. They do not do any things, but throw everything in. Lately a few tactics have worked against us and we have to learn from it. We are now enjoying our cup victory, but from Tuesday the look will go ahead and we will prepare for the next game as best as possible. Of course we also want to win the last two main round games, but the focus is already on the playoffs.
RBB | 24: Can it even be an advantage for you that you are only represented in a competition and can concentrate completely on the league?
Banks: No. The Champions League is very important for our team and the club, so you can’t say that it is possible. Of course we will use the additional time of Productive, but we lack two games against a very high -class opponent. We miss the experience and the pressure that such games create.
RBB | 24: Let’s talk about your person: You start a new commitment as a coach of the Dutch national team in summer. What does she get about the job?
Banks: Before my time at the BR Volleys, I was a coach of the Finnish national team for five years. I had a lot of fun. Last summer I had free and time for my family – that was fantastic. Then the tingling came back, I wanted to work again in international volleyball. The job in the Netherlands is now special for me because I started my career there in 2010. In addition, my wife’s family comes from Holland. So this is a special challenge for two reasons. But I also love my job at the BR Volleys – it is a big privilege. Kaweh Niroomand [Manager der BR Volleys, Anm. d. Red.] Supported me very much to combine both jobs. We believe that the club can also benefit from it.
RBB | 24: This sounds after an extension of their contract with the volley and parallel offices in Berlin and the Netherlands.
Banks: Kaweh and I have had good conversations in the past few months. Training a national team again was always part of my plan. So you can expect news soon.
Thank you for the conversation.
The interview was conducted by Jonas Bürgener, RBB Sport
