Unrest in the association, short preparation time and a debate about payment. Before the hot phase of the Olympic qualification, there is no lack of trouble spots in German volleyball.
The German volleyball players don’t want to accept the many side shows as excuses.
“The field is reserved for the next year and a half. There are no question marks in terms of sporting planning in any things that affect us.”says national team captain Lukas Kampa. “We don’t need to look anywhere worried.”
In this specific case, it is about the lack of a sports director at the German Volleyball Association (DVV) after the departure of Christian Dünnes in March. But about a year before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, many topics are buzzing about the men’s and women’s national teams.
The national teams have a particularly tight schedule: after the Nations League, which has just started, come the European Championships, for the women in the preliminary round a home European Championship, and then the Olympic qualifying tournaments from mid-September with difficult groups.
From May to the beginning of October, the players travel a lot with the national team. A deadline stress that some decide against: most recently captain Jennifer Janiska and Kimberly Drewniok. Both resigned from the national team before their 30th birthday.
“It’s an absolute loss that disappoints me, but we also have to accept the way they made their decisions.”says coach Vital Heynen, but also puts his finger in the wound. “We have to find a way that they want to continue playing after 30, that’s the big challenge. The top nations don’t play with players under 25, we only play with those under 25.”
Salary as an incentive?
The remuneration for the months of work could also play a role. “Every other country pays their national players a salary, only Germany doesn’t. Of course, there is a greater incentive to travel to international matches in the summer,” says Janiska’s successor Anna Pogany of the newspaper “nd.DerTag”. Even if she, like the men’s captain Kampa, emphasizes that the sporting appeal of the national team is in the foreground, the financial issue is an issue.
“This is an area where there is still potential, where the association and the German national team can develop.”says Kampa. For example, there is a bonus for the teams in the Nations League. “It is clear that there are certainly big differences in the world top in this area”says the 36-year-old.
Added to this is the long-standing unrest in the association. In addition to thin, there were numerous other departures. President René Hecht and Julia Frauendorf, who supports him and who is supposed to drive modernization as a board member, are also internally controversial, according to reports in “Volleyball Magazin”. The DVV also has problems organizing international matches in Germany after the insolvency of its event agency.
Frauendorf acknowledges this, but also says: “It is our stated goal to play international matches in Germany so that our national teams can be seen again in their own country.” At the moment we are relying on the support of clubs.
Concerns about volleyball association
In the Volleyball Bundesliga (VBL) one does not look at the association without concern. “Due to the developments in recent weeks, we are very concerned that the DVV association leadership will succeed in bringing calm back to the association, the state associations politically uniting and design majorities for the issues.”, says managing director Daniel Sattler of the dpa. The situation is also a pity for the league. VBL and association would have to solve the problems together in this matter.
Sporty, on the other hand, there is reason for hope. The German women won three out of four games in the first week of the Nations League despite a short preparation and collected important points for the world rankings, which offer a second chance for the Olympic qualification. Outside attacker Hanna Orthmann excelled in particular. “She is already a huge support for us and on the way to world class”says Pogany.
The men enter the tournament with confidence on June 7 against Brazil. “The conditions compared to last year are definitely different because most of them are there and have played a lot in the club season. The level is significantly higher,” says Kampa.