20th dec – bydgoszcz
After the great relief of breaking our losing streak, followed by the easy win and pleasant time in the middle of the atlantic ocean we were supremely, or at least quietly, confident of finishing the year with a win in Bydgoszcz. Bydgoszcz were bottom of the league and had just changed their coach. We knew of course that teams that change coaches often have at least a short term burst of energy and optimism and can be dangerous at that moment. But we beat them easily earlier in the season and now we were in form and confident so nothing could go wrong. In the first two sets nothing did. Essentially we put the ball in play and let them lose, which they were kind enough to do. But then the opposing coach made the decisive move. He brought on a young player to replace an old player. The young player didn’t understand that everyone was supposed to just quietly play out the game, let the good team will win, let the bad team will lose and let everyone go on holidays. He actually trying to win. Unfortunately after the travel that we had gone through the previous couple of days we had no response. For the last three sets we kind of kept with them for a while in each, but just had no energy. It was excruciating and seemed to go on forever, although in reality it was really only about an hour and a half before it mercifully ended. The good news was that as a final Christmas present, the point we won for the first two sets was enough to actually move us up to fourth in the league. And of course the crisis was over. Probably.
Some photos here.
3rd jan – radom
We returned from our 8 free days remarkably full of energy and happy to be back, the loss in bydgoszcz seemingly forgotten. Even the prospect of training on new years eve AND new years day didn’t affect the mood and we had some of the best sessions we have had this season. So when the other bottom team ventured to our gym, also dragging along a new coach, we were definitely not perturbed. And this time, it worked out the way it was supposed to. The new coach ‘miraculous turnaround’ that we had experienced in Bydgoszcz was apparently a local phenomenon. This guy certainly tried everything, but he had no chance. With the extra energy that can only be brought by a few days break from training, and each other, we dominated the match from the beginning. It was the easiest 3 points we have won this season and was a wonderful relaxing evening in the gym. Why can’t they all be like this?
Some photos are here.
7th jan – polish cup
Due to our streak of losses before Christmas, we finished the first half of the season in fifth place. In some leagues, ours included, that actually has a practical outcome. And the practical outcome is to do with the Cup. The ‘Cup’ in volleyball isn’t quite like the ‘Cup’ in football other than it is a knockout tournament. Every country has a different format, often radically different. In Italy for example, only the first 8 placed teams after the first round play in the ‘Cup’. In Poland, the ‘Cup’ is a long tournament with many rounds beginning at regional levels, with the top division teams joining in at either the last 16 stage or last 8 stage. And by not being in the top 4 after the first round, we got to join in at the last 16, giving us two extra matches on top of our European Cup commitments, giving us two matches a week for all of January.
Clubs get nervous about the extra games because by this time of the season they are not as optimistic as the beginning and an extra round of games is an extra obstacle in the fulfilment of the season’s objectives. Coaches hate the extra games because they stuff up the schedule and reduce the training possibilities. Players on the other hand, quite like the extra games because if they are playing they are not training. It might surprise you to realise that coaches always want to train more and players always want to train less. That is the eternal struggle. But I digress…
We were drawn with a team from Bielsko Biala, a city not far from us and the top team in 2nd league. The format is like European Cup in that it is played over two legs, home and away and we played the first leg at home. The only thing I can say about this match is that if you got through the preamble and description of how the ‘Cup’ works, you probably had about as much enjoyment as the few of our most rabid fans who actually came to the match. And just as you ploughed on hoping for a punchline of some kind as payoff for your efforts, they ventured out in the snow to see a victory, any victory. They got theirs…
By the way, our 3-0 victory all but guarantees us a place in the next round. All but…
Some photos are here.
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