Vienna, Austria. The very first training camp under specific conditions set to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus ended earlier this week for the Austrian women’s national team. Moreover, the red-white-red players worked for the first time under the guidance of newly appointed head coach Jan De Brandt and did so for more than a month at the VIVA Sports Centre in Steinbrunn, with regular COVID-19 tests and strict hygiene measures in place.
“The first goal was to get to know each other, to create an atmosphere of trust. I taught the players how I work, how important honesty, mutual appreciation and helpfulness are to me. After all, we should all like to get together and enjoy training together,” explained De Brandt.
Since it was not possible to play any friendly matches this time because of the many restrictions still in place following the pandemic, work focussed on fitness and technique. The sports centre in Steinbrunn offered ideal conditions to achieve these goals. “I am convinced that we have made a big step forward – as a team, but also individually. I would like to thank the players and all coaches for their commitment. I am very happy with how we worked here. However, such a smooth process was only possible because the employees at the VIVA Sports Centre provided such excellent conditions for us. A big thank you for this, it was fantastic,” added the 61-year-old Belgian coach enthusiastically.
Team captain Sophie Wallner emphasised how necessary it was to come together despite the pandemic: “The new coaching team has brought us closer to what our game will look like in the future. After the lockdown and the long break, it was important to see the teammates again and to find back to our form. Initially, the focus was on ball control and basic techniques, only in the last two weeks we switched to tactics that we will be able to apply at the EuroVolley qualifiers.”
Next time, De Brandt will gather the national team players in the week before Christmas to prepare for the CEV EuroVolley 2021 qualifiers. Team Austria will play the first tournament in Greece (most likely from January 7 to 10) against the hosts as well as the national teams of Spain and Norway. In the return games a week later, the Austrians will enjoy the home-court advantage.
