3. Angelo Lorenzetti: 'Study the game because it never stops teaching you something new.'

Hi Volleybrains readers,

My first memories of following Italian Serie A1 volleyball are the finals of the 2001-2002 season. Daytona Modena versus Sisley Treviso, one of the truly classic battles.

That finals race was won by Modena in 4 games. At Modena were playing legendary players like Andrea Giani, Lloy Ball, Roman Jakovlev and Luca Cantagalli. Treviso had Bas Van De Goor, Lorenzo Bernardi, Samuele Papi, Alessandro Fei and Alberto Cisolla.

Modena's coach at that time was Angelo Lorenzetti. Angelo is the current coach of Trentino Volley and he was very willing to answer our Volleybrains questions. You can find his answers below.

Enjoy.

Why and how many years ago did you decide to commit to being a professional volleyball coach? What pushed you towards that decision.

I was coaching in my hometown. These players were trained by me from a very young age. Eventually together we reached the second national series, the ‘serie A2’

While I was coaching them, I was also working in a bank. The idea to become a professional volleyball coach had never crossed my mind.

One day, while I was working in the office, Julio Velasco called me. He asked me if I was willing to bet on myself.

I could start out working for the youth national teams of the Italian Volleyball Federation. But I had to quit my job because both jobs weren’t compatible. I thought about it for an entire day and I decided to change my life.

Sports has always been my passion. A passion that my father passed on to me. Every weekend we would go to any sports competition that took place in our city.

What advice would you give yourself as a starting coach? An advice that is so clear and logic for you now, but that you had to develop over the years.

Dear Angelo, remember that the players are the main actors of the show. You are at their service. You have to help them to bring out the best in themselves.

Do you have a particular goal as a coach? Maybe a goal that you already reached or a goal that is so hard to reach that it gives you daily motivation?(and some healthy stress :-)) Can be personal on a team or club level, or all of those.

My goal as a coach is to be a happy coach. I am a happy coach when:

The relationships I have with my players are optimal.

I see and feel that we all got on the same train to reach the same destination

When, I understand that gym work makes sense. That the work and effort we are putting in every day helps the team to improve.

And of course, I'm a happy coach when we win!

The future of volleyball, how will the game evolve according to your opinion? Or what are you hoping for that the game will look like in a couple of decades? Will the speed of the game increase? Will the game become more technical?