Former coach Shin Young-cheol’s words, “Young Jun is a player who can play for the national team,” have become a reality.
The Korea Volleyball Association (KVA) on Saturday announced 16 players who will take part in a strengthening program in preparation for the 2024 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup. It is the first squad called by new head coach Isanaye Ramirez.
The 16-man roster includes a number of new names. Some players have not played a single match in the V-League, such as Lee Woo-jin of Vero Bali Monza and Choi Jun-hyuk of Inha University, while others are making their first appearance in the senior national team after strong performances last season, such as 토토사이트 순위 Shin Shin-jin and Han Tae-joon.
And there’s one more player who falls into the latter category. It’s libero Kim Young-joon. In his third year in the V-League, Kim stepped up to the plate as the backup to Oh Jae-sung, who struggled with a back injury, and recorded a 52.26% receiving efficiency in 31 games and 93 sets. After a career-high season, Kim was chosen by Ramirez to be the national libero alongside Park Kyung-min.
“After the season ended, I came down to my hometown of Okcheon,” Kim said in a phone interview with The Spike on the 26th. I did weight training and visited my alma mater to say hello to my teachers. I played volleyball with my juniors and traveled with my family.” He first introduced his latest news after the season ended.
Former coach Shin Young-cheol’s words, “Young Jun is a player who can play for the national team,” have become a reality.
The Korea Volleyball Association (KVA) on Saturday announced 16 players who will take part in a strengthening program in preparation for the 2024 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup. It is the first squad called by new head coach Isanaye Ramirez.
The 16-man roster includes a number of new names. Some players have not played a single match in the V-League, such as Lee Woo-jin of Vero Bali Monza and Choi Jun-hyuk of Inha University, while others are making their first appearance in the senior national team after strong performances last season, such as Shin Shin-jin and Han Tae-joon.
And there’s one more player who falls into the latter category. It’s libero Kim Young-joon. In his third year in the V-League, Kim stepped up to the plate as the backup to Oh Jae-sung, who struggled with a back injury, and recorded a 52.26% receiving efficiency in 31 games and 93 sets. After a career-high season, Kim was chosen by Ramirez to be the national libero alongside Park Kyung-min.
“After the season ended, I came down to my hometown of Okcheon,” Kim said in a phone interview with The Spike on the 26th. I did weight training and visited my alma mater to say hello to my teachers. I played volleyball with my juniors and traveled with my family.” He first introduced his latest news after the season ended.
One of the reasons why Kim had such a great season is because of his former coach, Shin Young-cheol. Shin always recognized his potential and even said that he could be selected for the national team in the future. “He was very passionate about coaching me. If there was something I wasn’t doing well, he would point it out carefully. It was very hard to correct my posture with him, but I think I started to perform well as I got used to it. He was my first professional coach, and it was a great honor to work with him,” he said, expressing his gratitude to Shin.
As Shin said, Kim now wears the Korean flag on his chest. “At first, I was a little embarrassed. I’m so grateful to be able to wear the flag on my chest. I’ve never been selected for the youth national team, so it’s my first time wearing it. It’s a lot of pressure, but I hope it’s a time to see and learn a lot of things for the rest of my volleyball life,” she said of her time with the national team.
It can be nerve-wracking to make your first national team, but fortunately, Kim will be traveling to Jincheon with three of his trusted Woori Card teammates – Lee Sang-hyun, Han Tae-joon, and Kim Ji-han. “We’ve always been together, so I think it will be a little easier. Especially me and (Han) Tae-joon, who are new to the national team, will be able to get a lot of help from the experienced players (Lee Sang-hyun and Kim Ji-han),” he said.
Woori Card’s new foreign coach, Mauricio Paes, will arrive in Korea in July after fulfilling the remaining schedule with the Iranian national team. For Kim, Ramirez will be the first foreign coach he has met. “It will be interesting to experience a foreign coach’s training methods and game management. It will be like a preview before I meet the head coach of the national team,” he said, expressing his excitement.
“As a member of the national team, if I am included in the final roster, I want to show that I can contribute to the team, and even if I can’t play, I will do my best to support and help my teammates from behind the scenes,” he concluded. After a career-high season in her third year and a national libero title, Kim’s meteoric rise will hopefully continue in Bahrain in June for the AVC Challenge Cup.