With the CEV Coaches Convention just around the corner (16-18 September, Skopje, North Macedonia), participants are looking forward to meeting and learning from keynote speakers
John Kessel and Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai.

Warming up for the event where 160+ coaches and teachers will delve together into Volleyball development at grassroot levels, Mr. Kessel and Mr. Radchatagriengkai share some of their main insights on how to work with kids and why it is important to keep them inspired. Furthermore, why they got inspired to participate at the 2022 CEV Coaches Convention.

Being a keynote speaker at the event is a great opportunity for the two specialists, as they state.

“Volleyball was created in America, in 1895, but it was in Europe where the sport grew internationally. If you look at things historically, in Asia and in the USA, we kept on playing it and developing it, of course, but I think that CEV is the heart where the sport has evolved the most. The chance to work with those who see that, is priceless. The chance to share the things that the young John Kessel did that way, and now is doing it this way, is my way of saying: Do you understand why it changed? I appreciate that opportunity to find my mistakes and share them with others, so that they don’t have to do them,” Mr. Kessel shares.

“Where do I start with? I think that the Volleyball community is one big family, and we share our experiences. This includes me learning when I come to the event and meet the coaches, all of you. That’s all, ” Mr. Radchatagriengkai adds.

Both Kessel and Radchatagriengkai emphasise on the importance of working on grassroot levels.

“I want to develop the person. We must remember, as coaches, that the kids play the game, and the more they touch the ball, and I don’t touch the ball, the better they get. It’s about developing the person over the player, and the player over the skill itself ”, said John Kessel.

“We all enjoy matches on senior level. But where do these players come from? They were once kids. The coach is very important to help the top players of tomorrow grow and develop. And we are here because we do only one thing – we love Volleyball”, said  Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai.

However, the two of them agree that there are some challenges on the road to working with kids.

“The challenge of our sport is that low gravity makes a soft volley ball fall in the same speed for a kid as it does for an Olympian. Since we cannot hold on to the ball, the fact that we cannot stop it, it is incredibly important to play over the net more and to read what’s happening rather than reacting. That’s the biggest challenge of our game. You can’t stop and hold on to the ball, as you can in basketball, for example. And you make a lot of mistakes. The challenge is to help teachers and coaches understand how mistakes are a huge part of our game – whether they are 10-year-old boys or Olympians, they are going to make mistakes, and it is OK. As a teacher or a coach, the challenge is that we must have a lot of patience, to not get upset, but to understand that that’s part of the journey,” John Kessel says.

Mr. Kessel points out the difference between a technical mistake and a reading mistake.

“To understand the difference between a technical mistake and a reading mistake is quite the challenge. That’s huge for young coaches. Players at this age will misread the ball a lot, because they don’t have the experience yet. Some kids get better faster, their brain and in body sync more”, said John Kessel.

On the other hand, Mr. Radchatagriengkai shares more on dealing with mistakes

“A coach needs to learn how to accept the mistake – their mistake, and the one of the kid. The mistakes kids do in U12, U144, these are important, as they tell us a lot about the development of the player. Dealing with mistakes also means cooperating together. The coach must be a good leader, and to try always making it interesting for the player. When the kid is interested, they will enjoy the practice. They will make mistakes, but the coach has to give them more chances”, said Kiattingpong Radchatagriengkai.

A message to young coaches

Days before the kick-off of the CEV Coaches Convention, Kessel and Radchatagriengkai are looking forward to meeting the participants and have a special message to them:

What to expect from the 2022 edition of the CEV Coaches Convention? Find out here.

“I come from a small region in the east of France. I am a coach of youth players, U17. At the convention, learned many interesting things. It is so interesting and important to meet other youth coaches – you exchange knowledge on how to find new ways to engage with young players. And in my opinion, this is something very difficult, even more difficult than training older players, because with youngsters, you need to find new alternatives to inspire them and to keep their interest. At the Convention, I got to know different points of view. Now, I need to reflect on everything and when coming back to my country, to the gym, try making a difference. It will take a little bit of time “to translate” and implement everything. One thing that I will remember will be the fact how important it is for young players to have fun while they play”, said Samuel Boyé from France.

I come from Albania, from a small town. I am a coach of young girls. Besides this, I used to be a professional Volleyball player and right now, I am also a professor at the University. I was chosen from the Albanian Volleyball Federation to take part in this event. It is a good possibility to learn new things regarding how to train kids. I liked a lot the organisation, the host country, the theoretical session, the whole new experience of the practice session. I think that the most valuable thing for me was seeing how people with great experience do things. The best thing that I will bring with me, is part of the theoretical session about the characteristics of the coach, and that you have to be a kid when you coach the kids. I also got inspired by the creativity the coaches have. They think about practical things – such as finding materials, and create tools on their own and use them during training. You need to be creative, and you don’t need to only spend money. I will implement this in my work”, said  Gentiana from Albania.

“I was invited by the CEV to take part in a grassroot program; to learn how, we, as coaches, can develop youth and grassroot Volleyball in our country. Here, at the Coaches Convention, I liked a lot the networking possibilities, being able to exchange ideas with coaches from around the world.  We have learned from coaches who work with children, with young people for the last 30-40 years – and gathering this knowledge, this is of utmost importance to me, to my other fellow coaches. Even getting ideas from other specialists who have done things differently – that is a great help to me. Something that I would bring together with me to the Dominican Republic, and most probably, I will share with other coaches there – I realised during the practical sessions that you must allow children to be children. First of all, children always like having fun. As a senior coach myself, I have always worked with older people, in some more competitive environment. I train them to win. With children and young people, you help them to develop from early stage – technics, tactics, and just the love for Volleyball. If you don’t allow them to love this sport, you lose these players for the future. To me, if I am working with young people and children, I want to allow them to have fun and to love the game as they get older”, said Ericsson Leblanc from Dominica.

“I am from Armenia, and I am a Volleyball coach. Being here, at the Convention, is a great opportunity for me; I can learn more about the school programs. I will bring with me the knowledge of how important it is to create games between kids, games that they will enjoy while learning. Here, I got many new ideas, many new answers”, said Izabella Asmaryan from Armenia.