The Montenegrin U17 men’s national team has gathered in Bar and started preparations for the upcoming challenges, including the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU17M which they will be contesting on home soil later this summer. After completing their medical exams, the youngsters gathered yesterday at the Sidro hotel in Bar, where they will stay for their preparations for the 58th edition of the Belgrade Trophy, a tournament that will take place from April 29 to May 1 and will be their first test before the European Championship on home ground.
The team will stay in Bar until April 28, when they are scheduled to travel to Belgrade, where the U17 team will compete in the traditional May tournament, which will be followed by the Balkan Championship and the CEV U17 European Championship 2023 later on.
“We have started the second gathering of the U17 national team. I want to express my satisfaction with the large space we have been provided by the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro and the conditions which are above optimal. We have everything we need for quality work at this moment. I hope that through this planned work we will be able to prepare ourselves properly for what awaits us in the summer, the championship in Podgorica, where we will have to reach our top game and form”, Darko Prebiracevic, head coach of Montenegro U17 men’s national team.
“At that time, we will see where we stand, considering that in this team we have a lot of players who are younger than the optimal age. What is very important is that through this planned and designed work, I think we will introduce these young players to a system of work, and they will be an important factor in the future of all other national teams. We will be here in Bar for nine days, and then we will travel to Belgrade, where we will compete in the Belgrade Trophy, a May tournament, as we all call it, which is something that is well known and important for everyone, with many teams participating, so we will see where we are at this moment, what we could change, what we need to work on. I am very satisfied that we have been given this space to prepare ourselves and achieve optimal results in July when we will play the U17 European Championship at home,” he continues.
For the first time Montenegro will host the U17 European Championship, which will take place in Podgorica from July 19 to 30, 2023 with participation of 16 teams.