Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers, the youngest player in women’s volleyball, has launched a new challenge. After appointing foreign coaches, the team has appointed former national team middle blocker Jang So-yeon (50), who has little experience in leading the team, as its new coach. Coach Jang has promised to play volleyball faithfully in basic and communication.
In a telephone interview with Star News on the 25th, Coach Jang Chi-yeon said, “I think returning to the field is something that everyone aspires to. While working as a commentator for eight years, I also wanted to teach on the field. In the meantime, while talking with Pepper Savings Bank, I think the decision was made because there was a part that fits my heart,” adding, “Personally, being a commentator for eight years is a great asset for me. I will take responsibility for giving me this opportunity and work hard.”
Earlier, the Pepper Savings Bank Volleyball Team said, “We appointed Jang So-yeon, a veteran middle blocker and former professional volleyball commentator for the women’s national volleyball team, as the new coach.”
Coach Jang was a legend of the Korean women’s volleyball in the middle blocker position when he was active, and he was a volleyball player from 1993 to 2016 and played for most of the time as a member of the national women’s volleyball team. He has participated in various international competitions, including major competitions such as the Olympics and the World Championships, and has achieved remarkable results, making it a formidable figure in Korean women’s volleyball.
In the Korean league, he started playing for a business team in 1992 and continued to play in the professional league until 2016. With professional experience in winning the league, winning the best middle blocker, winning the league MVP, winning the blocking award, and winning the attack award, he served as a playing coach for his last team, the Korea Expressway Corporation. After his retirement in 2016, he has worked as a volleyball commentator for SBS Sports for eight seasons.
Pepper Savings Bank, which was founded in 2021 and marks its third season this year, was called a dark horse from the recruitment of veteran setter Lee Go-eun (29) last season to the appointment of foreign player Yasmin Bedardgani (28) this season and the recruitment of “FA’s biggest fish” and national outside heater Park Jung-ah (31).
However, due to lack of communication between the coach and the players, she was shaken from the inside due to controversy over bullying among some players. Eventually, she lost 23 consecutive games, breaking the record of consecutive losses in the women’s V-League. Naturally, she ranked last in the women’s V-League for three consecutive years with five wins and 31 losses (17 points) this year. There was also hope. She garnered her third win of the season in 105 days through reverse sweep at the Korea Expressway Corporation, which was the first game in the sixth round. After Joe Tringe’s dismissal, she garnered victories in the matches against Heungkuk Life Insurance and the Jeonggwanjang, impressing all of them.
How did he feel when he saw Pepper Savings Bank where hope and anxiety coexisted? “Actually, I don’t know from the outside. From a broader perspective, however, I think the players must have had a lot of stress on their performance and had difficulties outside of them as well. I thought it was necessary to stabilize them psychologically in that regard. I try to communicate with the players first by having a lot of conversations,” he said.
How can they communicate with them? “The most important thing in communicating with players is me as the coach. I have to lead by example. It may seem simple, but I, as a coach, try to work diligently with myself before the fixed time for training. If I show my sincere attitude, I believe that the players will follow along and the team atmosphere will change as well. I also want to talk in detail about difficulties,” he said.
Pepper Savings Bank has also paid attention to Jang’s move. Since appointing Kim Hyung-sil as its first head coach, Pepper Savings Bank has appointed foreign coaches such as Aachen Kim and Joe Tringe in succession, wanting to show off their new volleyball style. However, foreign coaches had a hard time controlling the Korean national team due to lack of basic communication and wanting to show off their own volleyball style without fitting the V-League.
Head of Pepper Savings Bank Kim Dong-eon said in a press release, “Coach Jang has a brilliant career and many years of experience as a women’s league commentator, so he has a high understanding of the women’s volleyball team and players. Based on strong leadership and management ability, we appointed him as a coach after careful consideration, judging that he is the right person with excellent communication skills to break through the situation of the club and unite the players into a one-team.”
Another Pepper Savings Bank official also said in a telephone interview right after the appointment of the coach, “Foreign coaches are bound to fail (in terms of communication) as well. They also had limitations in conveying the meaning. That’s why I thought of a domestic coach over a foreign coach,” adding, “Our team is a new team that brings together players from different teams.” As a result, we needed a coach who can communicate with us while keeping the mood in mind. Coach Jang is a legendary female volleyball player, and he is well aware of the pros and cons of our players based on his long-term experience as a commentator. During the interview, he also said, “It is important that we create a communication culture as a team. As there are many young players, we need to strengthen our basic skills and build a strong team.”
The most worrisome part is the experiences as a leader. Lee Yong-hee has overcome these shortcomings with the appointment of a senior coach. Lee, a former setter, has more than 10 years of leadership experience in Korean women’s professional teams. Starting as a coach at Korea Expressway Corporation in 2012, Lee served as a senior coach at GS Caltex for seven years from 2017.
Pepper Savings Bank will quickly complete the formation of a new coach team for the upcoming season, led by coach Jang and senior coach Lee, by April 7 when the team’s vacation ends. Through this, it plans to prepare a stable team return training program and prepare for the composition of new players such as FA, Asian quota and foreign player tryouts.
“When I took a step back and looked at Pepper Savings Bank, I believe there were significant difficulties in receiving the ball. Before the season, I was evaluated as a dark horse through the recruitment of proven Yasmeen and Park Jung-ah. However, I failed to maximize their offense capability, and I thought they had a lot of (unnerving) receptions.”
BY: 안전놀이터