2010/2011 new things ahead…

Time for a small update here in the rather quite summertime..

The 2009/2010 season finished with double gold and I had actually for a while expected to re-sign with Fortuna, especially after that kind of ending to a season. However, a nice opportunity came up when the Swedish team Lindesberg contacted me with the offer of becoming their new headcoach. First of all the facilities in the club are amazing with a brand new gym, fitnesscenter, restaurant, full coaching staff around the team and a very ambitious board. Second of all they wanted to hire me to do nothing but coach volleyball which has been my goal for a really long time, so obviously it did not take me very long to decide that I wanted to go there.

Saying goodbye to Fortuna was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do… But the club supported my decision of going and they understood my reasons for wanting to try this thing out. The whole finish of the season and getting to say goodbye to everyone was all done in a bit of a hurry.. A couple of players left for travels right after the 5th final, and somehow it all just ended with a lot of emotions all over the place.
One more time I would like to send a HUGE thank you to the 2009/2010 Fortuna team, you were an amazing group of girls and we really did some amazing results.

I left to go work in the US early May and I am here until August. As soon as I get home I am leaving for Lindesberg and a season with a new group of girls and a new team to build. We are aiming for the stars without a doubt and a gold medal is our goal. The team had a – in many ways – rough season last year both on and off the court, and there will be a big task in rebuilding a culture in the club where athletes are feeling part of a family.
I am very excited for the coming season, but before all the work with the players start, we have to sign the players and that is always a full summers work. We are hiring 2 American outsides and the rest will be Swedish or Danish girls. So far it looks good but there are still a few steps to be taken before I will “go on vacation”… But it is an exciting process and fun to be a part of.

Recently I started working with an agency to help more players that loves the game and wants to play pro or semi-pro. My job will be to match players with teams in all of Europe to what will hopefully be a great experience for both parties. I have meet a lot of people in the US over the years I have been there, and it all just makes more sense that I end up helping players come from the US to Europe to play..

The Danish league 2010/2011

Lastly I hope to be able to follow the Danish league closely even though I will not be coaching there and that I will probably be busy with my own team and job most of the time. I think it looks to be an exciting year in Denmark. Last years silver medallists from Holte have added 2 starting players to their roster. Both of them with National team experience so there is no doubt that it will be a stronger team than last year. If you look to the other contenders for the gold, Fortuna has lost their entire starting 6 line-up from last year, including 3 players from team of the year AND 2 times league MVP Katherine Whitney who signed with a top team in France for next year(good luck Kat, I know you will do great). Also 5 year allstar Caley Carter Knudsen has decided to put her kneepads on the shelve and will start a life with her husband BT in the US.
Obviously Fortuna’s season will be depending on the new signings, but returned from a pro life as a Beach volleyball player, Stine Andreasen has decided to try a career as a setter and she will bring both experience and winner mentality to the team. Add to that 3-4 foreign signings and all the talents from the roster last year like Lise and Julie who both keeps getting better, I have no doubt that they will contend for the gold.. Time will tell if it is enough.!
Brøndby who finished 3rd last year will probably be the team most “experts” view as main contender for Holte. Brøndby has the leagues best setter in my opinion, and if their rightside Julie Guldager is back from injury she will be dominating as well.. However they have lost their libero, both their outsides and both middles from last years team. I think these players are possible to replace though. Brøndby have a solid talent factory of their own, and the club is also investing in at least 3 foreign players. If you look at the 3 players they signed last year I think they can do better for themselves with that money. One outside got hurt halfway through season and didn’t practice most of the time and the other outside ended up playing libero. The only really successful story would be their tall middle Jolene, but even Jolene struggled at the end of season. I hope for the competition that Brøndby find more luck in this years “draft” of foreigners, and if they do then they will be one of my favorits to go all the way.

The last team in top4 from last year would be Frederiksberg. They were a team that found themselves a bit in the middle of nowhere. They were better than 5 and down, but basically had no hopes of beating Holte in best of 5 matches in the semifinals. Headcoach William has aired a will to purchase a foreign player if he sees that as a breaking point in the teams goal to make the finals.. Most of the squad from last year will continue and a few new additions can prove to be just what they need to make top3.

Generally I think it will be very interesting to see how the best teams will do without a Katherine Whitney, Caley Carter or Pia Larsen. Players like that are hard to find in a small league like our, and I feel we have been blessed with their years playing for our top teams. Now it is time for new Danish girls to pick up the pace and time for the teams to strike the gold again when hiring their professional players. I personally see Holte as main favourites because the above mentioned 3 players are not in the league anymore, and unless other teams find a new game changing player it is hard to see how they can compete with Holte in this coming season. Holte is pretty much an equal with the Danish national team, so unless a few non Danish girls are ready to compete, the best of the best are in Holte..

That was all for now, enjoy your summer everyone and have fun on the beach tour.

Michael