Life... you never know where it takes you

Principles are made for a reason...

About 1 month ago I made a deal with Lindesberg about coming back next season and I settled to that idea pretty fast. The city, the club and the people around the team have all been super great all year and I liked the challenge of coming back trying to do better..

Little did I know that only 1 week later I had a meeting with the club again to talk about which players to bring back and which to change to bring the right squad for next season. After that meeting it was very clear that we could not agree at all and instead of trying to force anything through on either part, we decided to split ways without any drama or anything like that.

I want to send a huge thank you to Lindesberg Volleyball and the city of Lindesberg for the great year I have had there. We had a great season, made things happen for the club and the team which we set out to do. I will always be greatful for Lindesberg for contacting me and I believe we have started something which will take Lindesberg even further next year, and that is always fun to be a part of.


What now...

Parting ways with Lindesberg opens a door of options and let me say right now that I have not yet decided what to do with it all..
I have a dream of being part of changing Danish volleyball to something better than what it is today... To do that I need to be there or at least be the coach of Danish players, but I am not sure I fit in the traditional Danish "way of doing things"...

It is no secret that I am not great friends with many "important" people within the Danish National Team and the Danish Federation, mainly because I do things differently than what they have been doing the last 100years..:0/
I have be given the opportunity to help a relatively new team in the league in their efforts to make a name for themselves as a top team in Denmark.. Not just for potentially winning a gold medal, but for the way it will be won.

The club is Vordingborg VK and we share the same vision for Danish volleyball.. We want the quality to be spread out in more than one club, and to do so we need to make sure that more than one club offers the high quality of both physical, techniqual and tactical practice and environment which is a demand from the Danish players.
As part of figuring out where do coach next year I decided to "investigate" the market of Danish players joining Vordingborg with a serious project, good environment and the addition of high quality of foreigners, and to make it all really good the Danish players I talked to all were offered very nice contracts to join the team.. The result of the "investigation" was that inspite of a certain level of interest the step to actual make the move to a different club was too hard to take and as of now the season in Denmark looks to be a copy of the last 2 years.. The best Danish girls(nationalteam players) all play for the same team under whatever conditions they can get, two or three other teams then shop foreigners who by the end of the year will be strong enough to win the finals..

I am not sure that is what I want to be part of in my next years as a coach.. I had hoped to move some things in the league but for that to happen we need a few more teams that are attractive to the handful of Danish girls who wants elite and who has what it takes. The league is stronger year by year but it is because of the foreigners in the league.. The Danish girls are stacked up in one team only with each other to put pressure at practice.. All I hope for now is that some of them decides to take a chance on themselves.. Dare to get more than what you have now by investing just a little bit more.. take the step, make the move, see what else is out there because I guarantee that there is nolonger only 1 club and 1 coach working hard and dedicated.

I fully understand that players want what is best and the last many years that has only been possible in 1 place, but things are changing and the past 5 years several clubs and coaches have taken the next step.


When will we know..

I will make my decision on where to play within a few days and it will be a choice between France, Sweden or Denmark. I have a good feeling about a couple of teams right now and I am leaning towards Denmark for sure but nothing is certain at this point.

No matter where I end up I feel really good about what I have learned after this past season in Lindesberg, and I have a good feeling regarding winning more medals and gaining more experience as a coach, and agent and a person.


Michael