Ups and Downs in Thailand

At the beginning of April, Michel's next trip with the girls' national team was on the agenda. Two tour stops in Thailand and one in Vietnam are to be played in sequence before the reunion with Anni and the Vanuatu delegation in Darwin, Australia. And while the rest of the gang returns to Vanuatu, the top team and coach Bargmann will still have the Asian Championship in China.

The preparation for this 5-week trip once again included various challenges (nanny search for Miller, asthma attack in Tini, and little planning security) and emotional states for the coach.

The first World Tour tournament in Satun, Thailand quickly put everyone in a good mood. The techniques and tactics focused on in training were successfully applied, and the fighting skills were as reliable as ever. With two 2:1 wins in the group stage, the quarter-finals were secured. Especially the second game against Australia 1 was won at the highest level. It was nice to see the new consistency of the girls, who in the past had often been noticed for their extreme weaknesses. The strong serves, improved defensive play (position and timing), and even more control in the attack through better preparation led to less of a roller coaster. This leads especially to the young, athletic strong defensive player Tini being able to utilize her height at the net more often and properly slam a few more balls into the ground. In the quarterfinals, they faced a Russian team that they had already defeated narrowly in India. Here, the girls dominated in two sets and sent the Russians home without a chance. Fully motivated and in good shape, they then faced Colombia in the semifinals. The Colombian sisters had just won the first round of the South American Continental Cup and were in a good mood accordingly. It turned into an exciting exchange of blows, which in the third set, even confidently, led to Vanuatu's first appearance in the World Tour final. But the celebration was postponed, and the coach tried as best as possible to keep the whole excitement caused by the first medal at home in Vanuatu away from the girls. Of course, this only worked to a limited extent, and so one could already sense the pressure on the team due to congratulations from home and from around the world, as well as the live broadcast back home. The final against Taiwan also went to three sets, and both teams showed why they deserved to be in the final. The game was narrowly won by Taiwan, but at the awards ceremony, the girls were already smiling again and celebrating the silver medal. But there wasn't much time for relaxation and celebration...

Directly the next morning, they took a two-hour bus ride to Samila for the first AVC Tour event (Asia Tour) of the season. After an easy victory against Malaysia in the group stage, a tough match against Thailand 2 followed. It became clear that due to the long tournament in Satun, the last reserves were missing and the level of the previous week could not quite be reached. Thailand won 2:1 in front of their home crowd (instead of clapping, people just scream wildly).

Not to be forgotten in this whole story is that the girls have been sifting through the sand twice a day at over 30 degrees and very high humidity - this takes a toll on the Pacific girls.

In the round of 16, a strong Australian team awaited them again, and the scenario repeated itself. In the final phase of the match, the air was out, and Australia won 2:1 in a close match.

Ultimately, a drop in performance was to be expected after the intense and successful first week. However, in week two, the large cultural differences in motivation and communication became evident again, which pose a big challenge for the coach in game preparation and become even more important when the air is a bit out. In Samila, there was a decent farewell party, and the whole circus is moving on to Vietnam. New tournament, new luck!

While Michel is busy traveling through Asia, not much has happened in Vanuatu. The work is still going great, the belly is growing, and the planning for the next few months is underway. We have already started the search for a temporary sublet in Kiel.

The excitement for visitors from Kiel is growing, the travel bag for Darwin is ready, and now it's time for Easter on a little island very close to Efate.

Happy Easter :)