Woori Card and Coach Park Cheol-woo's encouraging volleyball style is different from that of Korea after seven years of off-season training…I hope it helped you gain confidence
Oct 01, 2025
|
|
Woori Card, which failed to advance to the postseason in six seasons by ranking fourth in the regular league last season, planned off-season training for the first time in seven years to make another leap in the 2025-2026 season. Coach Park Chul-woo and Lee Kang-won, who have joined the club as leaders since this season, led by Woori Card coach Mauricio Paes, checked the team's performance by attempting various tactics during this training camp.
In addition, this off-season training was meaningful in that it was the first practical training after joining the players who had been away for a while. Outside heaters Kim Ji-han and setter Han Tae-joon, who were away for a long time to participate in the 2025 World Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Men's Volleyball Championship, and new foreign player Farggs Araujo worked together for the first time through this training camp. However, Woori Card and the Japanese team decided not to win or lose under mutual agreement in the practice game held at this training camp.
First, Woori Card's team faced J-Tect Stings, a strong Japanese men's volleyball team, twice on the 26th and 28th of last month. J-Tekt is a powerful team that finished the regular season of Japan's SV League in fourth place in the 2024-2025 season and advanced to the championship game through the playoffs to finish second. He has world-class players such as Tori Defalco and Stefan Boye. In this practice game, Woori Card also struggled somewhat due to their strong serve, but tried to continue the tight flow to the end. Woori Card, which made up elite members such as Kim Ji-han, Han Tae-joon and Araujo, Lee Sang-hyun, Oh Jae-sung, and Kim Hyung-geun early in the game on the 28th, carried out well-organized tactics even though it was their first actual breathing. Lee Si-mon, Kim Dong-young and Cho Keun-ho, who have been wearing Woori Card uniforms since this season, also helped the team's rise by blocking opponent's attacks in the fourth set.
After the game, coach Paes said "The opponent's power was too strong. The players struggled as strong attacks continued to come in"I must have felt a lot while looking at their power and skills" he said, looking back on the training results. Araujo, who worked with Han Tae-joon for the first time, also said "We need to match the details such as the speed of the toss and the position of the ball." But it's already pretty good, and I'm hoping it'll get better in the future," he said with satisfaction.
Woori Card's team, which moved to Osaka the next day, conducted its own training twice and then played a practice match with Sakai Blazer. In the game against J-Tect, if he had experience responding to the opponent's strong attack, he tried various tactics that Woori Card envisioned in the match against Sakai. In the first round of the practice game on the 30th, the referee's judgment served as a big variable.
Starting with Araujo, Woori Card, which had a starting lineup of Han Tae-joon, Kim Young-joon, Kim Ji-han, Han Sung-jung, and Park Joon-hyuk, gave up the lead with a dubious decision at the beginning of the first set. Park Joon-hyuk, Araujo, and Kim Ji-han also made consecutive serve mistakes, shaking greatly. However, Woori Card raised the mood as Lee Yoo-bin's spike serve and Arauzo's quick open, which were put in as a one-point server at the end of the set, were inserted into the opponent's court. In the second and fourth sets that followed, Kim Hyung-geun, Lee Sang-hyun, Lee Si-mon, and Kim Dong-young continued their even performances. Setter Han Tae-joon played in all directions from serve to toss and blocking.
After the game, coach Paes also could have easily taken the atmosphere without our players' mistakes or two dubious referee decisions in the first set. But the players overcame it with their will"I'm satisfied that he showed his will to win with his performance."
In the second practice game against Sakai held on the morning of the 1st, the last day of the off-season training, the candidate players had time to work together. Araujo, Kim Ji-han, and Lee Sang-hyun played only one set and rested. Setter Han Tae-joon also cheered off the court throughout the game. On this day, Lee Si-mon received the opponent's strong serve and then actively participated in blocking and attack to play the role of a housekeeper, while Kim Dong-young, Oh Jae-sung, and Kim Hyung-geun also played an active part in offense and defense. Lee Yoo-bin, Seo Won-jin, and Park Joon-hyuk also stepped on the court in the second half of the game and contributed to the team's consecutive points in the second half of the fourth set.
After completing all the training sessions, Paes said, "It was a great experience to learn a lot of things by competing with high-quality players"There were a lot of good things, but I felt a lot of things to improve, so I will go back to Korea and prepare better."," he said. Coach Park Chul-woo also said, `I think our players experienced different Japanese volleyball styles from Korea, and were able to develop adaptability and response to the play that fits the situation.' Coach Park then encouraged the players, saying, `I hope it was a time for the players to gain confidence based on their experience in playing with world-class foreign players.'
Lee Seung-won, captain of Woori Card, said, `All the players felt strong and strong after a week of comings and goings together, and I felt strong as a team"I think I'm ready to go up high in the upcoming season," he said. Setter Han Tae-joon, who joined the team's training for the first time in a long time, also said, `I couldn't go to spring volleyball last season, but I want to play volleyball for a long time this year. I want to laugh together, not alone." Lee Sang-hyun, who devoted himself to rehabilitation for a month due to knee and back injuries, also said, `Currently, my condition is 100%. I don't think the power is inferior to any other team right now. The team atmosphere is so good because the members pulled it well. I want to make a season where I don't have any regrets"I made up my mind.
Woori Card's team, which will return to Korea on the afternoon of the 1st, will be complete with the addition of Asian quarter player Ali Hagparast. Woori Card is scheduled to enter the new season through the opening V-League match of the 2025-2026 season against KEPCO at Suwon Gymnasium on the 20th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
