This man is a VOLLEYBALL LEGEND!
First of all, we’d like to congratulate Coach Karpol on the recent award given to him by the CEV.
By far the most decorated Volleyball coach of all times, Nikolay Karpol was the real guest of honour at the annual European Volleyball Gala co-hosted by CEV and the Austrian Volleyball Federation in Vienna. On June 27 Karpol also stepped onto the imperial stage set up at the Hofburg Palace to receive a Lifetime Award for his contribution to the development of women’s Volleyball, a prize that was presented to him by CEV President André Meyer (see picture).
“This award is for me a confirmation of the good work I have done and that my philosophy and approach were correct,” Karpol says. “Since the very beginning of my career I have always tried to develop local players from a very young age, and step by step to improve their skills so as to create a high-level and competitive team. The heart and real core of coaching is raising a player. It feels great to see that this coaching approach has been now recognised and acknowledged at the highest level.”
Karpol’s journey in Volleyball started many decades ago and for some time he embodied the quintessence and principles of the Soviet school, known for its discipline and the emphasis put on hard work. A tradition that still stands nowadays, more than 20 years after the break-up of the Soviet Union: “The legacy of the Soviet system is being kept especially when it comes to the development of technical abilities and the methodology we follow in the preparation of our athletes,” Karpol reckons. “However, the status and the significance that coaches had in Soviet times have been lost.”
Karpol has seen Volleyball undergo a major transformational journey, moving from the ranks of amateur to a fully professional sport. “I see that the essence of Volleyball has changed and this stems from the introduction of rules that have shifted the balance between attack and defence. This comes primarily from the introduction of the rally point system. On the other hand, these changes have definitely had a positive impact on the commercial appeal of our game.”
Karpol still sees room for improvement: “There is always room for improvement; the development of amateur Volleyball shall bring its effects in the long term. The greatest example in this sense is provided by the USA: though they have no professional league, their national teams stand on top of the world ranking, and these results come from amateurism. If we involve more and more people in mass Volleyball, if we spread our sport to all schools and colleges, this will lay the foundations not only for outstanding results at the highest levels, but also stimulate our nations to adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
Volleyball is a combination of physical and technical abilities, but which ones do prevail? “One goes hand in hand with the others. Technical skills are essential for a top player, but without a solid physical preparation, he or she won’t go anywhere. To create the right mix we work a lot on speed and agility, these are the skills that need to be trained and developed.”
After so many years and so much success, where does the motivation to continue come from? “The motivation stems from the nature of this profession. I started as a teacher and I still see myself more as a teacher than a coach. Teachers embark on a never-ending process whereby they try to fulfil the long-term goal of making their students better and stronger. A teacher wants to help his students develop a strong personality, he wants to push them to their limits, and that is what, after so many years, I still do with my players.” One of his students is grandson Mikhail, who starting from the next season will be his assistant at Uralochka. This way, along with his glorious grandfather, Mikhail may trigger the start of another “Karpol era”…
The CEV has been putting great emphasis on fair play as one of the distinctive features of Volleyball. Karpol agrees with that approach and policy: “Fair play is the most important and peculiar feature of Volleyball and, at the same time, the cornerstone of any sport. As I see young pupils sticking to these values, well, this is what still makes my job so rewarding. I would like to thank CEV for their efforts in emphasising and promoting these positive values.”
It has been already more than 45 years since Karpol started coaching female players, and the journey has not come to an end yet. Though he has worked with some of the greatest Volleyball players in history, he does not want to single out anyone who may be his best student ever: “Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible talents and players. I was able to help some of them make it to the top, while some others did not reach excellence. However, notwithstanding the different outcome of our work together, it has been a pleasure to work with all of them.”
And the story will now continue, as the 76-year old Karpol is already preparing for the next season at the helm of Uralochka…
Click here for a comprehensive gallery of the European Volleyball Gala
