Poland Is Very Busy!

The guys are working hard to redeem themselves after a disastrous 2010 World Champs!

With a new coach and several new faces, the 2009 European Champion started training this past weekend to prepare for the international season which kicks off in a couple of weeks. The major competitions on their list are the 2011 World League (Poland will host the Final Round), 2011 European Championship and if they win it (or finish second) then they will travel to Japan for the 2011 World Cup – top 3 teams at the end of the round robin tourney will earn an 2012 Olympic berth.

Last Thursday in Warsaw, the players went to Spala for their first training camp. Later that night the players had an official dinner with the officials of the Polish Volley Federation, the coaching staff and some more members of the Training Department.

Gruszka and team train for 2 or 4 sessions plus another one in the gym every day.  Last Saturday, the players were divided into groups of six. Training started at 11 o’clock and was changed to 9:30am since Sunday.

The Polish Team will remain in Spala until May 14th before competing in a friendly match against Russia on May 20th in the Polish city of Milicz. They will also have an easy practice game versus the young boys of the local sports school in Spala called “Volleyball Aces” Gala.

Coach Anastasi knows how to make them WERQ! We like it!

Anastasi’s ethics have pleased the players like Michal Bakiewicz. “We have got a very positive impression from our coach and we have no doubts at all about his professionalism. He is a true expert, has great knowledge and additionally he is a very nice man” says Michal.

We totally agree. Coach Anastasi is like the Coach Rezende of Europe. He’s been there and done that! We were really shocked when the Italian Federation dissolved his contract after the 2010 World Champs wherein Italy finished 4th. Anyways, everyone has moved on and Anastasi for sure is very excited to develop a new breed of Polish players to become the one of the bests in the world.

Also, Coach Anastasi has chosen Piotr Gruszka as the team captain forever this season.

We wish Polska the best this season! Some of our favorite veterans like Swiderski and Winiarski might be missing on the team this season, we’re optimistic for everyone! We also hope Bartosk Kurek can finally lead his team. He needs to be a leader out there!

Side Dish: Coach Anastasi has updated his 2011 roster and here are the players who made the final cut: Zbigniew Bartman, Michal Bakiewicz, Fabian Drzyzga, Marcel Gromadowski, Piotr Gruszka, Piotr Hain, Krzysztof Ignaczak, Bartosz Janeczek, Jakub Jarosz, Karol Klos, Grzegorz Kosok, Michal Kubiak, Bartosz Kurek, Mateusz Mika, Marcin Mozdzonek, Piotr Nowakowski, Michal Ruciak, Pawel Woicki, Pawel Zatorski and Lukasz Zygadlo.

(images: CEV)