She makes a great leader!
In a recent interview released by the FIVB Heroes, the Dutch opposite opens up about her new role on the team as a breed of new and young players are introduced to the team for the ongoing FIVB Grand Prix.
With almost 400 national team matches under her belt, the very experienced Flier shares.
“I really feel good with the role I have right now. I’m more relaxed than before. As a youngster there is so much new stuff that comes your way and that can take a lot of energy. Right now I can lean on my experience. And it actually gives me energy to help the other girls when they need advice. We have a young team so to balance it out I think it’s a good thing to be there as a more experienced player. But most of the time I don’t really feel older. With this team it’s so easy to blend in.”
On their Grand Prix journey…
“We talk about goals as a group. It’s a tricky thing because we don’t really know where we stand right now. It has been some time since we played big FIVB tournaments. We have changed as a team compared to a couple of years ago, but then again other teams have too. The Grand Prix is a good way to see if we can compete with the top teams of the world. We already showed some high level volleyball during the first round in Macau. That gives us confidence. We have two more rounds to go. After that we’ll see if our performance is good enough to make it to the finals. It’s our ‘dream’ goal.”
The future…
“The European Championship will start kind of next door for us, in Halle, Germany. It would be great if the stands were to be coloured in orange (partly),” commented a smiling Manon, “We have a tough draw for the next round also. It will be really important to have the whole team ready and in shape. If we give it our best performance then we have a chance to make it far.”
The 29 year old also revealed her travels before rejoining the team this summer.
“Since I was 17 years old I’ve traveled with the national team and have been playing abroad. To be able to keep on playing at this level and enjoy the game I really needed some time off. I went on holiday with my boyfriend (beach player Reinder Nummerdor) for a month. After that I enjoyed some time off at home. It was a good change of pace. This meant I could start fully re-charged with national team. The team was already working together since May. So I had some catching up to do. Unfortunately I hurt my back at the end of June while I was doing some physical tests. That was a disappointing set back. Now I’m still working on that recovery.”
With these words, the FIVB Heroes picked the right volleyball heroine from The Netherlands!
We wish Manon and team the best!