Team Croatia, coach Ivaniševic look forward to #EuroVolleyU19W on home soil

Zagreb, Croatia. Saša Ivaniševic will be coaching the home team of Croatia in the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU19W due to take place in late August in Osijek and Zenica. Ivaniševic has a very impressive resume, with two national championship titles and two Croatian cups under his belt at the helm of Mladost ZAGREB. However, after spending four seasons with Mladost, earlier this summer he announced that he would move to the team of OK Olimpik from Vrapce.

In addition to his successful coaching career, the 36-year old from Rovinj is a physical education teacher at Zagreb’s Sports Gymnasium as well. Right now, he is working very intensively with the young players due to represent Croatia at #EuroVolleyU19W later this summer. 

“The conditions provided by the Croatian Volleyball Federation are really fantastic, allowing us to focus solely on training and our game,” he says from Osijek. “The girls train every day, giving their best, so I must admit that I am really delighted with their desire to work and learn. This is definitely the best working atmosphere I have had so far and I strongly believe that all this hard work will be rewarded in the end.” 

The camp in Osijek started on July 5 and this is where the group will be spending almost all of their time until the start of the competition. “Well, every day is almost the same for us; it consists of a lot of training, analysis and conversations. We have two trainings a day, along with daily meetings and video analysis,” he continues. 

“My coaching staff, Ivana Džamarija, Vladimir Jolic and Marin Marinovic, helps me a lot, actively participating in all of the training sessions, meetings and video analyses. Our athletic coach Emil Baltic is in charge of the fitness and physical condition, while physiotherapist Katarina Mikulic tirelessly treats and prepares our players for training, dealing with their recovery after each session. Our team manager Frane Žanic helps us in all our daily activities, successfully solving any problem off the court,” Ivaniševic recounts. 

?The full results of the Drawing of Lots for the Final Round of #EuroVolleyU19W

 Interviewed before the Drawing of Lots held on Thursday at the CEV headquarters in Luxembourg, he did not express any specific wishes as to the teams he would like to play in the pool phase of the tournament. “At the moment, we do not bother with the upcoming draw, because we are aware that of all the national teams, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are the lowest ranked one. However, when we find out the names of our opponents, we will prepare accordingly for each team. Our primary goal is to develop our own game and fight wholeheartedly for our country. I firmly believe that our girls will represent Croatia with dignity during the whole competition.” 

“You can expect from us a game full of fighting spirit and organisation in all segments, with the maximum commitment from each player on and off the court,” the coach continues. “We believe that with such an approach we can make up for any difference in individual quality between us and our opponents. The goal is to fight to the last point and to play every game with the same zeal and desire to win. We will go game by game, respecting every opponent, but with strong faith in our abilities!” 

Croatia will play Russia, Turkey, Germany, Bulgaria and France in Pool II in Osijek. 

Saša Ivaniševic will be coaching OK Olimpik in the 2020-2021 season after spending four years at the helm of Mladost Zagreb 

As far as his decision to switch club goes, Ivaniševic explains: “At the end of June, my two-year contract with Mladost expired, so after meeting with the club’s management I decided not to accept the terms offered, which resulted in a very fair and friendly break-up. After talking with the president of OK Olimpik, we agreed on a long-term cooperation. I spent extremely memorable and successful four seasons in Mladost, and I believe that equally beautiful moments await me in Olimpik.” 

“I have to admit that the team is still in the making, so our primary goal this season is to stay in the Superliga,” the coach continues. “We have kept a large part of the last year’s team and we are slowly filling the rest of the squad with some new players. Unfortunately, due to my obligations with the U19 national team, I will not be able to spend the first two weeks of the training camp with the new team, so we will use the first part of the season to implement a new concept of the game and ideas that I have for my players.”

Sources:
CEV – European Volleyball
HOS – Croatian Volleyball Federation