“If you don’t want to be a frog in the well, keep questioning yourself and studying.”
OK Financial Group brought in Ogino Massage, one of Japan’s volleyball legends, as the third coach on the 1st. The era of Ogino, who made a name for himself as an outside hitter for the Japanese national team as well as the Japanese league, has officially opened.먹튀검증
Coach Ogino brought in Abo Kiyoshi as assistant coach to assist him. Born in 1970, Avococchi started his coaching career in 1998. He started his career primarily in women’s volleyball. From 2009 to 2012, she coached the Japanese women’s national volleyball team and started to make a name for herself as a leader. She added to her strength when winning the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
In particular, from 2014 to 2019, she was the leader of the Japanese women’s national team by age group and gained experience. She brought home a silver medal at the 2014 U19 Asian Championships, a 4th place at the 2015 U20 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2016 U19 Asian Championships, a gold medal at the 2017 U23 Asian Championships, a bronze medal at the 2017 U20 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2018 U19 Asian Championships.
An OK Financial Group official said, “Coach Abo has a meticulous personality, and she is also interested in volleyball strategies and tactics. She also has a good understanding of volleyball.”
From the 2019-20 season to the 2021-22 season, she served as the sports director of the Japanese women’s volleyball team Victorina Himeji, and last season she served as the coach of Victorina Himeji. She leaves Japan and announces her new start in Korea.
Abo, who had a recent interview with MK Sports, said, “There is a very good tension and nervousness here. She has been building her leadership career for a long time, but she is nervous about making a fresh start in Korea. She also has expectations that OK Financial Group will get better,” she said.
She was called by Director Ogino. What made her start her new life in Korea?
He said, “I first met at the Coach Academy held by the Japan Olympic Committee. There is a story when the director gave me an offer. ‘To create a good organization, we need to nurture young coaches,’ he said. She has previously been in charge of running various sports that I have. Then, she laughed, saying, “Maybe she thought I was the right talent to nurture young coaches.”
The part that coach Ogino emphasizes to OK Financial Group players the most is defense and coping with game situations. The same goes for Coach Abo. I tend to emphasize communication between players on the court.
“The most important part of practice is to keep simulating and practicing the situation,” says Abo. You cannot develop a better team if you seek answers from the bench, manager, and coach regarding the situation that occurs during the game. Players must find the answer to every play that happens moment by moment. It is to find the answer to the best choice that players and coaching staff have been training since June. I and the coaching staff will want to give the players the answer so that they can do well without being shaken on the court.”
He also talked about volleyball in Korea and Japan, where the tide of battle has recently turned. Not to mention men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball is also widening the gap after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Kim Yeon-kyung’s retirement. In the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) held on the 16th (Korean time), Japan defeated Korea 3-0.
Coach Abo said, “From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Japanese volleyball could not beat Korean volleyball. At that time, each Korean player had a high level of skill,” he said. “Japan had the small physique of an island country, not the physique of a continent. However, volleyball is not a volleyball that can be won only with superiority in physique. Japanese players have tried to bring any one advantage more than players from other countries.”
Is there a message you want to convey to Korean volleyball? He expressed his wish to go abroad and gain experience. Excluding Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life Insurance), Yoon Bong-woo (KBSN Sports commentator), and Moon Seong-min (Hyundai Capital), who have experience in overseas leagues, few players have the passion to play volleyball abroad. It is difficult to find players who will go abroad with a challenging spirit in the current situation where they are receiving high salaries and ample support.
Coach Abo said, “If there is an opportunity for Korean players and coaches to go abroad, I hope they go. It will be a good experience. It is also said to Japanese players, but if you become a frog in a well, your view of volleyball itself may be narrowed. You have to question yourself.”
“In Japan, leaders and players continue to go abroad to study. I have doubts about whether the volleyball I have been playing so far is correct, and I study with leaders from other countries. Director Ogino studied in Brazil, and I also met and studied with various leaders in Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. It is much better to go out on a plane and see and feel it than to just call a foreign leader and listen to their stories. As those experiences accumulate, you will think, ‘I shouldn’t be locked up like this.’”
In addition, he said, “There is a player within OK Financial Group who wants to build an opportunity. This is not just OK Financial Group. I hope Korean players go abroad if there is an opportunity. When that player comes back later, he will be a good motivator for the other players as well.”
Coach Abo, who is already sweating heavily with OK Financial Group players, said, “I am doing well in a good environment without any inconvenience.” I also want the players to feel happy while playing. I will do my best so that OK Financial Group can go to a higher place.”