NOT IN THE INTEREST OF THE TEAM

Olympic ticket in your pocket, preparation season ahead. Tell, what is preferable for the players of the national team in this regard: uniform, but not excessive competitive pressure in a competitive environment or jagged rhythm, when a super-dense game schedule is interspersed with long forced pauses?

Any player and coach will tell you, that a uniform load is preferable. But the current calendar of the Russian Championship is in fact the second. See, in November 2019 seven years fit in (!) rounds plus semi-final games of the Russian Cup. Volleyball almost non-stop, very heavy load, which significantly increases the risk of injury. But in December there are only three rounds, and then - almost a month's pause, from 21 December to 18 January.

clear, that this “window” was specially cleared for the possible participation of the national team in the continental Olympic qualifying tournament - in that case, if I hadn’t managed to qualify for Tokyo today, in August, in St. Petersburg. But they were selected! What's stopping you right now?, before the start of the championship, move the calendar, redistribute the load evenly, using an already unnecessary “window”?

The current pre-Olympic season has traditionally been sacrificed to prepare the national team for the main tournament of the four years. This is evidenced by the same championship formula, when Super League teams will play fewer games overall, when the number of home matches is unlikely to satisfy the fans' appetites, when the season itself for many teams will end in March.

Clubs consciously make these sacrifices, trying to explain to sponsors, why does the season look so bad. Thanks to the sponsors, who also understand everything and are ready to act in the “everything for the team” paradigm, this is very patriotic. But here's an explanation, why should teams be killed in the fall with a generally cut calendar?, in order to withstand a pause that no one needs anymore in winter - it’s impossible. Just because, that this is not in the interests of the national team.