Czech Republic head coach Jiri Siller speaking in Hamamatsu on Wednesday

Hamamatsu, Japan, October 27, 2010 - Czech Republic head coach Jiri Siller has told his players to go out and enjoy themselves when they embark on their 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship campaign on Friday with a Pool B match against the Netherlands.

"The key to our success is that we play here without pressure, so I've told my players, 'All I want you to do is to enjoy playing here in the World Championship'," said Siller shortly after his team's arrival in Hamamatsu. After facing the Dutch, the Czechs then have games against Brazil, Puerto Rico, Italy and Kenya.

"We had a successful preparation for the World Championship, especially after winning the European Championship qualification tournament featuring France, Hungary and Austria – it was a good start to my career as a head coach," added Siller. The Czechs, 38th in the FIVB rankings, have prepared for three months for this event, playing 19 friendly matches against Poland, Algeria, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria.

The coach continued: "The victory in European Championship qualifying has given my players a boost and I have advised them that results are the last thing to think of here in Japan – it is more important that we enjoy ourselves and play exciting volleyball and if we do that we will get through the first round and may go through to the finals."

The Czech Republic are competing in their eleventh World Championship if you include previous participations as part of the former Czechoslovakia. Under the Czechoslovakian flag, their best performance was in 1952 and 1960 where they took bronze. On their last appearance in 2002 the Czechs finished 17th.