Three consecutive absences from the Olympics were a great disappointment, but after the OQT in Japan in 2004, the Japan Volleyball association reached the decision that drastic reform was absolutely necessary in order to fulfill our wish – participation in the Olympics in Beijing. The JVA appointed Tatsuya Ueta, a former national player and head coach of the junior men’s national team as the new leader of the men’s national team. Ueta launched his new squad with promising young players immediately after the OQT to compete in the 2004 World League. While the results of the 2004 World League did not meet the JVA’s expectations, the young players gained invaluable experience and confidence.
Ueta invited over forty players to the inaugural training camp this year immediately after the V-League – Japan’s premier league – from Masaji Ogino (35), who made his comeback to Japan’s squad after seven years, to newcomer, Tatsuya Fukuzawa (18) and picked 22 players for the 2005 World League. Head coach Ueta expects Ogino to pull all the members together by giving advice to the younger players. The promising setter, Daisuke Usami, learned a lot from the bitter experience of failing to qualify for the Olympics last year and is becoming one of the team’s key players.
Although some key players were lost due to injuries, Ueta’s training plan has been running well. Consequently, Japan overwhelmed China in the final 3-0 to become the Asian Champions and fulfill a longstanding dream. Moreover, Marcos Sugiyama won the MVP award and Yu Koshikawa won the Best Scorer. All of which is good news for the team in its preparations for the forthcoming World Grand Champions Cup.
The slogan of the squad is “Restoration”. Since the emergence of this squad, Japan has been changing physically and mentally and improving gradually. Our aim is to place among the top three at the WGCC. |
Ueta Tatsuya
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