Report.az
Atvars Vilde, the head coach of the Azerbaijani U-18 boys' national beach volleyball team, evaluated the team's performance at the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) championship held in Cesis, Latvia.
The Lithuanian specialist spoke about this to "Report".
He stated that the team is facing more difficult games ahead:
"This is my first international competition as the head coach of the Azerbaijani national team. EEVZA is one of the major European tournaments. The fact that our team is more successful than in previous tournaments is not only the result of my work. There is the effort of a very friendly and professional team here. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to all the coaches and technical staff of the national team, including those before me. Our first game in the tournament was against the Latvian national team. We won after a very difficult and intense fight. In the second match, we faced the Estonian national team. In this match, our athletes showed real character and fought to the end to win. We have more difficult games ahead of us. Nevertheless, we will try to make our mark in Europe. I think we have already developed this fighting character. This is very important."
The head coach emphasized the need for more experience:
"We will do our best to raise the name of Azerbaijan higher in Europe and the world. We need to participate in more tournaments and gain experience. The main condition for this is to play games with teams from other countries and gain more practice. There is great potential to raise the level of beach volleyball in Azerbaijan. The fact that we can compete head-to-head against any team with the athletes we have now is an indicator of the potential. We must not stop and we must work harder and develop. I think we have chosen the right direction for success."
He also shared his thoughts about Azerbaijan:
"Your country is perfect. I'm not saying this for the sake of words. I really love Azerbaijan. Your hospitality, helpfulness, and food are simply magnificent. From the first day I came here, I feel at home. My family is also very happy with Azerbaijan."
It should be noted that U-18 advanced to the play-off stage in EEVZA. The team, which defeated the Latvian and Estonian national teams 2:0 in the group, will face the Lithuanian national team in this stage.
