The South Korean women’s national volleyball team, led by head coach Cesar Hernandez, held a press conference and open training session at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village in Chungcheongbuk-do on the afternoon of the 16th.
At the press conference before the open practice, Coach Han Yumi and team captain Park Jung-ah were interviewed by the media, followed by Kim Yeon-kyung, who accepted a position as an advisor after retiring from the national team, who answered questions from the media.
As she walked to the press conference, Kim Yeon-kyung, a national team advisor, had a different color on her jersey than the other players. While the other players and coaches wore white, Kim’s mark was a shiny golden color.
I asked Coach Han Yumi, who finished first, why Kim’s mark was gold. “Oh, there are three types of uniforms for the national team, and 안전놀이터 (Kim’s) uniform has all the gold markings,” she explained.
I looked at the uniforms of the players in interviews and training. The players wearing sleeveless and collarless jerseys had white markings, while Kim’s jersey had gold markings.
The special treatment for advisors caused a brief hiccup as Kim wore a different type of uniform than the coaching staff and players.
Kim, who joined the team as an advisor, said, “It’s nice to wear something with the flag on it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here and I’ve seen the athletes training, so I have a lot of old memories and new feelings.”
“I’m going to help them with direction, like how we can do better on the international stage, and I’m going to support them as much as possible as they play,” he said. He explained his role.
When it comes to addressing the junior players, he said, “They can call me whatever they want to call me, whether it’s mom, advisor, or big sister. They confide in me about things they can’t say to the manager or coaches. I’m helping them in that area as well.”
Advisor Kim Yeon-kyung has a different golden mark than coach Han Yumi and captain Park Jung-ah.
Kim Yeon-kyung, who joined the national team as the first advisor, talked to many reporters and gave an interview.
Advisor Kim Yeon-kyung helps the women’s backstroke team train.
“As someone who is involved in volleyball, I wanted to help Korean volleyball develop further, and the association gave me good suggestions. There are some people who are worried about this position, but I plan to make sure that there are no problems in my athletic career and I want to provide a lot of help to the players.”
Meanwhile, the women’s national volleyball team has been training at the Jincheon Athletic Center since the 24th of this month in preparation for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2023, which will be held from the 30th of this month.
[1] Kim Yeon-kyung, who has been transformed from a national team legend to an advisor, is preparing to train in a different uniform than the players. Photo by Kwak Kyung-hoon