Volleyball Grafing: "Mental liberation" releases the brakes

Created: 01/06/2023, 1:00 p.m

By: Olaf Heid

The Grafinger U19 volleyball players scream their joy at winning the tournament (front, from left): Valentintrudenburger, Physio Lukas Broghammer, Noah Primus, Janik Sambale, Marvin Primus, Jonathan Helm, Tim Aust, team manager Markus Siegel and (below) Coach Rudi Obermair, Johannes Helm, Samuel Halm and Ian Schein.

© Photo: TSV Grafing/Aderlini

Large tournaments in themselves are no longer unusual for the Grafinger junior volleyball players in the U20s.

But the international showdown at the U19 competition in Modena, Italy, was very special.

BY OLAF HEID

Grafing/Modena – Because the TSV juniors around coach Rudi Obermair, team manager Markus Siegel and physiotherapist Lukas Broghammer won the so-called Moma Winter Cup for the first time before the turn of the year.

In the final, the young volleyball players surprisingly defeated the tournament favorites Pallavola Bologna with 2:0 (25:22, 25:20) sets - and that in front of 4000 spectators.

"It was such an experience - you don't forget it," Obermair enthused about the impressive atmosphere that he experienced four years ago (2018) with another Grafinger formation from the stands and not as a finalist.

"Winning this thing is a huge experience for all of us," said the coach and male youth leader of the Grafinger volleyball division.

So far, winning a tournament has always been out of reach.

In order to "save the honor" of the otherwise overpowering Italians, Obermair cited the absence of their junior internationals, who were on a training course, while three squad members were allowed to play in his squad with Ian Schein, Jannik Sambale and Marvin Primus.

"That's why the overall level at the tournament wasn't the very best, but you still have to win it first," emphasized the TSV trainer.

The Grafingers have been considered U20 juniors in Germany since the beginning of the year, "in Italy, on the other hand, the age group only changes in the summer," Obermair explained why the TSV team was allowed to compete in this age group.

And that with the special feature that some of the nine juniors in the men's team didn't even play for Grafing, but for VCO Munich (3rd league), ASV Dachau (2nd league/Marvin Primus, Tim Aust) and VC Amberg (regional league ; Johannes Helm).

The reason for this can also be found in the relegation of TSV from the 2nd Bundesliga last year.

However, Obermair hopes that the first team will be promoted again immediately and that some players will return to Grafing.

But everyone can continue to work together with the youth and celebrate surprises like in Modena.

But at the beginning of the three-day tournament it didn't look like such a triumph.

The guests from the city of bears first defeated VBC Calci with 2:0 sets (25:9, 25:12) in their preliminary round group, but then they lost against Bolgona, the later opponent in the final, a bitter 0:2 (22:25, 24: 26).

"It was two sets close, but the Italians were technically very safe and made few mistakes," said Obermair.

You were frustrated in the evening because "we had the bigger guys in our ranks but couldn't kill the balls.

Bologna just defended in typical Italian fashion.”

The consequence of the second place was the duel against the favored hosts of Moma Anderlini in the intermediate round, which the Grafingers actually wanted to avoid.

With 2:0 (25:22, 25:20) you jumped this hurdle thanks to an increase in performance.

“The first sentence was a mental liberation.

That's when we saw that we can beat everyone," Obermair knew about the special initial spark at the international tournament.

From then on, things went well for TSV.

"We improved from game to game." Volley Prato ASD was then defeated 2-0 (27:5, 25:21), in the knockout phase in the quarter-finals Power Diavoli also won 2-0 sets (25: 21, 25:17).

In the semifinals there was then a comparison with the Upper Bavarian rival TSV Mühldorf.

"That was a clear story," Obermair analyzed after the 2-0 (25:18, 25:19) and the safe final entry.

In the summer they had faced each other at the U18-DM in Bremen.

"It was tighter back then."

In the second duel with Bologna, the Bärenstadt-based team successfully switched.

The TSV juniors put the Italians under a lot of pressure.

"We blocked very, very well and unnerved them with it," said Rudi Obermair happily.

"In addition, we made far fewer minor mistakes than in the preliminary round." And so the final victory was bagged with 25:22 and 25:20.

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As a reward, in addition to the experience in the fully occupied hall, there was a large inscribed tile from the main sponsor as a reminder afterwards and - what is even more important for the Grafinger U20 team - "a lot of motivation for the DM in May", Obermair emphasized.

Here the Grafingers want to reach for the next title.

But before that, the next big tournament will take place at Easter in Pordenone, Italy.