The spring sowing, which will determine the success or failure of farming in the 2023-2024 season, has been completed.
Farmers who have been busy in the spring expect a bountiful harvest in the fall. The V-League, which ended the 2022-2023 season with the 5th game of the championship match between Heungkuk Life Insurance and Expressway Corporation on April 6, is busy with free agent (FA) player recruitment, Asian quota player selection for the first time, and foreign player tryout I spent 4-5 months.
The basic idea for the upcoming season is over. Now, the only thing left to strengthen is the trade and the nomination of new players. Expectations are not high as there are not many cases where a rookie has been successful as a starting player for a team since his first year as a pro. At least in the women’s division, in recent years, a newcomer with a sense of power has emerged, the most noticeable immediately. You will know how much of a vessel they are when they come to the team and adapt. As the history of the V-League piles up, the gap between professional teams and amateur teams is getting bigger and bigger. The fact that the number of high school students and college students being selected for the national team is gradually decreasing reflects this well.
Trade talks continue to circulate among some teams in the men’s division. The situation is fluid. Among the 16 free agents, there were no transfers of players except for Na Gyeong-bok. Foreign players were also selected again from six clubs who had already experienced the V-League. Only Woori Card chose a new face (Matei Kok, 199cm). The performance of Asian quarter players is a big variable, but most teams have little change from last season. It’s not enough to give fans something different to look forward to. If there are no changes such as major trades, there is a high possibility that the same situation as before will be repeated in the men’s division for the upcoming season. Men should be most afraid of the feeling of déjà vu, as if they had already seen it somewhere, even though it didn’t actually happen.
The women’s division has undergone many changes. Five out of 20 free agents transferred. Foreign players will also feature four new faces. For the time being, it will raise expectations of what impact they will have on the new team. Fans will also imagine a lot until they show their skills on the court. In that respect, the women’s division has an advantage from the start compared to the men’s division. The popularity gap between the men’s and women’s divisions was already confirmed in last season’s ratings, which were twice as different. Over time, this gap may widen.
In the women’s tryout that ended on the 13th, many teams made outstanding choices.
Following the Asian Quarter, IBK Industrial Bank, which had the first place in the selection of foreign players, nominated an unexpected player. Director Kim Ho-chul’s final choice was the left-handed apothecary Britney Abercrombie (191cm). The veteran coach, who decided to make a fundamental change to the unbalanced volleyball in the left center, even giving up Santana, the best 7 outside hitter last season, saw the relationship with the setter as the most important factor.
Phonpun Gedpard, selected by IBK Industrial Bank of Korea for the Asia Quarter, is obviously an attractive player. On the other hand, the pros and cons are clear. His passing speed and power are currently better than any setter in the V-League. His main competitor, Kim Ha-kyung, is also as fast as his left-handed passes. It was when he was called up to the national team last year. When the national team’s strikers failed to hit Kim Ha-gyeong’s low and fast pass, coach César demanded that the pass be higher and slower. Fontun was not as successful as expected in the Romanian league. It was difficult for the team’s slow-footed strikers to catch up with his fast pass.
Director Kim Ho-cheol thinks that this situation can happen at IBK Industrial Bank. So he wanted a foreign player to solve it. You may have also referred to the fact that Korean Air achieved great results with the combination of Han and Lincoln. “He has a wide range of attacks and has many strengths as a left-hander. I looked high on this part. The reason for the choice is well revealed in the remark, “It will suit our team well.” IBK Industrial Bank of Korea and coach Kim Ho-cheol chose speed instead of volleyball, which puts the mercenary high and asks them to solve it on their own.
KGC Ginseng Corporation was the only outside heater. It was thanks to the selection of Apogee Mega Watty Puttywee (185cm), who was the most noticeable in terms of offensive power in the Asian Quarter. Director Goh Hee-jin, who chose to watch only the video, needed to confirm how much strength and height he had in reality. Before he left for Turkey, he visited Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the SEA (Southeast Asia) Games were held. Coach Hee-Jin Koh confirmed the position of Megawati while watching the game of the Indonesian national team.
Some extreme fans cursed that KGC Ginseng Corporation had left both hands in the FA recruitment market, but it was not. I worked hard to fill Lee So-young’s void in some way. When appointing an FA compensation player, a large-scale trade was promoted behind the scenes with a club. He decided to trade with a surprise player to bolster his outside hitter.
But somehow, the opposing team gave up at the end. In the end, the trade that would benefit each other fell apart. After this inner situation, I chose Giovanna Milana (186cm). Coach Hee-jin Ko said, “I thought of him as the first pick because he had excellent receiving skills and was satisfied with everything.” It has been confirmed that the keyword for the upcoming season of KGC Ginseng Corporation is receive. We lost Elizabeth, the top scorer last season, but we are curious about the result of that choice to find a new path by diversifying the attack routes.
Good luck continues to follow coach Kim Jong-min of the Korea Expressway Corporation, who made a miracle by bringing in the 1st place in the rookie nomination and another compensation player with FA compensation player Lee Go-eun. Even after finishing at the bottom of the list, he selected Apogee Banja Bukirich (198cm), the team most needed. It was perfect for road construction, where height and attack power were urgently needed. Before departing for Turkey, several coaches mentioned Bukirich as “the style that GS Caltex coach Sang-Hyun Cha would like the most.” As everyone knows Coach Cha’s preference for young and powerful players, his decision to go to GS Caltex was plausibly accepted.
However, director Cha Sang-hyun chose 31-year-old Gisele Silva (191cm) over 24-year-old Bukirich in the sixth round. During the Asia Quarter, he nominated 170cm outside hitter Medi Yoku as the 6th pick. Director Cha Sang-hyun’s keywords were interpreted as change and serve. “It’s not that MoMA couldn’t do it, but I needed a change, so I picked another player. Silva has a lot of overseas experience, and his serve and second-tier attack skills are good.” In two seasons, he achieved a lot with his 184cm tall Moma, but since he has reached the limit of his height, coach Sang-Hyun Cha is also trying a new volleyball game. The starting point is Silva from Cuba. I am also curious about the results of coach Cha’s judgment, who has often made brave choices that break expectations.
As such, various new faces appeared in the women’s division, creating a lot of talk. The effect of raising the annual salary of foreign players by $50,000 from $200,000 last season was evident. Renewed players are $300,000, the same as before. All are tax included. It is regrettable that some players did not participate in the tryout due to their team’s game schedule, but as such, enough players were supplied to each team’s satisfaction. On the other hand, men are serious. It is the first time that so many teams have decided to renew a contract with an experienced V-League in the men’s tryout that started from the 2016-2017 season.안전놀이터
The number of V-League experienced players, including players replaced in the middle, is 4 in the 2017-2018 season, 5 in the 2018-2019 season, 4 in the 2019-2020 season, 6 in the 2020-2021 season, 7 in the 2021-2022 season, and 2022. -In the 2023 season, it gradually increased to 8 people. In the women’s division, which started from the 2015-2016 season, 2016-2017 season 1, 2017-2018 season 3, 2018-2019 season 3, 2019-20202 season 4, 2020-2021 season 3, 2021-2022 season 2, Increased to 6 for the 2022-2023 season. You should think carefully about what this means.
In the case of the men’s division, some clubs are arguing, “Let’s switch to free agency instead of tryouts, which have already revealed the limits of supply and demand for players.” Park Ki-won, coach of the Thai national team, who is knowledgeable about the overseas volleyball market, analyzed the current situation like this. “There is enough money given to the players. The apparent problem is overexertion, but this is not a big reason. Teams from other countries train as much as we do. More importantly, too frequent replacement. Foreign players hate being cut mid-season the most. I think it hurts my pride a lot. The V-League is impatient. Replace players if necessary. There are many players who would rather choose a league that plays stably even if they receive less money than to be treated like that. If this aspect is not considered, the number of good players who apply for tryouts will decrease.”