Felix Koslowski wants to lead the German national team back to the top of the Montreux Volley Masters.
Montreux, Switzerland, April 25, 2017 – German national coach Felix Koslowski nominates 24 players for training camp ahead of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Qualifiers and the Montreux Volley Masters.
While the best club teams around the world are still focusing on the most important stage of the season, the playoffs, German national coach Felix Koslowski is already thinking about the big challenges awaiting his squad during the international season in the next two months.
The 33-year-old German coach announced the squad for the first training camp on May 8 in Heidelberg, Germany.
Koslowski, who took over the German national team ad interim last year and was officially appointed this January, trusts in a mix of experienced veterans and a lot of aspiring youngsters in this year's international season that is studded with highlights.
With Kimberly Drewniok, Lisa Gründing (SC Potsdam), Irina Kemmsies, Dora Grozer (VC Wiesbaden), Barbara Wezorke (Rote Raben Vilsbiburg), Frauke Neuhaus (Ladies in Black Aachen), Anna Pogany (Köpenicker SC), and Lisa Stock (SWE Erfurt), nine players will celebrate their debut in the jersey of the “Schmetterlinge”, how the German national team is also called.
Despite the big number of youngsters in the squad, Koslowski can still trust on a lot of experience in his team as six silver medallists of the 2013 CEV European Championship Maren Brinker, Lenka Dürr, Jennifer Geerties, Denise Hanke (Schwerin), Jana-Franziska Poll (Athen/GRE), and Lisa Izquierdo (Samsun/ TUR) are going to lead the team on the court.
‘We have a good mix of experienced and young players in our squad. Some of the youngsters like Irina Kemmsies have improved a lot over the season and I want to show them that I honour their strong performance,’ Koslowski said.
Nevertheless, the German national coach cannot hide his disappointment about the decision of some other former veterans not to join the national team this year. ‘I think it is very sad that some players called off due to injuries, their studies, or personal reasons. I think some people don’t realise the value of our national team; that’s why we want to make it more attractive to play in the national team. It must mean everything to every player to represent her country.’
After the training camp on May 8, Koslowski is going to nominate fourteen players for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Qualifiers in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, from May 31 to June 4 before participating at the Montreux Volley Masters from June 6 to 11.
The German national coach will decide after the 32nd edition of the most prestigious invitational tournament in Women's Volleyball if any players who had not made the team will get a chance to join the squad for the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix (from July 7 to 30) and the CEV Volleyball European Championship (from September 22 to October 1).