Volleyball team: volunteer in Germany

“You don’t play for the national team for money,” explains Lukas Kampa, at least not in Germany. “We don’t get any salary or daily allowance,” explains the captain of the German volleyball team before the start of the League of Nations. Unlike the players of other nations.

The fact that there are big differences in terms of money between the best players in the world is not a problem for Kampa: at 36 years old, the player is still motivated enough to volunteer to join the German volleyball players during a busy summer. Three major tournaments are scheduled before early October, and “the anticipation is really high,” says Campa, who is also motivated by the vague prospect of qualifying for the Olympics.

The seasoned player who played a key role in Germany’s surprise win of bronze at the 2014 World Championships and silver at the European Championships in 2017 wants to lead the newly formed team and move forward with a success-oriented mindset. He formulates his goals offensively: in the League of Nations among the 16 strongest teams “to reach the final round of the top eight”, at the European Championships “to reach the semi-finals” and in the Olympic qualification “among the top two” – that is, to qualify for Paris.

“The field is plowed”

In a workload, it is important to “control the load” as best as possible. It kicks off with the first of three intense Nations League weeks that will see the Germans take on a world class team from Brazil in Ottawa on Thursday night. Games soon follow against the Netherlands, world champions Italy and host country Canada.

In the following weeks of tournaments at the end of June in Rotterdam and at the beginning of July in Anaheim (USA), it is also about scoring points in the world rankings and further assimilation of the game idea of ​​the still new national coach Michal. Winiarski. After a training camp in Kienbaum, they performed reasonably well in two friendly matches against their home country, world number one Poland. “We can keep up,” Kampa took with him as a learning gift—and at least win.

The fact that the Germans, who are only 17th in the world rankings, have to face a difficult summer against the backdrop of a wavering association does not burden the professional, who is also active in Poland. “The field is set for the next year and a half,” explains Campa, who as a veteran champion also knows what goes on behind the scenes: “Training camp on site, international matches on site.” in distortions of the organizational structure of the association, but they no longer irritate him – and he does not accept them as possible excuses.

Coach Winiarski, on the other hand, brings another dimension to the game when it comes to remunerating volleyball players: While players are paid by their clubs, not their national teams, the 2014 Polish world champion explains, their use in the national team will increase the market value of volleyball players. the number of players, which in turn will affect how clubs pay. From this point of view, the commitment to Germany is also an investment in your own market value and can pay off in the long run – provided you play well in the summer tournaments.