02/09/2016 14:51
A Belgian fil rouge goes from Jurmala to Nitra
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Jurmala Masters
Jurmala, Latvia, September 2, 2016. The eyes of Belgium’s Volleyball family are on Jurmala and Nitra this weekend. And it’s some kind of a family affair for Dries Koekelkoren (pictured) and his wife Fien Callens.
Koekelkoren and partner Tom van Walle have caught a flying start to their campaign at the CEV Jurmala Masters and did not drop a set in their pool matches with Greece’s Dimitris Niopas and Thodoris Papadimitriou and Austria’s Thomas Kunert/Christoph Dressler. They are chasing a much coveted ticket to next year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships which will go to the eventual winners of the Jurmala Masters. Actually this ticket goes to the National Federation of the eventual gold medallists, but Koekelkoren and van Walle have little competition back home in Belgium – and so any triumph in Jurmala would secure their trip to Vienna next year.
At the same time, Koekelkoren’s wife, Fien Callens, is at the helm of the Belgium team that has progressed to the semis of the CEV U19 Women’s Volleyball European Championship in Nitra, Slovakia where on Saturday they will be playing Russia.
“We are trying to follow each other as closely and as much as possible,” Koekelkoren admitted, “but unfortunately there was no live streaming for the matches that Belgium played in the pool stage of their championship. I am hoping that tomorrow’s schedule here in Jurmala will allow me to follow the semi-final with Russia and to cheer our girls on. At the same time, Fien can follow our matches on the Internet, and so we know exactly what the other is up to.”
The young ‘Yellow Tigers’ caused quite a surprise by progressing to the semis of the #EuroVolleyU19W: “I know Fien is missing two key players who are now with the senior national team, so she has had to work with younger and less experienced girls. It is therefore even more remarkable that they have made it to the semis. Russia will be a tough opponent, since they are physically quite dominant, but Fien is extremely clever from a tactical point of view, so I am confident that she will find the right recipe to put on a fight. At this stage, with Russia, Serbia and Turkey being the other semi-finalists, anything is a bonus for Belgium.”
Fien Callens, the wife of Belgian Beach Volleyball player Dries Koekelkoren, is currently leading the young Yellow Tigers at the #EuroBeachvolleyU19W in Nitra, Slovakia
Dries and partner van Walle started playing Beach Volleyball full time only last year but they were twice close to qualifying to the Rio 2016 Olympics via the Continental Cup, first at the CEV Continental Cup Final in Stavanger, Norway and after that at the intercontinental event held in Sochi in early July. “When we first started last year, we did not think about the Olympics at all but once you get so close to making it there, of course you are left disappointed,” Dries admitted. “We actually had one additional chance when the IOC discussed a possible blanket ban on Russian athletes, because we were the first ones on the reserve list. We eventually did not make it to Rio, and so it certainly hurts a bit.”
However, Dries and Tom are now focussed on the future: “We like it here in Jurmala very much. Last year we came here for what was one of our first international tournaments together and we finished in ninth place. We definitely want to improve on this and possibly take that spot to compete at next year’s Worlds. Jurmala is a very nice place, the conditions are just ideal for Beach Volleyball and we were just thinking that it would be good to have the same kind of facilities and tournament back home in Belgium. On top of this, Latvian people are very passionate about Beach Volleyball and I remember back in June that hundreds of people came to Olsztyn, Poland to support Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins at the Grand Slam, this says a lot about their interest in the sport.”
Koekelkoren and Fien Callens are currently expecting their first child together: “Fien is due to deliver on November 12 and she will take a break from her duties at the Volleyball school in Vilvoorde. However, she is so passionate about her work that she will definitely monitor very closely what the coaches will be doing there and make phone calls every day or so,” Dries said with a smile.
Waiting for the baby to come, this weekend will tell if there is more to celebrate for Dries and Fien at the end of an already busy summer…
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Live streaming of all matches is available right here
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