10/04/2015 17:19
Getting to know: Plamen Shekerdzhiev – The Bulgarian all-rounder
2015 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship - Men
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Sakarya, Turkey, April 10, 2015. The stage of the 2015 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Men has so far delivered thrilling and high-level matches as Europe’s stars in the making are leaving their mark. One of them is Bulgaria’s #1 Plamen Shekerdzhiev who had a large share on the run of Bulgaria by scoring 74 points (14.8 per game) in the preliminary round thereby keeping alive his team’s chances to claim a ticket to the World Championship on Saturday. He is a great example for a legendary adage: “Expect always the unexpected”.
You can follow the Championship on Facebook and Twitter, with the official hashtag to be used for all of your posts and tweets being #EuroVolleyU19M.
Sometimes people need a little kick of fortune to enter the right track in their lives. It’s something that applies also to Plamen Shekerdzhiev, Bulgaria’s 1.98m outside spiker. Born in 1998 in Cherven Bryag, a little city in northern Bulgaria, he started to play football in his home town similarly to what all other children were doing. But there was a point when he decided to change sport. He just had everything that is needed to be a promising Volleyball player but he eventually opted for athletics, with a focus on high jump and the 400 m dash. At the same time, this way he also ended up discovering Volleyball by playing with his friends at the end of his hard training sessions on the track. “I didn’t want to play Volleyball seriously. It was just good to relax but nothing more than a nice hobby,” Plamen says.
Against this personal perception his uncle Ivan Kostadinov told him he should start playing Volleyball full time. “My uncle insisted time and again, mainly because of my size and the popularity of Volleyball in our country. So I couldn’t any longer hear his words and finally went to our Volleyball club in the city,” he says. It wasn’t long before scouts of CSKA SOFIA, one of the best and most decorated Volleyball clubs in Bulgaria, discovered his talent and convinced him to move to Sofia in 2012. “I got a call from the scouts after I played a tournament in Lukovit. I was surprised but also proud of myself.”
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It was just the beginning of a speedy development that brought him directly into the U19 national team. “It’s really exciting to play in the men’s national team, I couldn’t expect that I could achieve so much in such short time,” says Plamen. His coach Dragan Ivanov adds: “He is a complete player and has played as opposite, middle blocker, outside spiker and setter so far. If he continues in this way, he will have a great future.” A future that includes one major goal: “I want to make it to the senior national team, but I prefer to play as an outside spiker.”
Actually it doesn’t matter in which position the Bulgarian universal will play in the future. His outstanding talent and hard work are the best conditions for a shining career and if there are still problems in finding the right place on the court, he can once more ask his uncle for further advice.
Click here for further information on Final Round of the 2015 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Men
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