Konya, Turkey, July 9, 2017. The 2017 CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship - Men is a new tournament in the CEV match calendar and it has brought players of all ages and stages of physical and mental development to the Turkish city of Konya.
The youngest of the lot is 14-year-old Dutch outside spiker, Kian Macnack. A man who speaks so calmly and confidently for his age is not only here to make up the numbers, he has a key role in coach Arnold van Ree’s side. He's not marginally the youngest either. Born on January 26th 2003, he's 65 days younger than the next youngest, Belgium libero Martin Perin.
You always need a bit of luck to succeed in life and it was no different for Macnack who was spotted with a ball in his hands as his father, the then Dutch senior team fitness trainer Heim Macnack, took him along to a training session.
“My father Heim is a fitness coach and was working with the national team so I often went to their training sessions,” Macnack explained.
“I was watching a training session of the senior team and I was playing with the ball. Someone saw me and they helped me join the team in my town.”
Since then, his progression has been remarkable and he's now fulfilling a lifetime ambition by playing at such a tournament.
“I started playing Volleyball only four or five years ago so this is a dream come true for me to play here.”
He looks further afield from the Dutch system for his idol. Someone he's only seen play once, but hopes to be known by in the years to come.
“My hero is Earvin Ngapeth. The way he plays is so natural and he does things that are special. I would love to be like him. I saw one of his matches live in the past, but I didn't know who he was. I hope he knows me in 10 years.”
Macnack has done the hard bit by getting noticed and his coach Arnold van Ree was also full of praise for the youngster who does not turn 15 until next year.
“He has the talent and is at the start of everything,” van Ree said. “I'm fortunate to have him here and he improves every single day. That's all I can expect from someone who is 14 years old.
“You never know how far he can go and we still don't know that much about how talent evolves in sport, it's still a big mystery. All we can do is give guys the opportunity to develop.
“We started with 60 guys in September for the qualifiers, but he did enough to make the squad of 18 and then 15 and he kept improving.”
Remember the name: Kian Macnack