23/03/2012 10:42
After many ups and downs Friederike Thieme is still in love with Volleyball
News from the clubs
Dresden, Germany, March 23, 2012. After ending its campaign in the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League by losing twice to Russia’s Dinamo KAZAN, Germany’s DRESDNER SC recently finished atop of the charts the regular season in the Bundesliga. While the team has been achieving such prestigious results, outside hitter Friederike Thieme is trying to recover after being out for a long time, first because of an illness and afterwards sidelined by an injury.
This was actually supposed to be a very successful season for Thieme after she had finished her apprenticeship to become an office clerk as one of the best students from her group. However, even though the intention was to devote most of her time to Volleyball, she was out for a few weeks right after the start of the season and then the doctors diagnosed a stress fracture of her left metatarsus in late January, so she is still fighting to complete her own comeback. The rehab keeps her busy almost all day long. “I still feel some pain and I can’t help my team out there on the court, which is even worse” she says. While the bone is fit, there is still an inflammation that still causes her problems.
The career of Thieme seems to be marked by affliction. She already sprained her ankle, tore a ligament and had problems with her adductor last season. But she never thought about giving up. She is working on it – as always. “I have been fighting all the time and have gone through all this more than once”. The 24-year old player took some time off last season as well but when she was needed, she was ready to answer the call and contribute to the next successes of her side.
This year she has been one of the best players on court whenever she was playing. She was one of the best scorers in her only Champions League match against France’s ASPTT MULHOUSE or during the matches of the national league against LEVERKUSEN or MÜNSTER. These moments keep her focused. After playing as middle blocker for some time, head coach Alexander Waibl has moved her to the position of wing spiker where she feels more comfortable and has got more skills to display. Thieme was happy with this move and has incredibly improved so that this past summer she was finally included in the roster of the national team by head coach Giovanni Guidetti.
Even though she cannot play at the moment, she stays positive and she shows the same attitude while analyzing the potential of DRESDNER SC for the remainder of the season. “If we maintain that same level and we believe in our strengths, I think we can beat anyone and take the title of the Bundesliga. We have been able to compensate for some injuries and this generally improved our team spirit” says Thieme. She hopes she will be able to help in the Playoffs which are just about to start but this is not yet sure. As for her future, she has already signed for DRESDNER SC up to 2013 and has got an option for one more season there in Saxony. But her life is not just about Volleyball even though her primary goal is to be back in action. “I want to do something extra than Volleyball and I think I may start a distance learning course in economics” she reveals.
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