22/07/2019 11:56
IBB Polonia LONDON has a ‘new’ head coach
News from the clubs
London, England, July 22, 2019. Last season IBB Polonia LONDON claimed many victories under the watchful eye of Simon Loftus. He worked hard over the season and was successful. However, the time came to make a change. To make it short, Loftus will no longer be the head coach of the top team in England after the most successful season in the history of any British Volleyball Club. His departure comes just before the first ever Champions League campaign of IBB Polonia. The club thanks him for his hard work and wishes him well in his future career.
“It has been a great season. The head coach was part of the most recent chapter of our history. Under his care, the club won for themselves, as well as for British Volleyball the first European title. His hard work will continue to bring results over the coming months. I want to thank him for an amazing year and wish him well,” commented Bartek Luszcz, IBB Polonia Chairman.
The departure of Loftus has left a vacancy, but the search was very short lived. The 2019/2020 head coach will be Vangelis Koutouleas. The ex-professional player has a sizeable CV and has already been the head coach at IBB Polonia previously. The Greek now has a new mandate and aims to realise. In October, IBB Polonia makes its debut at the highest level in European Volleyball. The new head coach is not hiding his excitement as he approaches his participation in this event and describes his motivation and anticipated hard work in order to achieve the best possible results.
“I am delighted to be coming back to the team and to be taking charge once again. The excitement is greater and the club is evolving constantly and never rests on its laurels. The journey ahead of us is challenging – the Champions League, but I am very positive about this opportunity. I will prepare the team to the best of its potential. We know our goals for the season and are all pulling in the same direction. I am sure the journey will be interesting and we will enjoy it together. I would like everyone to support us and to help me in building the strongest possible team and together we will achieve something remarkable,” said Vangelis Koutouleas.
“I would personally like to welcome Vangelis. We have already had the opportunity to work together previously, and so I am very positive and impatient for what the season will bring. The season certainly is going to be an interesting one! We have, in front of us, enormous challenges – to fight for the highest title in European Volleyball. I wish the coach the best of luck and I am excited about our first match,” concluded Luszcz.
The new coach will start preparing for the new season. The man from Greece has a lot to offer to IBB Polonia. Specific details about the make-up of the team in the new season as well as when the matches will take place will soon be revealed through official media channels. The players are currently enjoying their holidays and return to training towards the end of August. The calendar of events has not yet been produced, but it is clear that the first away game in the CEV Champions League will be at the end of October.
Vangelis Koutouleas is a highly accomplished player and coach, with a glittering Volleyball and Beach Volleyball career spanning over four decades. Since moving to the UK from his home country of Greece in 2009, he has had a massive impact and he is widely acknowledged as the leading Beach Volleyball coach and one of the most prominent Volleyball coaches in the country. After he retired from professional sport, Vangelis took to coaching the highest national level in Greece, Cyprus and England. He was head coach of IBB Polonia twice in the past (2009-2010; 2014-2016).
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