From that standpoint, Canada’s decision to hire a coach with the background of Sammelvuo, who spent all of one year of his 30 years of playing and coaching in Europe, to set the team’s playing style might look like an intriguing one.
However, it was with another European of a similar profile at the helm, French Stéphane Antiga, that the North Americans had great success between 2017 and 2018.
“I’ll obviously have to adapt in some aspects, but the goal is that I bring my vision to add the other coaches,” he explained. “I believe volleyball is the same everywhere, there aren’t really that many differences from one region to another when we get on the court. It’s mostly with the culture and so.”
Sammelvuo couldn’t have hoped for a better place to start his Canadian adventure as the country is set to host VNL’s Pool 1 in Ottawa, where the team will face Cuba, Argentina, the United States and Germany in the opening week of the event.
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