China NT 2022

    Disappointed to see that we didn’t give Italy much of a challenge, while Poland pushed Serbia to 5 and to the very end!


    With all said and done, I think we are all aligned on the fact that this NT season has been one of bewilderment, frustration and disappointment.


    Bewildered by Cai’s selection to the NT, frustrated by his selections on court (Diao, anyone?), and disappointment in the lack of improvement in some players.

    I think that the middles ultimately were too unstable - attacking-wise they were acceptable, but the blocking has been a huge question mark. At her current state, Yuan is not a worthy successor to the Great Wall. No one really is at the moment. Perhaps the pressure of being Captain got to her, because I think she ultimately fell short in both tasks.


    On the bright side, I look forward to Cai’s resignation - for China to end up World No. 5, languishing at 7th or 8th place in major tournaments even while having tremendous players like LYY, shows how much Cai has failed in coaching the team. I genuinely think that we could have brought Wu, Zhuang, WYF and ended up in the same position, so why not give the young players the opportunity?


    All his decisions have been wrong. He has been too arrogant and stubborn to make changes, only waiting to the last minute when the rice has turned to porridge…


    —


    Before WCH I was thinking about why LYY hasn’t been able to carry the team even while having such tremendous talents. At 22, why do we call her 妹妹 (“little sister”), worry about her fragility on court, when at 22 Zhu was already an Olympic Champion and a year off from being the team captain? Of course, not everyone is meant to be a leader, and perhaps that is the missing piece for Team China. They didn’t have someone who they could look to, rely on to perform and boost their morale when things weren’t going their way. We’ve been spoiled by Zhu, and without her it is clear that the team is merely a 7/8th placed team. Talent is there, but leadership on and off court isn’t.


    Questions on my mind:

    1. Will Ding retire?

    2. Will CVA bite the bullet and hire a foreigner to coach?
    3. When will Zhu start training with the NT again? Will she be a part of VNL 2023?
    4. What if CVA doesn’t fire Cai? Will WYL, JY and Diao be good enough to get China out of the pool stages in Paris?

    5. What if Gong never fully recovers?

    Quote from bumpsetspike

    Do you know if Zhang is playing this CVL season?


    With Shi Hairong taking over Jiangsu he might favor the young players he trained and choose to develop them instead. One things for certain, I would like to see Gong get some much needed rest, she deserves it.

    I wouldn't know. I'm the least knowledgeable guy you should ask about Chinese club volleyball since I don't follow it. But it's good to know someone is taking over Cai Bin in Jiangsu because I don't think he's a coach that likes to play young players or knows how to develop young players. Just looked at how many minutes the younger players he selected got during VNL and WCh. So it's a blessing in disguise for Wu Mengjie and company that they weren't selected by Cai Bin. I think they would just rot on the bench under Cai Bin instead of playing a lot of minutes at AVC Cup. Hope everyone stays healthy and get their needed rest.

    Zhu Ting is heads and shoulders above every other outside in the world, and only a few other opposites can hit more often (more swings).


    LYY is good, but cannot be compared to Zhu. They are not the same kind of player although I think they complement each other well.


    Also I think you're reading a bit too much into the nickname - it's just something that's given when they join the national team, so Zhang could have kids, come back, and still get called "baobao".


    As for your questions, I think

    1. no 2. no 3. 2023 4. Hopefully they won't be in Paris - although WYL may be able to stay as 4th outside 5. She'll be fine.

    I just want to ask where was this Ding Xia the entire season. She was bad when coming in as the double sub -- which ironically used to be her role with Wei Qiuyue as starting setter

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    I just want to ask where was this Ding Xia the entire season. She was bad when coming in as the double sub -- which ironically used to be her role with Wei Qiuyue as starting setter

    Perhaps Ding Xia was mentally down as the NT was going through lots of changes which affected her performance. But when China needed her the most, she showed up big time. That is the fighting veteran mentality and experience in her.


    If Diao was in that third set China would've lost 0-3.

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    Also I think you're reading a bit too much into the nickname - it's just something that's given when they join the national team, so Zhang could have kids, come back, and still get called "baobao”

    but that’s because Zhang’s own nickname. Her Weibo name is 宝宝… Even Gong is starting to be called yu ge (Yu older brother) instead of xiaoyu (Little Yu). Everyone was young once right. Even Yuan isn’t called Xiao ping guo (little Apple) anymore, just sarcastically da duizhang (Big Captain).


    I think many netizens don’t view LYY the same view they view Zhu at the same age (while also wanting her to carry the burden of the team in the same way), without realizing that she’s kinda… not that young anymore. She should be stepping up to a leadership role especially since she IS the best player on court.


    Of course I want to be fair to her… She still is, by age, the youngest on court. Not her fault her teammates aren’t carrying their weight 😂 Oh well.

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    I just want to ask where was this Ding Xia the entire season. She was bad when coming in as the double sub -- which ironically used to be her role with Wei Qiuyue as starting setter


    Quote from bumpsetspike

    Perhaps Ding Xia was mentally down as the NT was going through lots of changes which affected her performance. But when China needed her the most, she showed up big time. That is the fighting veteran mentality and experience in her.


    If Diao was in that third set China would've lost 0-3.

    agree with both of you here. I think Ding wasn’t given a chance to really show her stuff this season - just a minute here and there. What I think we know of Ding is that her skills are there but it took her years to grow into her confidence. Idk how well Cai understood or cared about that. Well she showed her class in Set 3 and also showed Cai!!! I really really really want to see her go to Paris.

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    I just want to ask where was this Ding Xia the entire season. She was bad when coming in as the double sub -- which ironically used to be her role with Wei Qiuyue as starting setter

    I wondered too why DX was not doing well as the double sub until the last match of the tournament. Perhaps Cai Bin told her that she is the back-up setter in her face which made her depressed affect her mentality and her performance. Maybe he told her she is too old to play at Paris Olympics and she was selected because Yao Di was not available. She showed CB don’t count her out and what she can do😄.

    Quote from Ollie

    Before WCH I was thinking about why LYY hasn’t been able to carry the team even while having such tremendous talents. At 22, why do we call her 妹妹 (“little sister”), worry about her fragility on court, when at 22 Zhu was already an Olympic Champion and a year off from being the team captain? Of course, not everyone is meant to be a leader, and perhaps that is the missing piece for Team China. They didn’t have someone who they could look to, rely on to perform and boost their morale when things weren’t going their way. We’ve been spoiled by Zhu, and without her it is clear that the team is merely a 7/8th placed team. Talent is there, but leadership on and off court isn’t.


    Questions on my mind:

    1. Will Ding retire?

    2. Will CVA bite the bullet and hire a foreigner to coach?
    3. When will Zhu start training with the NT again? Will she be a part of VNL 2023?
    4. What if CVA doesn’t fire Cai? Will WYL, JY and Diao be good enough to get China out of the pool stages in Paris?

    5. What if Gong never fully recovers?

    Zhu won everything not just because she was (/is) the Best but also because she had the support of huge squad with incredible players such as ZCN HRQ YN DX and fearless YXY. A complete team where she could shine brightly. Unfortunately, in comparison, LYY has WYL and JY, injuried GXY and no MB…🥲

    Hopefully ZT can join her: the most lethal duo.😎

    For the remaining questions I think Yes DX will retire, hopefully she can contribute as assistant coach. Young players need to play more… next year especially cuz we got nothing to lose 😅

    Quote from AndyVolleyballFan

    I would love to have Lavarini or even Guidetti as coach.

    the question about hiring a foreign coach aside


    Lavarini did so much with Poland, I doubt they will let him leave


    Guidetti has placed his roots in Vakifbank. Maybe we should promise him Zhu + LYY in VB forever to get him to coach us instead. At least he'll have outsides and Altinli can be happy :D

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    the question about hiring a foreign coach aside


    Lavarini did so much with Poland, I doubt they will let him leave


    Guidetti has placed his roots in Vakifbank. Maybe we should promise him Zhu + LYY in VB forever to get him to coach us instead. At least he'll have outsides and Altinli can be happy :D

    Guidetti is too emotional which I think might affect the chinese players in a bad way.


    Remember that time Zhu pushed him at Vakifbank when he was getting antsy with the refs. Lol. :lol: Rasic over there looked worried that something worse was about to happen.

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    the question about hiring a foreign coach aside


    Lavarini did so much with Poland, I doubt they will let him leave


    Guidetti has placed his roots in Vakifbank. Maybe we should promise him Zhu + LYY in VB forever to get him to coach us instead. At least he'll have outsides and Altinli can be happy :D

    Take him by all means, please do it quick.


    I'm onto whatever the other user is on. We should buy Lavarini from Polish NT like we did with Guidetti :rolll:

    Quote from bumpsetspike

    Guidetti is too emotional which I think might affect the chinese players in a bad way.


    Remember that time Zhu pushed him at Vakifbank when he was getting antsy with the refs. Lol. :lol: Rasic over there looked worried that something worse was about to happen.

    This is what LYY, DX, YXY, WMJ need to do to Cai Bin. Just push him around

    Display Spoiler

    My thoughts:

    1. Yes prob after the 2024 Olympics. I think she can hang on for 2 more years

    2. 100% no. The pride of China, will never ask a foreigner to lead one of their most prestigious teams.
    3. Yes will train with CNT. Maybe VNL 2023

    4.no I hope WYL and JY will be off the team by then, otherwise they won’t make it far.

    5. She will if she can rest

    Quote from AndyVolleyballFan

    Zhu won everything not just because she was (/is) the Best but also because she had the support of huge squad with incredible players such as ZCN HRQ YN DX and fearless YXY. A complete team where she could shine brightly. Unfortunately, in comparison, LYY has WYL and JY, injuried GXY and no MB…🥲

    Hopefully ZT can join her: the most lethal duo.😎

    For the remaining questions I think Yes DX will retire, hopefully she can contribute as assistant coach. Young players need to play more… next year especially cuz we got nothing to lose 😅

    I agree- ZT was able to shine brighter with a great supporting team where everyone pulled their weight. OG 2016- sure ZT got most of the points from attacks but the others played well too. Good serves, good blocks and great reception. The subs played well too. Ie LXT

    LYY and her current support team is a different story. But I’m willing to bet YXY will play way better if ZT returns. will probably boost her confidence. YXY is so unrecognizable this year…