The “defending champion” of the women’s V League, was by far the main character in the 2022-2023 season. After finishing the regular league in third place 20-16, 60 points, he turned Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the No. 1 player in the previous season, to two wins in the playoffs, and in the championship game, he won three consecutive games to achieve the “Reverse Sweep” title.

However, the Korea Expressway Corporation is looking for changes instead of being drunk on sweetness despite regaining the top after five seasons. Veteran middle blocker center Jung Dae-young and outside heater left Park Jung-ah, who have qualified as a free agent, have moved to GS Caltex and Pepper Savings Bank, respectively, focusing on minimizing their gaps. In response, he gave up the second round of the rookie draft in the 2023-2024 season with setter Lee Go-eun, and brought in middle blocker Choi Ga-eun 22 and the first round of the rookie draft, and with the first-round pick, he brought in middle blocker Kim Se-bin 18, the “biggest rookie,” to reinforce his power. Setter Park Eun-ji 19 and outside heater Ko Ui-jung 23, who brought setter Ahn Ye-rim and outside heater Kim Se-in through a trade with Jeong Kwan-jang former KGC Ginseng Corporation, are also expected to be a great contributor to the team’s power. New foreign players Banya Vukirich 24, Serbia and Tanacha Suksot 23, Thailand are also expected to be Apogit Spikers Light. 스포츠토토

Kim Jong-min 49, head coach of the Korea Expressway Corporation, met at the Gimcheon Expressway Corporation Gymnasium in North Gyeongsang Province, and said, “There has been a change in the composition of the players. There is inevitably a difference in skills between existing players and newly recruited players. “We are preparing for the opening of the season by focusing on organizational power and teamwork,” he said, explaining his changes and preparations for the new season. The Korea Expressway Corporation plans to fill the void of Jung Dae-young with even appointment of Kim Se-bin and Choi Ga-eun, centering on veteran Bae Yuna 34. Park Jung-ah’s vacancy will be filled by Jeon Sae-yan 27 and Ko Ui-jung.

-How are you preparing for the season?

“From August 29th to September 9th, I left for a 21-day training camp in Japan and had a warm-up match with Toray Arrow, Victoria Himeji and Kobe New Presidential Office. It was impressive that Japanese players played cutely even though they were small in height. It would have been a big lesson for our players. After returning to Korea, he continued his hard work by holding joint training, three practice games, and one official game with Toray from the 20th to the 23rd. Since then, he has not scheduled a warm-up match with domestic teams. As we have checked our players’ strengths and weaknesses for two weeks in Japan anyway, I thought it was time to pay attention to their physical strength and make up for their shortcomings. The division of roles among players is expected to be better than in previous years.”

• What do you think of foreign players Vukirich and Tanacha?

“Bukirich is tall 198cm, but he is greedy and sincere. It is noticeable that they are quick to learn. According to the players, they are confident and good at expressing emotions like Cat Bell last season. I think there is a high probability of success because it is mixing well with the players. In addition to Apogit Spiker, they are currently training outside heaters together. Tanacha is currently deployed to the Thai national team to compete in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, so he will have to work together after entering the country in October. Both Vukirich and Tanacha seemed right to play as Apogit Spikers, and they judged that they had good defense in that position. The key is adaptability.”

• He has already accompanied the team for eight seasons since the 2016-2017 season. Is there any burden on long-term tenure?

“As a coach on the professional stage, it is difficult and I am very proud to be at the helm of a team for a long time. Actually, I’ve won a team and finished last, but I think it’s a rare experience. In particular, there were many injuries in the 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 seasons, which were at the bottom, and the need to foster backup players was greatly felt as foreign players failed to farm. After finishing the 2019-2020 season at the bottom, I thought I had nothing to say even if the club notified me of my breakup. But because we all believed in each other, we were eventually able to face a turnaround.”

-I think I have high expectations for Young Guns.

“Existing veterans trusted and used them because they had no problems with their physical strength and skills regardless of their age, but they cannot be neglected in fostering them. To be honest, it’s hard to say that I’ve been lucky with the nomination in the rookie draft so far. However, Kim Se-bin, who was nominated this year, had a great natural strength in terms of height, and Shin also had a good hand sense. I hope Park Eun-ji and the late Eui-jung, who were recruited through trade, will also play their part. Due to the nature of the professional stage, if the results are not produced immediately, they face criticism, so I and the players have to overcome it.”

• What’s your goal for this season?

“There are concerns around us that this season will be harder than last season. I admit it in part, but a coach should always aim for the championship. For now, I want to draw the growth of the players by filling the holes big and small according to the change in the composition of the players.”