Welcome, is this your first ‘star ball’?
Photo_Mad Kaid Jansen
What was the reaction of the players who touched the Starball, the official V-League ball, for the first time?
The 2023 Korean Volleyball Federation (hereinafter referred to as KOVO) men’s tryout digested the schedule on the first day in Turkey, Istanbul on the 6th (local start). During a practice game at the Hassan Doan Spore Complexi (Bachcelliebler), the ball was used as a star ball.
In foreign leagues, Mikasa and Molten’s balls are mainly used as official balls, so most of the players caught the star ball for the first time through this tryout. Setters recruited from Turkey could also be seen touching the ball during warm-up time안전놀이터.
I asked the players who touched the star ball for the first time how it felt.
Mad Kaid Jansen (209cm, OP, Denmark), who currently belongs to Verona in the Italian Serie A1 league along with Keita Noumori, received a positive response.
He said, “It’s the first time I’ve used a star ball, and it’s similar to Molten. However, he has a much better grip and spins faster when hitting a jump serve. However, when he receives a receive, it is difficult as the rotation is fast.” When compared to Mikasa, “He moves more than Mikasa and goes down quickly when he hits. It feels light, so the bounce bounces a lot,” he explained.
Yvegeni Tiurin (202cm, OP Russia) had a similar reaction. He said, “After the attack, when the ball touches the court, it bounces quickly. And it’s hard to hit. If Mikasa goes softly and slowly, Stargong goes fast.”
On the other hand, Yosbani Hernandez (201cm, OH/OP, Cuba/Italy), ranked 7th in the preliminary preference evaluation, who had already touched the star ball through his V-League career, was somewhat different. Yosubani said, “There are differences, but there were no major problems. To me, Stargong is small and strong, while Mikasa is soft. He doesn’t have much of a problem adjusting if you deal with it for about 2-3 days.”
This tryout will be conducted face-to-face for the first time in four years. Who will be the newly selected player to play an active role in the V-League using the star ball?
