I haven’t written anything substantial in a while because we are constantly running terribly behind schedule. Because of that, I decided to describe a few of my recent days at the World Championship for you. How they go by and what we do. I’ll start with Saturday, as that’s as far back as my memory goes.
Daily Schedule at the World Championship
Wake up at 7:30 AM
Right away, fixing a few minor things to be as prepared as possible for the video session with the players. Then breakfast, and at 11:00 AM, the video session. After an hour, the briefing ended and we, as the staff, headed to Spodek Arena for the first match, Tunisia vs. Cuba. It started at 1:00 PM. We needed it for analysis because we were playing Tunisia the very next day. Just what I love the most—a five-setter. There was plenty to break down, but first, we had to prepare for our own match, which we played right after them. We started at 4:30 PM against Germany. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the win, and the final score was 1-3.
Packing up after a match usually takes about 20 minutes, and we returned to the hotel with all our gear. Why does packing take so much time? Because scouts carry a lot of items in their ‘magic cases’ to the games. Among other things: computers, a printer, a router, walkie-talkies, a camera, and many other useful items, all surrounded by dozens of cables. Back at the hotel, a quick dinner and 2 hours of adjusting the match data. Normally we would have stayed for the last match (Brazil vs. Korea), but we didn’t need it since we had already played both teams.
Around 8:30–9:00 PM, we met in the conference room, where we watched the Tunisians’ match, compared it with what we had seen earlier, and made the final decisions regarding our tactics. The meeting ended around 1:00 AM. What does that mean for me? Going back to my room, printing out tactical sheets for the players, and starting the downloads of matches from other World Championship pools. Work finished just before 3:00 AM, and finally, time for sleep.
On Sunday, wake up at 7:00 AM, breakfast, and preparing the video edits for the briefing.
From 9:45 to 10:30 AM, a meeting with the players where we delivered the tactics, followed immediately by lunch. Then, minor match preparations, packing the equipment, preparing the cheat sheets for the coaches to have on hand during the match (which contain all relevant information, though in a highly condensed format), and deciding on our starting rotation. Departure from the hotel at 11:50 AM. First referee whistle at 1:10 PM. The match was quite fast. We won 3-0, and by around 3:30 PM, we were packing our gear and heading back to the hotel. There, we had a team dinner, a quick round of correcting the match data, putting more matches on download, preparing our setters’ analyses, and by 7:00 PM, a free evening could finally begin.
On Monday, wake up at 7:00 AM, quick breakfast.
This time, I have to start coding the Russian matches, as they are our next opponent. Departure from the hotel is at 12:00 PM, so right before that, there’s packing to do. The road to Wrocław is all work; you have to hustle to get it all done on time. We arrived in Wrocław around 2:30 PM. Lunch on-site, and until 5:00 PM, still working on the Russian matches. By then, the basic analyses are ready, and we start looking at the attack and serve directions. With a break for dinner, a press conference for Finnish journalists, and the analysis of our setters, we finish work at midnight. I still have to prepare the directional charts for the players, print the sheets, and start working on Canada, since they will be our next opponent. I go to bed around 3:00 AM.
Tuesday. Wake up at 7:00 AM. Finishing up a match I didn’t have the energy for last night. 20 minutes for breakfast, and then on to the next match. At 9:00 AM, we met with the coaches, and until noon, we analyzed the setter and prepared the sheets for the players. For another hour, I worked on the Canadian matches, followed by lunch, and preparing the sheets for the coaches (about Canada this time) to give them a clearer picture of their play. The entire team went to practice at 3:00 PM, and I’m taking a one-hour break. And that is exactly when I am writing this post 🙂
What’s next—meaning today’s schedule at the World Championship? At 5:30 PM, we start analyzing Canada’s serve and attack directions. At 7:15 PM, we have a video session with the players to review serve and attack directions, but for Russia. After that, we continue analyzing Canada and start preparing the Bulgarian matches so the coaches and I can start analyzing their game tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll finish earlier than 3:00 AM tonight 🙂
Tomorrow before the match, we’ll do one more video session with the players to show everything we’ve found on their setter and what our tactics against Russia will be. Then the match, followed by another match (Cuba vs. Canada), and further analysis of the Canadians. Between these stages, things probably won’t change much, and you can easily figure out what I’ll be doing based on Friday or Saturday.
Forgive me for the complete lack of syntax here, but it just reflects the sheer rush of working at the Championship and what the daily schedule is like during the tournament.