Pepper Savings Bank women’s professional volleyball “transfer” Park Jung-ah has started a new chapter in her career, and her enthusiasm has surprised even her teammate Yasmin Bedardt (real name Yasmin).
Park hit the free agent (FA) market this year and left Korea Expressway Corporation to join Pepper Savings Bank. Joining Park as an outside hitter and Ssangpo was Yasmin, a proven attacker who was on fire at Hyundai E&C. Expectations were high for Pepper Savings Bank’s Ssangpo before the start of the season.
However, they struggled to bring home a win. After losing four straight games and finishing the first round with a 1-5 record, Pepper Savings Bank traveled to GS Caltex on the 10th and won 3-2. It was their second win of the season. 카지노사이트
With Yasmin struggling from the beginning of the season, Park Jung-ah’s offense was not coming through. Coach Joe Trinzi focused on saving Park to balance the offense. After the first round, the team tried to improve their performance through communication. Eventually, a new offensive system was put in place, and Park is still adjusting to it.
“I’m learning the steps again,” Park said. The coach told me that the most important thing is to do the steps that the coach wants. I practice while thinking about the steps a lot,” she said. “Also, the coach told me that he saw all the attacks I did last year, so we watched them together and talked a lot about which ones scored a lot of points, what I liked, and so on.”
He’s also chipping in on receptions. Currently, the team has a 14.98% reception share and a 13.48% efficiency rate. Park said, “I help a lot with (Oh) Ji-young and others. The coach also talked to me about whether it’s a burden to receive about three per set or if I can handle it, and he said that I’ll get better in the future. I’m also practicing a lot,” she said encouragingly.
Park has been busy in 2023. In the off-season, she played several international tournaments as captain of her national team. In fact, she hasn’t had much time to train with her new team, Pepper Savings Bank, but she’s making up for it as the season progresses.
“Physically, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t hard,” Park said. Mentally, it’s hard because I’m in a new team, but that’s not an excuse,” she said. “I was stressed at the beginning of the season, but we watched a lot of videos together and talked a lot while exercising with my teammates, so we’re getting in sync. Coach’s style of volleyball is to lead without anticipation. I’m still getting used to it, but if I can do our system correctly, I think we can play better volleyball,” she said confidently.
Yasmin is happy to have Park Jung-ah as a teammate. When Yasmin wore the Hyundai E&C jersey, she faced off against Park, who was playing for Korea Expressway Corporation at the time. “I thought she was a great player,” Yasmin says. I was in a position where I had to block. She would try to touch out, or she would cross. I remember she was very difficult to block. It’s good to have her on the same team. I think she’s an amazing person outside of volleyball. It’s nice to know that we’re going to be on the same team, and it’s nice to have a smile on your face,” he said at length.
She didn’t stop there. “One more thing,” Yasmin said, “This varsity season has been especially long. It’s come and gone over the years. But she hasn’t missed a single practice, she’s been in the gym and working to get better,” he said.
Coach Trinzi also talked about Park’s strong ceremonies when she scores an offensive goal. “She is working hard to adapt to the new offensive system. I know better than anyone how hard she works. I think she’s seen the results,” he said with a smile.
Park said of Yasmin, “‘Yaji’ is working hard. We’re lucky to have someone so explosive. She has a nice personality. She’s one of the best outsiders I’ve ever met.”
However, Yasmin underwent back surgery during the previous season and has been focused on rehabilitation. “It’s a long process to recover from surgery. With a ruptured disk, the recovery process is different every day. With the help of my coaches and trainers, I’m trying to improve my condition,” Yasmin said of her current status.
Nevertheless, Yasmin dreams of a better tomorrow: “The team is growing. We’re growing with every practice, every game. Everyone is working hard, and the only thing we can do is to work harder,” she said optimistically. “I hope we can continue to grow and develop as the coach says,” Park said.
The youngest team in the women’s division, Pepper Savings Bank, recorded three wins in its inaugural season and five in the 2022-23 season. This season, the team is determined to add more wins.