Italy’s Mencarelli sets sights on preparing his young player

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Lausanne, Switzerland, July 24, 2013 – Marco Mencarelli, new coach of Italy’s women’s national volleyball team, has big shoes to fill and a lot to prove. Looking to build on his predecessors’ work of establishing one of the toughest teams in the world, Mencarelli nevertheless remains focused on his goal – to develop his young players.

The Italian women’s team tries to reach new heights under the guidance of new coach Marco Mencarelli (right)

The young Italian team is set to compete at the preliminary round of the FIVB World Grand Prix from August 2 to 18. 

Mencarelli sees the World Grand Prix as an important competition to prepare his young squad for future competitions such as the European Championship later this year and the much-anticipated 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship to be played on home soil.

"For us, the World Grand Prix is a very important event because it is a tournament wherein we play against the biggest teams in the world," Mencarelli said. "We plan to develop a stronger team this year. We have divided the programme in two parts. This year we start with the younger players. In the second year, we will form a more competitive team looking ahead to the World Championship."

Although most of the familiar names in the Italian team will not be suiting up for Mencarelli, the new coach had the privilege of drawing on great players such as Carolina Costagrande, Martina Guiggi, Valentina Arrighetti, Lucia Bosetti and Valentina Fiorin to reinforce his young team.

From fivb.org