"Second place to be applauded" Jeonggwanjang, Ko Hee-jin, said, "I'm a happy director because I did 'extremely good'."
"Second place to be applauded" Jeonggwanjang, Ko Hee-jin, said, "I'm a happy director because I did 'extremely good'."
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Jeong Kwan-jang of women's professional volleyball won the runner-up prize in this season's V-League. Heungkuk Life Insurance won the title with Kim Yeon-koung's "Last Dance," and Jeong also received as much attention as Heungkuk Life Insurance. They were No. 2, but their impressions were as strong as champions.
After advancing to the championship for the first time in 13 years, Jeong lost the first and second games of the series, which was held in the best-of-five series, and was pushed to the brink of collapse. The third game also seemed to end in a humble manner as the first and second sets were lost. However, he displayed his extraordinary endurance in the crisis.
Jeong Kwan-jang grabbed Game 3 with a reverse sweep that lowered three to five sets and then won the full set until Game 4 to drive the game to the final Game 5.
Although he failed to reach the championship by giving up the last five sets in Game 5 of the "again" full-set close game, he was the confident lead of the all-time drama in the V-League.
In particular, he was praised as a "clapped runner-up" for not giving up until the end despite the forced force and the injuries of the main players, who played eight games in two weeks from the playoffs.
On the 16th, about 10 days after the 5th game of the Championship (8th), News 1 met coach Ko Hee-jin, who led the miracle of Jeong Kwan-jang, at a cafe in Seongnam City.
◇ Game 5 of the day I haven't seen it yet...Still, I can't imagine it
"Game 5, I still haven't seen it again."
Although some time has passed, head coach Ko Hee-jin has yet to see Game 5 of the day when Jeong Kwan-jang's victory was thwarted.
People around him call him a "beautiful loser," but from the perspective of the head coach, defeat is a loss. It was an unforgettable and bitter defeat.
"When I won the championship, I couldn't remember that much. But when I won the runner-up prize, my memory would last for a long time," he said.
As it was one of the best competitions among Korean pro sports that took place recently, the highlights of the championship match are being re-played every time the TV is turned on, but he tried hard to avoid it. However, I can only imagine the situation at the time.
Staring at a distance, he said, "Eun-jin blocked Tutku's opening well, and afterwards, (Yum) Hye-sun hit Dig and Park Eun-jin's set very well, but (Kim) Yeon-kyung received it because it was difficult. After that, Tutku hit...It accurately described the last situation.
In addition, coach Ko remembered all the rallies in the situation where Jeong Kwan-jang scored dramatically or lost points unfortunately. He said, "I know how much more regret I will have to see it again, so I don't have the courage to see it."
However, he was not just depressed. He changed the mood with his unique pleasant talk, saying, "I am happy just to have such a great match. I forgot the result now," smiling personally. "If you are a professional, you should definitely do that."
At the same time, he confessed, "However, when people around me say, 'It was a shame,' the pain that I had forgotten hits my heart," and smiled bitterly.
The reporter tried to console him as soon as they met him without knowing his feelings, and the photojournalist who failed to hear the information because he had to check the composition of the photo, and the owner who recognized him at a different restaurant changed his location. He said, "What should I do? It was such a shame." It was a fierce competition to forget.
◇ Until luck becomes happiness
This meeting was not to sprinkle salt on director Ko's bitter wounds. I wanted to hear the secret of the director, who directed the drama so that Jeong Kwan-jang could write a miracle drama.
When asked about the secret of his success this season, coach Ko recalled the time when he picked Bukirich, saying, "Then we have to talk about Dubai (where the tryout was held)."
Jeong Kwan-jang, who was ranked third in the 2023-24 season, was lucky to have the second overall pick in this season's tryout with only 15 beads out of 140, but he made a rather unexpected choice: Bukirich. He then renewed his contract with Mega in the Asian quarter and played this season under the Bukirich-Mega foreign duo system.
Coach Ko replied, "I had the luck (to pick the player I wanted)."
It started with "lucky," but it was thanks to coach Ko's insight and hard work that allowed it to be "happiness."
Coach Koh entrusted the outside heater to the Apogit spiker Bukirich, who had never played before. When he was playing for the Korea Expressway Corporation, he noticed that Bukirich has good defense capabilities. As a result, Jeong used the mega hitters as an apogit, maximizing synergy between the two.
If Mega didn't play his part, Bukirich could have coveted his main position, Apogit, and then his teamwork could have collapsed.
So coach Ko instilled his own motivation in the two players, and he was considerate and disciplined so that both Bukirich and Mega could shine.
Mega and Bukirich, who had obvious shortcomings compared to their advantages, have grown into the best foreign duo in the V-League in the "win-win effect" this season, especially in the five Champs games, pouring 153 and 115 points, respectively, and combining 268 points.
Coach Ko credited the players, saying, "It is a great luck for the leader to meet such foreign players," and the two foreigners also said, "Thanks to the coach, I was able to break the egg."
When Megah, who was supposed to leave the Indonesian team, left Incheon International Airport to see him off in person and couldn't speak. To Coach Ko, the two foreigners were such great happiness.
◇ "Director Go Heejin is happy because he did "extremely well."
Ko's communication skills were also miraculous. After winning four to six games in the first 10 games of this season, Ko and his players had a chance to communicate with each other. Through this time, they candidly shared everything and listened to each other's stories.
"Communication means that the meaning of the word itself is to confide in each other. When you talk to only one side or talk to each other, that's not communication," Koh said. "I thought I was good at communication until then. However, since we really communicated that day, our team has changed completely and we can have the best team atmosphere."
In fact, a volleyball official said, "Director Jeong not only has a good atmosphere among coaches, coaching staff, and players, but also feels tremendous trust."
Since then, Jeong Kwan-jang has won 13 consecutive games, the most in the club's history, jumping to the top and making history through the playoffs.
"In fact, if we lost two matches against the Champs and lost two sets in the third round, it would be natural for us to just collapse. However, we are not good at communicating with each other. "Because we had the best teamwork, we were able to gather strength once again in that situation." He said, "The most important moment was the inflection point of the day when we gathered and shed tears together, which led to a great miracle.
Ahead of the third round match, Koh prepared a buzzword from the drama "Best Love" and showed off his humorous gesture to the players before the game. It was a brilliant move for the players who would feel pressure in such a heavy atmosphere.
"I wanted the players to smile once more," he said, but it actually worked. "The mood could have been gloomy, but thanks to the coach's efforts, the mood of 'Let's do it until the end' was set," setter Yeom Hye-sun said.
The upcoming championship is meaningful not only for the players but also for the coach Ko Hee-jin. It was an important turning point in his leadership career that allowed him to "extremely overcome" difficulties and grow further.
"I realized again that it is important for a coach to communicate better with the players and create good teamwork. I am a happy leader because I have played an unprecedented game in my leadership career. This memory will be a great asset for me as a coach in the future," he said.
◇ Jeong Kwan-jang and Go Hee-jin are running again
Now, Jeong Kwan-jang will play again for the 2025-26 season. Coach Ko Hee-jin, who said he has grown more on his own, is also with him.
In women's professional volleyball, it is not easy for a team that has performed well in one season to take continuity next season.
The same holds true for Jeong Kwan-jang, who will leave the V-League's best foreign duo "Megarich (Mega + Bukirich)" last season. This is why the off-season is more important.
Chung first nominated Wi Pai-yu Xitong of Thailand, who has experience in the V-League, for the Asian quarter. Just as Bukirich, who was brought from the Korea Expressway Corporation, was a huge success, expectations are high on what new color Ko will wear to Wi Pai-yu.
Ko has started planning for the new season, including a tryout for foreigners and formation of Korean players to be held in Turkiye from May 5 to 11. "Now I will be so busy that I don't have time to feel sorry for it," he said, pretending to rip off his head.
Ko promised to go further next season.
Coach Ko took over as Jeonggwanjang in the 2022-23 season and started his first career as a women's volleyball leader to rank fourth.
In the 2023-24 season, they reached the playoffs in third place, but failed to reach the championship with one win and two losses. This season, they led the women's team to the championship for the first time, but did not get to the championship because they did not get the last set.
He said, "It was regrettable that we continued to lack a little bit. In the new season, I will try to run a team that is not lacking any more so that I don't leave any regrets."
"I will keep my experience as a runner-up but forget the honor. I will start from the beginning," he said.
Coach Ko said as soon as he was about to finish the interview and chatted about this and that.
"I have to get rid of all the regrets and go back. Now I'm going to replay the video of Game 5 Championship." 온라인카지노