Volleyball Canada hires Marcello Abbondanza as the new head coach of  Indoor Women’s Team.

Italian will officially start with Team Canada May 1st.

A world class training centre means nothing if you don’t have a world class leader in charge of the athletes who use those top notch facilities. Which is why Volleyball Canada has decided to give Marcello Abbondanza the job of Women’s National Team coach. The announcement was made after an exhaustive search and a complete review of the women’s indoor program. Moving forward, it’s hoped that Abbondanza will quickly get things in order to help the program flourish and improve.

Currently the head coach of Fenerbahce Sports Club in İstanbul, Turkey – a bronze medalists in the 2016 CEV Champions League, Abbondanza knows a thing or two about nurturing and developing talent. Aside from his job with the first team,  he is also responsible for overseeing and implementing plans for all of the youth programs and systems in the Fenerbache Sports club.

“I’m very happy to join the Canadian women’s program.  It will be very exciting to help build on the women’s team’s development and begin a new phase in Richmond, British Columbia,” said Abbondanza. “I look forward to meeting the athletes and working with Volleyball Canada to grow the women’s program.”

Abbondanza, 46, worked with the Italian National Team from 2000 to 2006 as a trainer and coach, and served as the head coach for the National B team in 2005. More recently, he was the head coach of the Bulgarian National Team until 2014 and oversaw that team at major international tournaments, including FIVB Women’s World Grand Prix — an event that is coming to the Richmond Oval in July.

Team Canada will be hosting Group 2 action in the FIVB Grand Prix circuit July 21-23 at the venue as Germany, Peru and the Czech Republic all come to town. This event will be a great opportunity for  Abbondanza to see first hand where the women’s indoor game currently sits in this country. The prospect of being able to witness not only the level of play but also the culture of volleyball will no doubt pay huge dividends down the road.

“Marcello will bring his extensive background from the professional system in Europe and his National Team experience in both Italy and Bulgaria to his new role,” said Volleyball Canada’s indoor high performance director, Julien Boucher. “We are looking forward to working with him and I’m sure he will get a warm welcome in Richmond.”

Abbondanza replaces Arnd “Lupo” Ludwig who had guided the team since 2009 from its previous base in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canada’s women’s team is currently ranked 19th in the FIVB Senior World Ranking, and its last Olympic appearance was 1996.

So quite obviously, there is lots of room for improvement for the national team, a challenge Abbondanza is ready to tackle head on.

For more on Marcello Abbondanza and his new job with the Canadian National Women’s Indoor team go to www.volleyball.ca