Glenn Hoag talks to an assistant during a match against Brazil (Photos: Marcelo Rizzo)
After a five-year absence, Team Canada made their return to the World League in 2012. The Canadians finished 12th among 16 squads, playing in the same pool of world number-one Brazil and eventual champion Poland. In the battle for the third place in the pool with Finland, the Canucks were successful despite the Finns being a more experienced team. Canada will play in the 2013 World League, an annual tournament that is essential for the team preparation towards Rio Olympics in 2016.
Kill on Two interviewed head coach Glenn Hoag, the man that has been training the Canadian men’s team since 2006. Hoag, who is also behind the success of the Turkish club Arkas Izmir, has a contract with Volleyball Canada until 2016. He points some positive aspects on Team Canada at the World League, although they had too many ups and downs. Hoag admits they need to do better: “Right now we have too many technical flaws. This is what we will work on.” Check out Glenn Hoag’s interview:
Kill on Two - How do you evaluate Canada’s performance at the World League?
Glenn Hoag - I would say we were good at the beginning and on the last weekend. This was really good for us as we got to assess the team with 12 good international matches. This will be useful as a base for the next cycle.
KO2 - Was any tactical change made for the final leg in Finland?
Hoag - Ciaran McGovern (setter) brought some stability to our offence after we lost Dustin (Schneider) and Josh (Howatson) to injuries. Young Blair Bann did a great job on the libero position. Overall, on the last leg we just found the patience that characterizes our game. We had lost this after Toronto.
More after the jump.