In the vast realm of sports, the Chinese women's volleyball team always occupies a special and important position. It is not only a sports team but also a spiritual symbol that carries the pride and dreams of countless Chinese people. Every struggle on the court can ignite passionate attention across the nation. And now, as the footsteps of the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship become increasingly clear, the suspense surrounding the new head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team has become the core topic of heated discussion among fans.
Time goes back to the Paris Olympics, where the journey of the Chinese women's volleyball team ended with sweat and regret. Since then, Cai Bin, who once led the team to fight, gradually faded out from the daily training and preparation affairs of the Chinese women's volleyball team. This change, seen by the fans, could not help but speculate. And Kong Ning, a senior journalist from the Beijing Evening News, clearly revealed in related reports that Coach Cai Bin would not return to coach the Chinese women's volleyball team again. This news, like a huge stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly caused a thousand waves, making the urgency of finding a new coach openly placed on the desk of the Chinese Volleyball Association.
Throughout history, Lang Ping has left a profound mark on the Chinese women's volleyball team. During her coaching period, she led the Chinese women's volleyball team to win honors in many world competitions. Her unique coaching style and excellent leadership ability have become an eternal classic in the hearts of fans. Similarly, Chen Zhonghe also led the Chinese women's volleyball team to glory, and his coaching philosophy and tactical arrangements were deeply recognized by the fans. Therefore, when facing the situation of changing coaches for the Chinese women's volleyball team, the fans naturally had a strong expectation for the return of Coach Lang Ping and Coach Chen Zhonghe. However, reality dashed the hopes of the fans, as both Coach Lang Ping and Coach Chen Zhonghe made it clear that they had no intention of taking on the role of head coach for the Chinese women's volleyball team this time. At the same time, the change in Wang Baoquan's coaching position at Tianjin women's volleyball team also made the situation in the volleyball world more unpredictable.
In such circumstances, some fans began to look towards a broader horizon, calling on the Chinese Volleyball Association to broaden their horizons in selecting coaches, looking towards the international volleyball arena, and considering hiring foreign coaches to coach the Chinese women's volleyball team. In fact, this idea is not without basis. Previously, the famous international volleyball coach Gudetti was rumored to have coached the Chinese women's volleyball team. Coach Gudetti, with his unique tactical system and precise player allocation, has led the team to achieve excellent results in international competitions many times. His coaching style, full of passion and innovation, has won the hearts of many fans. But while ideals are full, reality is bony. The high cost required to hire Coach Gudetti has become an insurmountable obstacle in front of the Chinese Volleyball Association. On the one hand, the Chinese Volleyball Association needs to comprehensively consider budget and resource allocation; on the other hand, the spiritual connotation behind the four words "Chinese women's volleyball" is always a key factor in the selection process. This spirit is the crystallization of domestic volleyball culture and heritage, and it has deeper roots in the cultivation and coaching of domestic coaches. Taking all factors into account, the Chinese women's volleyball team is likely to still focus its attention domestically in the direction of selecting a coach, and the possibility of foreign coaches coaching becomes minimal under various realistic constraints.
Since the path of foreign coaches is restricted by various realistic factors, the focus of attention turns to domestic coaches. However, the number of domestic coaches available for selection, who possess rich experience in major competitions and can meet the current development needs of the Chinese women's volleyball team, is relatively limited. In this seemingly "doubtful road ahead" situation, the name of a coach gradually stands out in the public opinion of the volleyball world, and he is Chen Fang, the acting head coach of Tianjin women's volleyball team.
Chen Fang, this 47-year-old coach, is in the prime of his coaching career. In the just-concluded women's volleyball club world championship, he joined hands with Tianjin women's volleyball team to write a remarkable legend together. At the beginning of the event, Tianjin women's volleyball team showed an unstoppable momentum. Standing on the coach's bench, Chen Fang had a firm and focused gaze, closely watching every detail on the court. Under his command, the girls of Tianjin women's volleyball team were like well-trained soldiers, relying on tacit cooperation and tenacious fighting spirit to overcome difficulties one after another. Each game was a double test of strength and will. They ran, jumped, and spiked on the court, with every move filled with power and determination.
During the final stage, Tianjin women's volleyball team faced strong opponents from all over the world. But Chen Fang did not flinch at all. Relying on his accurate judgment of the game situation and flexible tactical arrangements, he led the team to break through difficulties time and again. In key matches, Chen Fang's on-site command ability was fully demonstrated. Sometimes during timeouts, he quickly pointed out problems for the players and adjusted tactics; sometimes he shouted loudly on the sidelines to cheer up the players and inspire their fighting spirit. Eventually, Tianjin women's volleyball team successfully won the runner-up of the club world championship. This achievement is not only a recognition of the team's strength but also a high recognition of Chen Fang's coaching ability. It broke Tianjin women's volleyball team's past record in this event and added a thick stroke to the team's honor book.
However, the reason why Chen Fang became a hot candidate for the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team is not only limited to this dazzling achievement. The unique charm and outstanding ability he displayed in the coaching process is the key to attracting everyone's attention.
The Way of Using People, Activating Team Potential
Chen Fang has his own unique wisdom and vision in using people. In the process of coaching Tianjin women's volleyball team, the veterans and newcomers in the team found their own stages under his tactical system and shone with brilliant light. Taking setter Yao Di as an example, her state in previous games was unstable, which limited her performance on the court. But Chen Fang did not lose confidence in her because of this. On the contrary, he deeply studied Yao Di's technical characteristics and playing style, and successfully activated Yao Di's potential through a series of targeted training and guidance. In the game, Chen Fang formulated various passing strategies for Yao Di according to the opponent's defensive layout, allowing her to be more confident and flexible in organizing attacks on the court. Gradually, Yao Di returned to her best form, with significant improvements in her passing accuracy and control of the game rhythm, becoming an indispensable part of Tianjin women's volleyball team's offensive system.
Similarly, a 30-year-old libero player in the team also ushered in the "second spring" of her career under Chen Fang's careful guidance. The libero in volleyball competitions bears the important tasks of defense and first pass, and the stability of her performance directly affects the overall performance of the team. This libero player found the most suitable defensive position and receiving method in Chen Fang's tactical system. Chen Fang focuses on cultivating her predictive ability and reaction speed, through a large number of simulation training, allowing her to quickly make correct judgments and reactions when facing various types of balls. In the game, her wonderful saves not only stabilized Tianjin women's volleyball team's defensive system but also created opportunities for the team's counterattacks. With her outstanding performance, she successfully entered the best lineup of the event, which is undoubtedly a high recognition of her personal ability, and also a strong proof of Chen Fang's coaching ability.
Chen Fang's way of using people, good at digging out the precious experience accumulated by veterans, while daring to boldly use newcomers and giving them sufficient room for growth, is highly consistent with the age level and personnel structure of the current Chinese women's volleyball team. The Chinese women's volleyball team is at a critical period of generational change, needing the experience of veterans to stabilize morale and the vitality of newcomers to inject new momentum into the team. Chen Fang's approach to using people undoubtedly provides a feasible idea for the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Coaching Style, Demonstrating the Potential of a Famous Coach
In addition to his outstanding ability to use people, Chen Fang's unique coaching style also allows people to see his great potential to become a famous coach. For a long time in the domestic volleyball world, there has not been a coach with a style similar to Coach Lang Ping, and the emergence of Chen Fang undoubtedly brings new hope to the fans.
In an intense match against Minas, the game entered a critical stage in the second set. When Taissa was about to serve, the situation on the court was extremely tense. As a powerful server of the Minas team, Taissa's serve was very threatening, often able to score directly or disrupt the opponent's first pass system. Just as Taissa was about to serve, Chen Fang敏锐地捕捉到了场上的一个微妙变化。他迅速做出判断，压着时间叫了暂停。这一战术决策，乍看之下，似乎有些出人意料，甚至让人觉得有些 “狡黠”。但实际上，这一战术完全与国际接轨。在国际高水平的排球赛事中，许多教练都会采用类似的战术，趁着发球球员准备发球的间隙，突然吹停比赛，打乱对手的发球节奏。这种战术的关键在于对时机的精准把握，一旦时机把握不当，不仅无法达到预期效果，还可能让球队陷入更加被动的局面。而陈方在这次暂停的决策上，展现出了他卓越的战术眼光和对比赛节奏的