Head Coach and Team Member Taking a Walk in Beilun photographed by Peng Yali

Yesterday afternoon, the first batch of 7 members from the Chinese men's volleyball team arrived at the Beilun Sports Training Base as scheduled, the other 10 members also all arrived in Beilun last night.

The training is an important start in the new Olympic cycle for the Chinese men’s volleyball team, targeting the Volleyball Men's Nations League from June to August this year and the Men's volleyball World Championships in September.

Among the first batch of registered members, there are not only experienced veteran such as Geng Xin, but also Gu Qinfan and other “after 00s” rookies emerging, presenting a reasonable line up structure combining the old, the middle-aged and the youth.

From now on, the team will engage in intensive and well-organized training sessions under the guidance of head coach Vital Heynen, including strength training, tactical coordination and technical refinement.

“Our goal is to win, and I still think we should learn how to win. I will develop a personalized training plan for each member to improve the overall combat effectiveness of the team in the short term.” said Vital Heynen, pointing to the base’s slogan.

Among all the teams participating in the Volleyball Men’s Nations League in 2025, the Chinese men’s volleyball team is ranked relatively low. So how to secure victories against stronger opponents is the key to this men's volleyball training.

“This training will last throughout the summer. Last year, we trained a lot about strengthening individual skills. This year, we will focus more on team cooperation. For example, we not only need to practice individual blocking well, but also train how to improve their performance of three team members conducting group blocking. This is what we need to train this summer.” said Vital Heynen.

A total of 30 team members will be gathered for the training, and the second batch of 9 members will report on April 13, and the third batch of 4 members will be arranged to report for the time as the case may be.

From June to August this year, the Chinese men’s volleyball team will participate in the Volleyball Men’s Nations League. In September this year, the Chinese men’s volleyball team will participate in the World Men’s Volleyball Championship in the Philippines. (Reporter Fan Xiaolei, Peng Yali and Weng Tianyu)