The women’s volleyball team will have a new head coach when the Swiss Nikolas Buser does not pursue a contract extension.
14:00•Updated 14:07
Coached the women’s national volleyball team for just under two years Nicholas Buser does not want to pursue an extension contract as Finland’s head coach. The contract of the Swiss, who started in the position in January 2023, ended this fall. Before his position as the women’s national team coach, Buser worked as a coach for the youth national teams and the Kuortanene coaching center.
In the spring, Buser was chosen as the head coach of LP Kangasala with a three-year contract. LP Kangasala has started the Champions League under its new head coach with two wins.
– The head coach’s job is very demanding. Now that I’m coaching in the Champions League, my program is very intensive from September to April. In the national team, the same intensity would continue from May to August. It would require working all year round at full capacity. It would not be sustainable for my family and my health, Buser, who is expecting the birth of his first child with his wife, commented to Urheilu.
Finland played under Buser in last year’s European Championship in Estonia, took part in the Silver League in the summer and started the European Championship qualifiers this fall. In the European Championships, Finland won one match in the first group and did not make it to the next round. In the silver league, the blue and whites advanced to the final, where Portugal was ultimately better. The autumn EC qualifiers, on the other hand, started with losses to Switzerland and Germany.
– The success of the junior national teams started to rise when Nik came to the sticks. We have been close to the top 10 in Europe and even better. We have 23 players abroad. The contribution of coaching expertise that he has brought will certainly carry for a long time to come, Director of Sports of the Finnish Volleyball Association Tapio Kangasniemi says.
The board of the association will decide at its next meeting how to proceed with the salary of the new head coach. National team camps start in May, so the goal is to get a new head coach at the beginning of the year.
– We want to take the very young national team to the next level. Now we need to identify the people who are capable of it, says Kangasniemi.