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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

VOLLEYBALL

Men's Volleyball World Cup - Day 1 results

Sports Nov. 21, 2011 - 03:57AM JST ( 8 )

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8 Comments

-1

smithinjapanNov. 21, 2011 - 10:28AM JST

The Japan men's team sucks.
-2

drluciferNov. 21, 2011 - 12:53PM JST

Not that they suck, Men's sports are more competitive than women's sports. they japanese don't really have the build and power to match the foreign players.
1

LFRAgainNov. 21, 2011 - 04:27PM JST

"The Japan men's team sucks."

I'm sad to say I can't disagree with this. They've sucked since I started watching them in competition some 10 years ago, and there seems to be no hope of them ever getting better. Their games are always disappointing for me.

With that said, men's volleyball in general is disappointing. The rallies and back-row defense that make women's games so thrilling to watch have all but disappeared in men's, where a possession results in an all-but-guaranteed score. Pass, set, smash. Pass, set, smash. Pass, set, smash. It's boring as hell to watch at the men's level of competition. The men's net height needs to be raised to reflect the taller and more athletic players that currently populate the sport .
0

LFRAgainNov. 21, 2011 - 05:05PM JST

"Men's sports are more competitive than women's sports. they japanese don't really have the build and power to match the foreign players."

I think some women players might take issue with statement. And I would have to agree with them.

Also, there are plenty of Japanese male athletes out there who are more than physically up to the task of competing against the international peers, despite height, a truth borne out when one considers Japan has finished among the top ten teams in the world four times over the last decade in World League play. They have the ability, but it just isn't focused correctly, IMHO.

Even if your assertion that women just aren't as competitive as men was valid, all things being equal, your other claim of Japanese players being physically incapable of competing against "foreign" players doesn't explain why the Japan women's team ranks 4th in the world, ahead of taller and physically more imposing teams like Germany, Cuba, and Poland.

Physicality isn't the issue with the men's team. Coaching and training are.
-1

WilliBNov. 21, 2011 - 07:32PM JST

I don´t like man´s volleyball. It is all slam-bang-finish. Volleyball is a sport where the women´s games are more fun to watch. They actually get to some sequences going.
0

SerranoNov. 21, 2011 - 09:15PM JST

The Japanese men just lost set 4 to Argentina, who also won the first set, so it's going to go to a 5th set.

"The women's games are more fun to watch"

They sure are! The Japan-Germany match was one of the most thrilling matches ever, even more than the Japan-Brazil or the Japan-China matches!
0

SerranoNov. 21, 2011 - 09:36PM JST

Argentina just took the 5th set 15-12, and Japan has now lost their first two matches.
0

Clément DelestradeNov. 21, 2011 - 09:57PM JST

The excuse of build and physical for Japanese is stupid. Players like Kunihiro Shimizu or Tatsuya Fukuzawa are freaks of the nature. They're just not playing at the moment, it happens.