Grzegorz Słyny, coach of GKS Katowice: I am waiting all the time. For me, the guys and the whole club, this player was very important. The playmaker touches the ball in every action, directs our actions. And he did a great job in this role. I wish he was with us. He was our very strong point. Even his bag with things and equipment was left in the cloakroom. So he probably had no plans not to return to the club.
Do you still expect Ma’a to play in Katowice? How can this case go?
– I do not know, but such situations in volleyball should not take place. Because we will get to a point where lower-budget clubs like us will sign player contracts and managers will continue to offer them to other teams. If a player gets much more money and it will be possible to make such a transfer without any consequences, then the volleyball player is well protected: he already has a club, and they are still looking for a team. I would not like this to happen. The worst thing is that you have no influence on it, and you are then responsible for the sports result and the consequences of doing so.
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How to replace Ma? “The quarterback market is already closed in February”
You built your team based on specific players and you did not assume that someone would not come back from vacation despite an important contract.
– With the sports director and the president, we build a team to the best of our abilities. Micah Ma’a was her mega-essential link. We started extending the contracts with him. Lots of boys had a good time playing with him. Probably also on the basis of this they made decisions to stay in GKS. There is no need to hide that a good quarterback is always a magnet for other players. If you don’t have gigantic budgets, you have to be able to arrange it with some sense. It seemed to us that many things had stabilized in the previous year. We wanted to go in this direction. Unfortunately, it happened as it happened. You will have to try to put together something at the last minute.
Are you looking for a replacement for Ma in Poland or abroad?
– It is known that Poles are gone for a long time. The market for playmakers of the right quality is already closed in February. You also have to look at what funds are available. We are in an extremely difficult situation and we have to deal with it somehow. The league is coming. Apart from the fact that we are already thinking about the competition, there is a problem with the training itself. Without a playmaker, it is very difficult to carry out valuable training. For now, we “sculpt” as much as we can.
A bit like dominoes: one fell out and more began to fall over?
– The most important one fell out. Should a wing or middle player leave, the action may take place without him after his party. And without the playmaker, practically not. This is a much more complicated situation than during previous such departures from PlusLiga, because it is a key position.
Grzegorz Siwy: I would even cut my hand off that he would still be with us
A year ago, PGE Skra Bełchatów had a similar problem, where the American Taylor Sander did not return after the summer holidays. You said you wouldn’t want this to happen in volleyball. Why are there no systemic solutions that can be used in such situations?
– I am too “small” for such decisions, these are not questions for me. It would be nice if it just humanly worked well. This decision doesn’t just affect one person’s life, my life. This affects many people at GKS Katowice. For the players’ families, because we are going to move our work home – it will be different with victories, different with defeats. It’s not that some slight harm has happened to one person. There is a problem, but we have to deal with it somehow.
In the previous season, GKS took eighth place, for the first time in the club’s history he was promoted to the PlusLiga play-offs. This year, without Ma, will it be hard to repeat it?
– For sure. It must be clearly said that Micah Ma’a is a great player, he was a good team spirit. He fitted it very well, he managed it very well. If we are talking about his stay in Katowice, I would even cut my hand off that he would still be with us. The atmosphere between him, the players and the staff was very good. It will be extremely difficult to repeat the result from the previous season in a situation where we do not know where we stand. Nobody, of course, denies us the chance to do something positive. We also do not want to make excuses from the very beginning, but only focus on preparations.
If you say you would have your hand cut off for his return, you are disappointed in the American quarterback as a human?
– I wouldn’t put it that way, because I don’t know what the managers say to the player. Of course, I would very much like Micah to be here. Perhaps in a human way it could have been solved much better.