Iranian People Just Want Gold, Sitting Volleyball Coach Rezaei Says

As player, captain and head coach, Rezaei has been an integral part of Iran’s extraordinary four-decade dominance in men’s sitting volleyball.

“Our biggest challenge is that Iranian people expect us to become champions, which puts a heavy responsibility on our athletes and coaches,” Rezaei said in an interview with Paralympic.org. “In some sports, winning a championship in Asia or participating in the Paralympics is an honor, but it seems in sitting volleyball, participation and championship have different criteria.

“The criterion is that if we achieve the second place in the Paralympic competitions, it means that we have failed.”

Rezaei started playing in 1983, switching from handball. He captained the national team for 12 years, competing in three Paralympic Games as a player and six as a coach.

In the nine Games since Seoul 1988, Iran was Paralympic champion in seven. He puts the development of the sport down to a combination of factors and cites Atlanta 1996 as a particular high point when he captained the team and was recognized as the best player of the Games.

“The support of government, the people, clubs, sponsors, the beauty of the sport and the support for athletes,” Rezaei lists as reasons for its growth.

“We use modern science. Also there has been an integration of standing and sitting volleyball in terms of tactics. There is the use of maximum power of the disabled,” he said.

“Use of strength and speed in the implementation of techniques and tactics in sitting volleyball are very important. Ever since I was selected as a coach, I have tried to use all these things to promote sitting volleyball.”