Ogino Massage (53), a former Suntory Sunbirds, a prestigious Japanese volleyball team, takes the helm of OK Financial Group’s Thingman professional volleyball team.
Men’s professional volleyball OK Financial Group announced on the 29th that it had appointed coach Ogino as the next command tower. Coach Ogino became the third coach in the history of the club after coaches Kim Se-jin and Seok Jin-wook, and the first foreign coach of the OK Financial Group volleyball team.
The club said, “As we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding this year, we reviewed the appointment of a foreign coach in various ways with the meaning of returning to the beginning and challenging again.” He explained, “I decided to appoint coach Ogino, who has a high level of skill and is strong in basic volleyball, as the right person.”
According to the club, OK Financial Group selected candidates with foreign managers in mind from the beginning. A wide range of people from Brazil, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, etc. were considered, and various aspects were reviewed, such as conducting pre-written interviews.
Coach Ogino is a Japanese volleyball legend who played an active role as a defensive outside hitter from 1988 to 2010. He has competed in the Olympics twice (1992, 2008) and the World Championships three times (1990, 1998, 2006). After he retired from playing in 2010, he began his coaching career with the Suntory Sunbirds and led the team until 2012. Later, in 2017, he was appointed as Suntory manager again and led the team until 2019.
Coach Ogino also has a deep relationship with Korean volleyball. Coach Ogino played an active part as the Japanese national team when Korea and Japan formed a men’s volleyball rivalry. He has a good understanding of Korea’s play style and performance. He is still interacting with the Korean national team players he faced as a player and continuing his relationship with Korean volleyball.
Director Ogino said,안전놀이터 “I am happy to be able to take on a new challenge with the OK Financial Group volleyball team.”
He said, “I know well about Korean volleyball and I have a friendly side,” and then “I think free communication is the most important thing in team management. We will build a system that utilizes all attack channels by strengthening the defense, which is the pillar of the team.”
Coach Ogino came to Korea on the 15th and greeted the players after finalizing his contract. Coach Ogino, who returned to Japan on the 17th, plans to return to Korea at the end of May to lead the team in earnest after completing necessary procedures such as issuing a visa.