Netting the advantage

If any Thai volleyball coach can be said to have made a major impact on the sport in recent years, it has to be Kittipong Pornchartyingcheep, whose hard work and dedication to raising the professional standard of volleyball and its popularity among the public has met with resounding success. 
Kittipong, who was formerly known as Apisak Rakchartyingcheep, is the man behind the significant achievements of Bangkok Glass, a professional volleyball club based in Pathum Thani. The club, which is managed by BGFC Sport, was only established in 2014, but has so far swept all six titles in the tournaments in which its team has taken part.
The Bangkok Glass players made their debut in the 2014 Pro Challenge and their convincing wins quickly earned them a promotion to the highest level of competition, the Thailand League.
Last year, the ladies of Bangkok Glass, who are affectionately known as the Rabbit Women and count national superstar spiker Pleumjit Thinkaow among their number, captured the Thailand League and the Super League.
Aside from achieving an enviable national reputation, Bangkok Glass also became the first Thai club team ever to reign supreme in the Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Vietnam following a stunning victory over title-holders and hot favourites Hisamitsu Springs from Japan.
Despite daunting challenges from other strong contenders, many of whose ranks have been strengthened by overseas players this year, Bangkok Glass has made its mark, successfully retaining its Thailand League and Super League titles. And the Rabbit Women are now ready for to defend their title in the Asian Women’s Club Championship and make their debut in the Women’s Club World Championship, which takes place later this year.
“I never thought that my team would be this successful. But having said that, we haven’t come all this way to rest on our laurels. We still have further to go,” Kittipong tells The Sunday Nation.
A former member of the national men’s volleyball team, Kittipong first caught the public’s attention in 1995 when he helped Thailand to victory in the SEA Games in Chiang Mai and earned himself the Best Server award. The left-handed spiker was also a member of the Thailand team that qualified for the 1998 World Championship Finals in Japan.
His career was cut short just a few years later after sustaining a serious right knee injury and Kittipong called it a day ahead of the team’s departure for the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam.
“In 1996, I played professional league in Malaysia. My team won the first match but went down in the second. I asked my team-mates why our team lost. They felt it was because we lacked professionalism in the way we were coached. I was asked to help. I used a new teaching method and also brought the modern training system back on track, applying the knowledge I had gained while I was with the Thai team. My team went on to improve by leaps and bounds and we eventually captured the League,” he says of his first coaching job.
Kittipong also coached a Vietnamese men’s team from Ho Chi Minh during their one-month training session in Thailand. The team was newly formed with plenty of young players, and its administration board badly wanted him to make the team publicly known in Vietnam when they returned. And Kittipong certainly made his presence felt as a professional coach, steering his little known team to finish in third place in the Sting Cup in Vietnam.
“After that I was invited to coach an academy team in Vietnam for two years. That was followed by a time coaching Long An VC and also on occasion the Vietnam women’s national team. My five years in Vietnam were fraught with difficulty. The Vietnamese players could not speak English and I had to introduce them to a modern training technology. I applied sports science to let them undergo weight training with physiotherapy and psychological support,” the 44-year-old from Nakhon Phanom says.
“I later signed a contract with Bangkok Glass, mainly because I knew from its reputation as an owner of a football club that it was very professional and offered good welfare to both its employees and players.
“It was a challenge and a tough mission to make Bangkok Glass successful from the word go. There was a great deal of pressure in forming a new team, as I had to start from zero. I spent most of my time setting up the game plan and selecting players for each position. Statistics were less important and I would instead concentrate on studying the video recordings thoroughly and taking it match by match. I go to bed very late every night after spending three to four hours studying the tapes to learn how to cope with rivals’ tactics and use the talents our team have. Teamwork, hard training and good preparation are key factors in Bangkok Glass’ success,” says Kittipong, who acted in two TV movies while he was young.
The reason for his name change from Apisak Rakchartyingcheep to Kittipong Pornchartyingcheep, he explains, was based on the advice received from an astrologer.
“Prior to becoming a coach, a well-known astrologer suggested that I change my name in order to be successful in my coaching career. He also said that if I became a coach, the Olympics would be within my reach.”
A devout Buddhist, Kittipong is also an avid collector of amulets and counts one of the revered Luang Por To among his most treasured.
“They help me keep cool and calm. During tough competitions, I am able to maintain my concentration thanks to these amulets. And when you keep your nerve, everything goes your way,” he smiles.