Philippe Blain

Philippe Blain
Philippe Blain
Personal information
Full name	Philippe Georges Antoine Blain
Born	20 May 1960 (age 64); Montpellier, France
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Coaching information
Current team	Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers
Previous teams coached
1991–1993; 1994–2000; 2000–2001; 2001–2012; 2013–2015; 2013–2016; 2016–2017; 2017–2021; 2021–2024; 2024–	Piemonte Volley; AS Cannes; Arago de Sète; France; Montpellier Volley; Poland (AC); Skra Bełchatów; Japan (AC); Japan ; Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers
Volleyball information
Position	Outside hitter
Career
1980–1985; 1986–1989; 1989–1990	Montpellier Volley; Montpellier Volley; Piemonte Volley
National team
1980–1991	France (340)
Honours
Men's volleyball
Representing France
CEV European Championship
Head coach France
FIVB World Championship
FIVB World League
CEV European Championship
Head coach Japan
FIVB Nations League
AVC Asian Championship

Philippe Georges Antoine Blain (born 20 May 1960) is a French professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the France national team from 1984 to 1987 and a participant in the Olympic Games Seoul 1988. Blain serves as head coach for Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers. He also acted as Secretary of FIVB Technical & Coaching commission.^[1]

Career as coach

Since 1998 he has coached in France, first at AS Cannes, then, since 2000, at Arago de Sète. Starting from 2001 he was a head coach of the France men's national volleyball team.

In 2013 he was announced as new assistant coach to new coach Stephane Antiga. They have been working with Poland men's national volleyball team. On September 21, 2014 Poland won a title of World Champion 2014.^[2]^[3]^[4] On October 27, 2014 he received a state award granted by the Polish President Bronisław Komorowski – Gold Cross of Merit for outstanding contribution to the development of Polish sport.^[5]

On 29 March 2016, he signed a contract with PGE Skra Bełchatów and replaced the previous head coach, Miguel Angel Falasca.^[6]

Blain coached the Japanese men's national volleyball team since 2017, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach from 2022 onwards. Under his guidance, Japan would qualify for two Olympics: the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the host nation and the 2024 Paris Olympics through the qualifying matches of 2023. Following the 2024 Olympics, Blain announced his departure from the team.^[7]^[8]

Honours

As a coach

CEV Cup
- 1998–99 – with AS Cannes
Domestic
- 1994–95 French Cup, with AS Cannes
- 1994–95 French Championship, with AS Cannes
- 1997–98 French Cup, with AS Cannes
- 2016–17 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów

Individual awards

1986: FIVB World Championship – Most valuable player
1987: CEV European Championship – Most valuable player

State awards

2014: Gold Cross of Merit^[9]
2014: Medaille de la Jeunesse et des Sports

References

^ "FIVB Technical & Coaching Commission". www.fivb.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ Poland win second World Championship title at home – fivb.org – 21-09-2014
^ Poland put an end to the reign of Brazil – fivb.org – 21-09-2014
^ FIVB MŚ Polska 2014: Polska ze złotym medalem – plusliga.pl – 21-09-2014
^ "Dziękuję za chwile wzruszenia i dumy" Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine – prezydent.pl – 27-10-2014
^ Mistrz Świata poprowadzi PGE Skrę – 29-03-2016
^ Takahara, Kanako. "Heartbreak for Japan's volleyball team after narrow loss to Italy". japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
^ Lee, Bomi. "일본 대표팀과 계약 종료...블랑 감독 "2023년과 2024년은 더욱 특별한 해였다"". thespike.co.kr.
^ Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 23 października 2014 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczeń – isap.sejm.gov.pl – 23-10-2014

External links

Coach profile at the European Volleyball Confederation
Player profile at LegaVolley.it (in Italian)
Coach/Player profile at Volleybox.net

[1] "FIVB Technical & Coaching Commission". www.fivb.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.

[2] Poland win second World Championship title at home – fivb.org – 21-09-2014

[3] Poland put an end to the reign of Brazil – fivb.org – 21-09-2014

[4] FIVB MŚ Polska 2014: Polska ze złotym medalem – plusliga.pl – 21-09-2014

[5] "Dziękuję za chwile wzruszenia i dumy" Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine – prezydent.pl – 27-10-2014

[6] Mistrz Świata poprowadzi PGE Skrę – 29-03-2016

[7] Takahara, Kanako. "Heartbreak for Japan's volleyball team after narrow loss to Italy". japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 17 August 2024.

[8] Lee, Bomi. "일본 대표팀과 계약 종료...블랑 감독 "2023년과 2024년은 더욱 특별한 해였다"". thespike.co.kr.

[9] Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 23 października 2014 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczeń – isap.sejm.gov.pl – 23-10-2014

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