Each tournament is an experience
The Information Corps Youth Volleyball Team made history as the first women's team in Vietnam to win 3 domestic youth titles in a year, including the 2025 National Youth Championship, the 2025 National U23 Championship and the 2025 National Youth Club Volleyball Cup. Coach Nguyen Trong Linh won two of these awards (National Youth Championship 2025, National Youth Club Volleyball Cup 2025).
saying the drops of sweat on his face after the 2025 National Youth Club Volleyball Cup final against Duc Giang Chemicals (evening of September 9) in Tam Dao (Phu Tho), coach Nguyen Trong Linh confided: "The match really brought pressure for us. The players of the opposing team played well. It seems that all teams will play more than 100% when meeting the Information Corps team.
However, my students and I did a good job of tactics so we won the final victory. I would like to send this victory to the commanders of the Information and Communications Corps and the football team as well as the entire family and fans of our young players.
Coach Nguyen Trong Linh believes that coaching young players is very different from coaching mature players to compete professionally. Because coaching young players is the peak stage of technical training and basic tactical training for athletes.
Coach Nguyen Trong Linh said: "I learned from many previous coaches. In each person, I accumulate more experience for myself. After each tournament I participate in, I have more lessons to help me improve my skills. The most important thing I have determined when being a coach is that a teacher must maintain discipline and be dedicated to his students to achieve professional results".
Through his professional career, coach Nguyen Trong Linh has participated in many national youth tournaments, national championships and international tournaments with the Vietnam U20 Team, Vietnam U21 Team, and Vietnam Women's Team. However, he affirmed that he still accumulates expertise because modern volleyball is constantly changing to develop strongly.
"Coaches like us also have to study and accumulate experience to achieve work efficiency. I was lucky to learn many things from my colleagues as well as my opponents when I participated in domestic and international tournaments before," this coach confided.
Hopefully train many potential players
Mr. Nguyen Trong Linh is the head coach of the Vietnam U21 Team that participated in the 2025 U21 World Championship. Experts and fans are especially interested in the team's competition expertise during the competition in Indonesia (July 2025).
Looking back at the training process of the Vietnam U21 National Team, I assess the 18 young players trained at that time as very promising faces. When they develop their abilities, these players can completely replace their seniors in the future. I was lucky to work as a youth player coach from the grassroots team and was assigned to the Vietnam U21 Team, so I was like a "hammer", understanding the abilities of each athlete. The young faces of Vietnam are not inferior in expertise to athletes of the same age in Southeast Asia. The only thing that needs to be overcome is that they have to compete internationally more to mature, Mr. Nguyen Trong Linh acknowledged.
Volleyball is a collective sport, so coaches must play a decisive role in the success of each team. Mr. Linh did not share much about the 2025 U21 World Cup. However, through the heart-to-heart of this young "general", he himself showed his passion for expertise. In fact, the U21 Vietnam players have made a positive impression.
Proud of the army's shirt
During his playing days, Mr. Nguyen Trong Linh was trained and played as a middle blocker at the The Cong Men's Volleyball Team. At the end of his career, Nguyen Trong Linh decided to pursue a coaching job. The coach started to join the Information Corps women's team in 2016 and officially participated in the training of the youth force.
"The military sports environment has created me to be disciplined. This is necessary for any athlete. That is why, when working with the Information Corps Women's Volleyball Team, I always emphasize discipline for students to help them practice best," said coach Nguyen Trong Linh.
Mr. Linh said that he inherited the love of volleyball from his mother, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien. Ms. Hien was a former player and coach at the Information Corps women's volleyball team. Coach Nguyen Trong Linh revealed: I came to volleyball as a coincidence. I went to practice sports and was selected as an athlete. When I leave the field, I also determined that volleyball is the career I will pursue. Therefore, I am very focused on coaching work at the moment".
After winning the 2025 National Youth Club Volleyball Cup, it can be seen that coach Nguyen Trong Linh made an impression on himself with the result of winning the championship twice in a row (2024 - 2025). However, coach Nguyen Trong Linh modestly acknowledged that professional coaches must ensure the assigned tasks.
"When the players compete successfully, it means that the coaching staff and I have completed the assigned tasks. We always determine that when they are on the field to practice and compete, they must be determined by all their strengths because of the flag and shirt color, to achieve the best results, Mr. Linh added.
As a male coach but working professionally for female players, coach Nguyen Trong Linh affirmed that he did not encounter many obstacles because they both aimed for professionalism. Starting each training session, teachers and coaching staff are on the field as early as possible and leave last.
Coach Nguyen Trong Linh shared: The top requirement for military sports is timekeeping. Each of us teachers always complies with this requirement and closely follows the training of athletes.
To do a good job, coach Nguyen Trong Linh believes that he will receive support from his family, so he is assured of doing his job professionally. In difficult times in terms of expertise, coach Nguyen Trong Linh also needs professional sharing from his mother many times. Coach Nguyen Thi Hien always gives her son Nguyen Trong Linh the trust to focus on volleyball.
After each tournament, I go back to sleep deeply and when I return the next day, I look at what I and the players have done well, and what I have to learn from. Only then will teachers and students be more perfect, coach Nguyen Trong Linh confided.
