Japan‘s Volleyball legacy Rekindled as Laurent Tillie Leads National Team
Manila, Philippines – Former French national volleyball coach laurent Tillie is currently at the helm of the Japanese national selection as they compete in the World Championships (September 12-28) and prepare to face Turkey this Saturday. Tillie’s appointment in late November 2024 marks a return to the nation that, according to the coach, fundamentally shaped the sport of modern volleyball.
Tillie, who guided the French men’s team to their historic Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 after serving as coach from 2012-2021, initially moved to Japan in 2020 to coach the Osaka Bluteon club (formerly panasonic Panthers). He emphasizes that Japan’s influence on volleyball is often overlooked.
“The challenge that the leaders of the Osaka club offered me in 2019 was all the more engaging as Japan is the country that invented everything in modern volleyball,” tillie explained.
In the 1960s, despite being physically outmatched by dominant teams like the USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, Japan revolutionized the game. Unable to compete with sheer size, Japanese teams pioneered a fast-paced style of play, prioritizing speed, agility, precision, and coordination, and frequently utilizing wing attacks. This innovative approach laid the groundwork for much of the modern game seen today.
Tillie has been living in Japan with his wife, Caroline, for five years, immersing himself in the culture that birthed the strategic foundations of the sport he now leads on the international stage.
