What does volleyball mean for Teruel?
It is a sport that is ingrained and that serves as a showcase of what Teruel is. And with the Teruel Volleyball Club we are one more value. We are few in the province and having a sports showcase that brings people together around a discipline and a project is still a symbol of Teruel at this time …
… Because small sports can also make a city great.
The first is football, then basketball, followed by hunting, golf and mountains, obviously because without a license they cannot be practiced, they are followed by judo, handball, athletics, volleyball and tennis. We have to remove the complexes. Thanks to the successes of Carolina Marín, badminton has become visible. And, around CV Teruel, this discipline has had a reputation, not only in the Community but also in the highest national category and in Europe, in the Champions League.
The club celebrates 30 years of life in September. What do you maintain about the philosophy with which you were born to promote sports and values from school?
I think a lot. It is true that there has been an evolution that is given by the change of people, but the root is still well rooted in the ground. We do not forget where we come from and how grown up. Doing things little by little, with enthusiasm and enthusiasm, you can turn what was entertainment for boys and girls who practiced a sport into something more serious. But being clear that the locomotive that pulls the project and everyone is the Superliga team. Deep down, it is knowing how to coexist with both things: grassroots sport and the elite, the mirror in which young people look at themselves.
Is it good for Aragon that there is a backbone of elite sport?
Yes, of course, it is good that we all have references. Huesca is a great example: until recently they had a soccer team in the First Division, a basketball team in the second division, the LEB Oro, another team in Asobal…, and it is a city with more than 50,000 inhabitants. I like that there are initiatives in Jaén, Ávila, Ciudad Real, Segovia or Cuenca; because, in the end, how nice it is that we identify with something close. And that in addition to representing the population grows with it. Being small does not mean that you cannot achieve your dreams. From that Spain of opportunities, from those places where fewer people live, without complexes and with humility, challenges can be achieved. It’s in people’s DNA.
What has been the key to being up and not dying of glory?
We have gone through all the scenarios that can be given. I like to say that the Teruel Volleyball Club board is very professional without any remuneration. When one fights for a passion, when not only the logical and mental part moves but also the emotional part, the heart, is capable of achieving challenges. Having a series of people who at all times have known how to contribute the most of themselves for a common benefit, is what has allowed CV Teruel to continue as alive as the first day. The important thing is that the essence remains the same.
A few days ago there were elections for the presidency and you are again in office.
Yes, this year we continue for the love of the club since after such a difficult year it was the most sensible thing to do. But new people join, who previously had roles and who will now assume more responsibility, and all with great enthusiasm. This is what serves as fuel for us to feed back and keep walking. If I continue to lead, it is because everyone has supported me.
And it was accompanied by the news that CV Teruel will compete again in Europe.
Sponsors continue to support the project as our partners, and both are critical. We are working on finding our travel companions, and the last one is Turismo de Aragón, which will allow us to put the name of Teruel in Europe, in the Challenge Cup: this is the icing on the cake for the 30th anniversary, the award for the fans that have been accompanying us from his home during the past year and for our sponsors, and it is a claim for the players.
When will sport regain its long-awaited normality?
The covid caught us totally defenseless in society, health, business … and in sports. If, in the end, immunity is achieved through vaccination, we will walk again. Hopefully the 2021-2022 season can develop with the normality of yesteryear and that we all go a little better.
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