“The cold and darkness do not affect me too much because I am most of the time between the pavilion and the clinic”. So simple explains his life in Iceland Miguel Mateo Castrillo (Valladolid1989) a MD to deal with the two aspects that would slow down anyone to settle near the polar circle. Although it may seem, it is not so easy when you must train two teams from the First Male and Female Volleyball Division of the The of Akureyri (In the north of the island almost 5 hours from Reikavik) With its different training schedules, party calendars, decide holders and alternates and manage the casualties due to injuries. And he still has time to work as a physiotherapist and form a family with Paula del Olmo Gómez (Torrelavega1994), player of the women's team, coach of lower categories and children's school teacher with whom he has a daughter and accompanied him in this adventure that should last only one year.
Miguel, in Action, during a Cup match
Involved with KA
Anyone would consider what their life would be like in an inhospitable place that can emotionally affect the day to day but Miguel y Paula They have adapted to perfection to the inclement weather and the usual setbacks for the meteorology that arise in a country where winter lengthens many months.
Miguel, second standing on the right with yellow shirt, poses with the male and female teams
Miguel Account a MD How was his arrival and how he ended up playing for an Icelandic team. At the end of the 2016-2017 season I was without a contract and was looking for a team in the Super League volleyball of Space. A coach who was already in the country encouraged him and decided to try. Paula He went to work in the marketing department of a hotel while he signed for him Though in Neskaupstad (East coast). After a year they moved to the north to settle in Akureyri. In a country where the land does not provide much support, most basic products are imported and prices are high.
Miguel has led the female team to win the triplet
So are rentals and day to day but Miguel Recognize that salaries are also consistent with expenses. The club provided them with an apartment and Paula began to train the lower categories of the The. The club's volleyball section has rapidly grown in recent years under its leadership. “The number of practitioners in the Junior categories has been quintupled, if not sexualized”says. Paula Account that at first he trained a total of ten children in the children's children's categories, but now the The It has several teams in all divisions.
Miguel and Paula, happy after getting the league title
They have become the fashion couple of Iceland since they dominate the Icelandic with which they defend themselves in interviews with local media. A language that, taking advantage of the stop of all sports activity through the Covid19 pandemic, learned with private classes.
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Two triplets in two months
After being combining throughout the season the direction of the women's team and being a male player-player, with the help of the Gerundense Julia Bonet Carreras who has worked as an assistant, at the beginning of March champions of Copa In both teams.
Miguel and Paula, with the trophies of the two historical triplets won in the KA
Then came the League title that formed 8 teams and on April 22 and 23 they won the League playoff with the female and did the same as a male player after winning the three games of five possible. Two triplets hardly equal in professional sport that collects the fruits of a laborious work.
Miguel confesses a Mundo Deportivo that you would like to train in Space but that salaries are far from what for now has in Iceland. Its intention is to renew year after year and evaluate whether you can physically play a whole season while starting to consider an exclusive dedication to the technical direction. A future is opened as a coach loaded with experience and titles and with a contagious positivity that fights cold and darkness.
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