Ex-UVC coach Leitgeb: “I struggled with myself for a long time”

With a 3-0 defeat in the second leg of the playoff for fifth place against UVC Graz last Saturday, UVC Ried’s remaining hopes of an international starting place – one of the last remaining goals of the season – were buried. After the end of the current season, it is now time to analyze and plan for the coming season, for which the Ried volleyball players also have to find a new coach. As reported, coach Manuel Leitgeb, who took over from long-term coach Dominik Kefer last summer, announced to the club that he would no longer be extending his contract in the Innviertel. In the interview, the Lower Austrian talks about his motivations, the past season and his future.

OÖN: You are ending your work in Ried after just one season. Why?

Manuel Leitgeb: I gave everything for the UVC to combine my work for the club with my job as a sports and social worker as best as possible and also fought to end the season as positively as possible. I wrestled with myself for a long time, but in the end the time required was too high. I have been in discussions with the club about this for a long time. After the quarter-final exit, I finally informed those responsible of my final decision.

What assessment do you make of your first season as a Bundesliga coach?

I have mixed feelings. In the end, things didn’t go as well as we had hoped in the basic round. We never got into a real flow and almost always had to work hard for everything. In some cases we showed really good performances. We also usually won games that we had to win. We were able to exploit our superiority and also had dominant phases. In the end, we were too inconsistent, especially against the supposedly stronger teams. I was convinced that we could annoy even the supposedly big opponents. But most of the time we didn’t succeed.

And yet you still had every chance by making it to the quarter-finals.

A win in the quarter-finals would have concealed the improvement in the basic round. We played well there against Waldviertel, but ultimately lost unfortunately. Unfortunately, like so many times this season, we were too nervous in these games and couldn’t close the bag in the crucial phases.

Where were the sporting problems?

We found it difficult to develop further. Some of the new aspects that I wanted to add were well received. In some cases, however, we also found it difficult to implement them. We didn’t progress in our games as we had imagined. At the same time, the league continues to develop. But despite all the sport, you shouldn’t forget the difficult squad situation throughout the season. We have often been set back by illnesses that are difficult to combat using sports science. If five people tear their knee ligaments, you know where to start. So it was just difficult. We were unlucky there too.

What’s next for you?

I will concentrate even more on my work at the company Acts Sport, which, among other things, organizes the beach volleyball events in Vienna. My coaching career is on hold, at least for the coming winter.