"Nothing comes for free"

Together with her partner Vicky Arvaniti, beach volleyballer Vasso Karadasiou is running at top form just before the highlight of the year in August. In an interview the 35-year-old Greek speaks about their trainings tricks, the on-court psycho war and Greece’s chance at the EURO.

Victorious at the CEV tournament in Lucerne, best European in the FIVB event in Barcelona: your form curve seems to be rocketing upwards. Just to get an idea about your development, how would a match between Arvaniti/Karadasiou of 2007 against Arvaniti/Karadasiou of 2008 turn out?

For sure, the 2008 team has an advantage because it’s more mature, has more experience than the one from 2007. We’re stronger, we do more in the playing field and I think we’re more competitive now.

In which areas would you still like to improve?

I think I could improve in service and blocking. And of course, try to have better statistics on defense, which is one of my favorite parts of the game. In every game, in every tournament, I’ll continue to fight for wins until the day I retire. And that’s why I’ve dedicated my life to this sport.

What do your most recent successes mean for your ambitions in August?

For us, it’s important to show that we’re one of the best teams in Europe. Our goal is to be at the top, although some times that’s difficult. Lucerne’s gold medal helps us to keep up the high spirit of self-confidence and to go to the next tournaments stronger.

One secret to your success (at least according to your website) is so-called functional training. How would you describe what this is to a layperson?

Our ergophysiologist, Mr Skolias, follows functional training for us, for the past seven years and we’ve seen great results. Both in our body’s structure and physical condition as well as on court. This training uses the weight of the body, axles, rubber and weights which can help the body, work it out and prevent injuries from happening.

Another secret to your success must be the harmony between you and your team partner Vicky Arvaniti. How did you develop this blind trust that’s necessary in the game?

That’s a difficult question. Indeed, my relationship with Vicky is harmonic. But it’s clear that the relationship between two people who spend most their day and most days of the year together, also as intensely as we do, needs special handling in some parts in order to maintain a good level. You have to respect the other’s need of being alone sometimes; to do something individually. This can help the relationship of two athletes.

You started your career not on sand but on grass. At the age of four you were already a member of a football club …

Well, not quite. I started playing soccer with my father, not in a club. But this was my first contact with the world of sports. My dad started to give me this feeling, without ever being a professional soccer player, but he just loved any kind of sports.

Are you still interested in soccer?

I’m interested in soccer, and sometimes I watch big football games with my husband. As for our national Greek team, we had this success in 2004 but I think it’s difficult to repeat this triumph. I think they have a big soul and according to my opinion, that’s the thing they have to put into their game for sure. Maybe some other teams have better technical skills than we do but we have to put this inside our game.

When you were already playing in the Greek volleyball national team your father made you take a break from sports because he preferred to see you at university than on the playing field. How difficult was this phase for you?

This was a very difficult situation because I loved volleyball. On the other hand, I could understand him and put myself in his place, because both my parents didn’t have the chance to study at university and they wanted to offer me better opportunities in my life. Deep inside, I knew that this was right, so I agreed to stop going to the national team for a while, taking the risk of not be invited again. But I took my chances and a few months later, they invited me back.

In the meantime you’ve finished your psychology degree. How much does your knowledge help you in the on-court psycho war?

At university, I graduated from the pedagogic department of the philosophical academy of Athens. It’s an academy that deals with a world very different from the world of sports. The means and the methods used for teaching young children helped me to succeed in my studies and in beach volleyball. Because I used the method, I used the discipline to improve.

You carry with you a motto from the philosophy faculty, a quote by Sophocles: ‘Midenos agonos ou mega kleos erchete.’ What does this mean – and what does it mean to you?

It means that no glory can come without fighting and hard work. This is what I always have in mind – before, during and after every big goal that I go for. I know that without a big effort, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve everything I’ve achieved up to now, and want to achieve in the future. That keeps me motivated, and it reminds me that nothing comes for free. This and my will to succeed keeps me on the ball.