“I am proud to be a Korean Air player.”
Korean Air middle blocker Cho Jae-young (32), a graduate of Hongik University, joined Korean Air with the 2nd pick in the 3rd round of the 2013 rookie draft. At the time of his joining, Jaeyoung Cho’s position was setter.
However, it was not easy for him to establish himself in the setter position. Of course, even now, Korean Air’s main setter was Han. It was not easy for him to cross the wall of one player.
So, ahead of the 2017-18 season, Cho Jae-young turned to a middle blocker at the recommendation of former coach Park Ki-won. This has become a godsend. So far, it has been an opportunity for Cho Jae-young to continue his career as a player. It was also fortunate for Jaeyoung Cho that he had many middle blocker resources to watch and learn from, such as Jin Sang-heon, Choi Seok-gi, Kim Hyung-woo, and Kim Cheol-hong.
Of course, he cannot be seen as a full-fledged middle blocker right now. To put it bluntly, Jae-Young Cho goes back and forth between starting and backing up. However, whenever he entered the court, he always showed a strong presence and added strength to Korean Air. In the history of Korean Air’s V4 victory, not only Han Seon-seok, Kwak Seung-seok, Jung Ji-seok, and Lim Dong-hyuk, but also Cho Jae-young were always with them.
Cho Jae-young, who we met on the 24th, said, “I was always the player behind me. He always had a good game with his older brothers, and he thought that I would like to play with him there too. Director Park Ki-won gave me a good opportunity, and now I think it went well. He has no regrets, he seems to be wearing clothes that fit his body,” he laughs.
It is true that he has grown to the next level as a middle blocker under the guidance of directors Roberto Santili and Tommy Tillikainen. However, Cho Jae-young still feels grateful to coach Park Ki-won, who encouraged him to become a middle blocker.
Cho Jae-young said, “The director set the big frame well. He steadily put it into the game so that I could get used to the details. If you think about it even now, hasn’t volleyball increased a lot since then (2017)?” he laughed.
Jaeyoung Cho, a Korean Air one-club man, obtained qualification as a free agent after the end of the 2022-23 season. Cho Jae-young’s choice was, of course, Korean Air. Korean Air presented Cho Jae-young with a total of 406 million won. 메이저사이트
He said, “Because I started at Korean Air, I wanted to finish here as well. I am grateful to the club for signing a contract with good treatment. I am still proud to be a Korean Air player. Aren’t all the hyungs who motivate me are one-club men? I always see and see things like that,” he laughed.
Continuing his speech, Jaeyoung Jo said, “Originally, when I was young, I thought, ‘Can I play volleyball until I’m 30? However, he has now set his sights on the big one. I want to do it until I’m 40 in Korean age. Seeing how the hyungs take care of their bodies, I think it would be fun to play volleyball here for a long time.”
The retirement age is set at 40. Are there any other goals?
He said, “There are so many good hyungs on the team. Before I retire, I want to be named one of the top 7 middle blockers. My big dream is to be a player hyung, Seungseok hyung I want to keep winning before I retire. I want to get 7 stars before I retire,” he said of his great ambition.
Finally, “I am not a good player. That’s why when fans see it, I will make sure that they feel, ‘That player is full of passion and does his best’. Since I am a member of the winning team, I will perform well.”