Name Surname: Stefano Mascia

Country: Italy

Sport: Volleyball

Position in Team: second coach and athletic trainer

Current Team: Stade Poitevin Volley Beach

Previous Teams: Chaumont volleyball 52, V.N.V.B Nancy, Tunisian men national team and Bulgarian men national team

Awards: Champion of French championship, Champion of French supercup

How you got into sports?

sport has always been part of my life. I started very young with judo and then moved on to volleyball around 11 years old. but I am part of that generation that played football on the street and for which every game was a sporting challenge

Why you became a coach?

I played volleyball for 20 years but already at 18 I got my federal coach license. I can’t say exactly why but it was natural as if I had always known I wanted to become a coach. I have always had the need to learn and at the same time transmit my knowledge and my point of view. But competing to win is the basis of everything

Biggest challenge in coaching during your career till now?

I think that every day is a challenge with myself to try to improve myself without ever lying down. the biggest challenge to date has been to prove that I could train at a high level coming from below. I wanted to prove it above all to myself

What’s your advice for young athletes?

never stop learning, never stop working, never believe that you have reached the top but never be thrown down by those who do not believe in you

What’s your next sports goal in near future?

my next goal is to become head coach of a high level team. I am experiencing to achieve my goal. I try to learn from all the coaches I have had the good fortune to work with.

Are you a fan of other sports, do you watch other sports in your free time?

like any Italian I follow football. I’m not a fanatic but I like to watch English football above all. I follow the NBA and the Major League baseball a bit.

Who was your idol when you started coaching? Is there somebody who is still giving you an advice or you follow other good coaches?

in Italy we are lucky to have and have had many good coaches. Certainly Velasco Lorenzetti, Bagnoli, Montali up to these. but above all I was lucky enough to work with Silvano Prandi from whom I learned a lot. having worked with him is like having attended the university of volleyball. in fact in Italy and in the world he is known as “Il Professore”