Jelena Blagojević steps away from the Serbian national team
After nine years with the Serbian national team, Jelena Blagojević has decided to step away. She was an excellent outside hitter and libero. She contributed to their success including the Summer Games bronze medal at the Tokyo Games earlier in 2021.
Jelena was an excellent player for Serbia because she not only worked hard on attacking but she was also one of the most reliable defenders on the team. As a dual-threat on both offence and defence, she was one of the key cogs in the system.
She mostly shined due to her defensive prowess but she was also an excellent attacker with her powerful spikes and impeccable timing. Versatility is a strong asset to have for any player but Jelena proved herself on that end.
Jelena is the third big name from the Serbian squad to step away after Milena Rašić and Stefana Veljković also announced their retirement from the national team.
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Playing multiple roles was not a problem for Jelena
When talking about pro athletes, they usually have their favourite roles and they tend to stick with them. Jelena was not like that for the Serbian national team because she always juggled the outside hitter and libero roles. That is tough to adjust to because those are wildly different roles to play.
For players to perform as a libero, they have to enter the mindset that they are only there to dig and receive the ball. When you compare it to the outside hitter, it is night and day. When Jelena played the hitter role, she was excellent because she used her athleticism and timing to score all of her points.
She is not the tallest of players compared to other world-class spikers at 5’11 but Jelena was still excellent for Serbia. It is hard to stand out for Serbian volleyball because of their loaded squads but she made it happen through hard work and sheer determination.
Back in 2017, she played the libero role for the first time which was a big adjustment for her. In typical Jelena fashion, she quickly adapted. However, she did find it strange at first. She said, ‘I played libero for the first time. At first, I found it strange because I was used to attacking, and sometimes when I forgot my new role for a moment and started to squirm’.
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Stepping away is a big decision
Jelena’s decision to retire was a surprise to some but it was a similar line of reasoning with the other players. She felt that it was time to step away from the game but she has some plans for her long term future.
She said, ‘I am part of the group of these older players in the team so I have some other life priorities now. I want to try some new things next year and I have different plans compared to those ones that I have had so far. I am happy and satisfied for being a part of great success, for being a teammate of these great players. It was an honor. And who knows, maybe one day, I will be in the national team again, in some other role’.
It will be fun to see how Jelena adjusts to her new life without the national team. She is still active in club volleyball which will be interesting to watch since she will be locked for just one team.
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