Dozens of girls beam into the camera from the team photos under the “Talent Promotion” tab on the VC Wiesbaden (VCW) homepage.

They hold volleyballs in their hands, wear sky-blue jerseys and confidence in their eyes.

Thanks to the cooperation between the club and the sports-oriented Elly Heuss School, there is no shortage of enthusiastic young volleyball players in the state capital of Hesse.

However, the groups get smaller the older the age groups get.

And so far not a single one has made it to the Bundesliga team.

Achim Dreis

Sports editor.

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    But now, finally, the first player from the youth academy has signed a professional contract.

    For two years.

    Anastasia Cekulaev;

    17 years old, 1.91 meters tall.

    It is considered the most promising promise on the position of the middle block and one of the greatest hopes in German volleyball.

    "Anyone who has ever seen Anastasia play knows that she has very, very much talent," explains none other than national coach Felix Koslowski when asked by the FAZ

    And yet VCW managing director Christopher Fetting says when asked about the 17-year-old: "My heart is bleeding." Because Anastasia Cekulaev will not be on the net for the next two seasons at VC Wiesbaden, but at league rivals SC Potsdam. “That turned out to be very unfortunate,” says Fetting and takes a step back to explain the story.

    Anastasia received her first invitation from the VCW in fourth grade and since then has enthusiastically devoted herself to volleyball. The very athletic and at the same time highly gifted girl successfully passed through the youth teams of the club. As a result, they received the call of the VC Olympia. There, at the federal base of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) in Berlin, promising talents from all German clubs are brought together if they so wish and the parents agree.

    With special playing rights, the teenagers can also take part in league operations as a team in order to gain competitive practice at a high level. For a few years VC Olympia played in the Bundesliga, most recently in the second division, where Anastasia Cekulaev became an absolute top performer. As a result, national coach Koslowski now even called the 17-year-old into his squad for the Nations League in Rimini, which begins this Tuesday - even before Cekulaev had even played a single Bundesliga game. "We have a special eye on her," Koslowski promised that his youngest player would not be overwhelmed during the international trip.

    The problem for Fetting and VC Wiesbaden: the original training association that was relinquishing it does not hold any access rights to the further careers of its talents once they have been sent on the journey. According to Fetting, SC Potsdam is more likely to have this competitive advantage “because of its proximity”. Which the Brandenburg Association at the gates of Berlin used to a fair degree. Last year he gave Cekulaev a second game right to make it easier for her to get used to the game. What Potsdam head coach Guillermo Hernandez has no doubt about: “Anastasia has outstanding playful and physical abilities. Without hesitation, she will play an important role in the next season ”.

    Christopher Fetting takes it from a sporty point of view: "It's nice to her that she has made it to the Bundesliga." And he continues to work on the VCW roster for the coming season. Four players have been fixed so far, and promising talks are ongoing with six others. There is no one from our own talent factory.