Solustri: Even after five Olympic Games coaching is still my thing

There are few coaches on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with as much experience as Marco Solustri. The Italian turned 60 in September during the European Championships and even after 25 years of coaching at the top level is still one of the most passionate coaches in world volleyball.

Solustri’s playing days saw him win 40 international events, in times when two players from different nations could enter an event. He reached number three in the world in 1990.

“I would say I was kind of a pioneer in Europe. I visited California in 1980 when the game didn't exist here. We went to Manhattan Beach and discovered this marvellous sport and I still remember the feeling I had when I watching the ocean and seeing the guys playing, it was so touching and it gave me goosebumps.”

In 1996, beach volleyball became an Olympic sport for the first time and Solustri had his sights on representing Italy. It would have been an incredible achievement and reward for a great playing career, but fate had other plans for the Italian. Solustri’s playing days would end, and his coaching days begin.

“I was trying very hard to qualify, but injury problems didn’t allow me to finish the qualification process and in 1995, I started to coach the Italian men's and women’s teams. I never doubted my path, I love passing on my knowledge.”

Atlanta was the start of a remarkable coaching journey. Solustri led the Italian women’s programme to a fifth in Sydney, then spent seven years with Austria. He won European Championships and Austria were repeatedly top 10 in the world.

After a quick stint with the German women in 2004, he joined forces with Russia and achieved a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships with Igor Kolodinsky and Dimitri Barsouk, which until 2019 was Russia’s best result at a World Championships. Solustri then coached the Ces brothers from France before leading the Russian women’s programme in 2012, but that unfortunately ended in 2016 before the Olympics.

Solustri has been successful throughout his career, but he doesn’t just look to trophies for fond memories. His impact has gone further than that.

“I have won five gold medals and a silver in World Championships, but I just love that lots of players are grateful to me. It is something you cannot purchase and it's something that feeds your soul.”

In 2018, Solustri started coaching Enrico Rossi and Adrian Carambula, one of the most creative teams in the world. The relationship is clearly a good one and Carambula heaps praise onto Solustri when asked.

“He is first at practice and the last to leave, just like all of the greats are.”

The team have turned a lot of heads, due to the way they run their business, giving opponents a difficult time and having a lot of fun of doing it. This alerted Latvia’s Janis Smedins and Aleksandr's Samoilovs and now Solustri coaches both teams. The Latvians are also becoming more expansive with their game. Marco is using his experience though, to work with the individual.

“I think every coach should change his methods to be in line with the players, they are all different. With the teams I am coaching now, we are short. We have to play quick and different with crazy systems, a good coach has to adapt. A good coach has to think about the person and emotions, and I think that with more knowledge and experience you have it easier to work on the strategic details. This is also true mentally - you understand how players react and how you should approach them in their different circumstances.”

The Italian has run a beach volleyball school for 20 years and revels in coaching all levels of the sport.

“When I started coaching I had positive feelings and positive vibes. When I coach,  I can feel a physical effect on me, it doesn’t matter who I coach, whether it is professional players, recreational or juniors. I find joy, enthusiasm, so it's a real gift for me, any time I am on the court with players it’s just a fantastic feeling. Sometimes with professional players there is mental effort, and it's not always easy, but the passion will always be there.”

Solustri says the coach must become an ‘artist’ and must have fun and try new drills and be creative. He wants to build a context where his players and everyone can have a voice, and knows that when you commit to becoming a beach volleyball coach, it becomes a big part of your life and quality relationships are important. He says having fun is key, but showing vulnerability is also important.

“I want to have a quality life with my teams. You spend more time with your teams than you spend with your family - we are together sometimes morning, noon and night for weeks, months or years. Especially when we are travelling and in training camps, so I think that the relationships are very important.

“I think we as coaches want to try and bring players out of their comfort zone, challenge them and get them to another level. And to do this, we have to lead by example. So I have to show my vulnerability. Showing emotion is very good to create a strong relationship, and showing vulnerability is a key to helping players to go above their limits and reach the top level."

The game has certainly moved on throughout Solustri’s career and he admits himself that evolution is natural.

“Everyone says that physically the game has changed a lot, especially in the 90’s we only had a few big blockers and now everyone has a big blocker and they all have great coordination. Even so, I think the top team of the 90s, Kiraly and Steffes, would still be very competitive if they played now. Because of their technique and mentality, they were very competitive and physically they were not so far away from what we have today."

Solustri has dreams of heading to Africa to help develop the sport, but currently is working with teams in Tenerife as the sport gradually returns internationally.

Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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