Lander Vandecaveye is 34 years old and has already built an impressive career, both as an entrepreneur and as an athlete. A former Topsportschool student and high-level volleyball player, he went on to work as a consultant, manager in development and partnerships, co-founder of Ledsreact, COO of Peak Coaching and is now CEO of Volley Vlaanderen. What lessons do you take from your previous experiences to build a success story in Vilvoorde?

Lander Vandecaveye:
“What I mainly take from my journey is discipline and focus. Elite sport taught me how to perform under pressure, how to work as a team and how to always put the collective goal ahead of individual interests. You learn how to win, but also how to deal with setbacks without looking for excuses.
My experience in young, fast-growing companies fits in seamlessly with that. Building small teams, getting people on board with a vision, switching quickly and thinking commercially are crucial skills today. That combination of elite sports mentality and entrepreneurship reinforces itself.
Knowing the Belgian volleyball landscape inside out is an additional asset in that regard.”

At Peak Coaching, you worked as a personal health assistant for people in the business world. How do you combine this yourself, and how do you apply that knowledge in your own busy life — entrepreneurship, meetings, sports (mainly beach volleyball), family life (you started this new role in October, shortly after becoming a father), and your role as assistant coach at Marke-Webis?
“Your body is the foundation of everything. Without physical and mental health, you cannot perform — whether you are an elite athlete, a CEO or a young father. Health is therefore the starting point for everything I do and has the highest priority in my life.
Sport is firmly scheduled in my agenda and never disappears. I work intensively, but I also consciously plan moments of complete rest. That can be small moments, such as an evening without screens, emails or WhatsApp, or larger moments like holidays. I am also not active on social media.”

You were confronted with a tough reality: a major challenge that apparently had to be addressed through a crisis contribution from the clubs. In a previous interview, you spoke about “achieving something big with limited resources” and “turning disadvantages into advantages.” What have you already achieved in these first months?
“The first three months were entirely about understanding. The Belgian volleyball landscape is large and complex: six hundred clubs, forty-five thousand members, a long history and many stakeholders. You cannot just bulldoze your way through that.
I mapped everything out: internal operations, culture and habits, relationships with stakeholders, projects, structures, expectations and sensitivities. That was necessary to avoid making the wrong decisions. That phase is now largely completed, and I am currently working on a concrete plan.”

Your responsibilities are broad: working with various organisations, developing ambitious programmes, managing the EuroVolleyCenter — and likely other projects that are less visible. How do you approach this?
“My responsibilities cover grassroots volleyball, beach volleyball, elite indoor and beach volleyball, events such as the Lotto Cup Finals, and the management of the EuroVolleyCenter. In addition, there are intensive collaborations with Volley Belgium, the FVWB, the League, Sport Vlaanderen and international federations.

The landscape is complex, and doing everything at once is impossible. Anyone who tries will lose speed and impact. I therefore approach this role the way an entrepreneur runs a company: clear goals, clear priorities, and knowing what to say no to.

We work from a policy plan for this Olympic cycle towards LA 2028, which we continuously translate into concrete action plans. And of course, this can only be done with a strong team.”

We are in the New Year period. What are your wishes for 2026, and what urgently needs to improve?
“For 2026, I have many ambitions, but essentially one fundamental wish: that the Belgian volleyball community is ambitious and positive together. That sounds simple, but it requires a fundamental change in mindset.

We still have a financial debt to address, but today we are once again in a phase where building is possible. That foundation has been laid thanks to the work of the internal team, the board of directors, the general assembly, the BLVVs, the members and the many committed people in the field.

My call for 2026 is therefore clear: let us strengthen each other instead of working against one another. Be constructively critical where necessary, but always positive. Volleyball is a small community. If we waste our energy internally, we lose ground externally. Positive cooperation is essential to continue building the future of this beautiful sport.”

Text: WV
Picture: LinkedIn - Lander Vandecaveye