Championship contender Tectum Achel started the season with 1 win out of 9. A far too meagre balance after elimination by Menen in the Supercup in Roeselare and three consecutive defeats in the league: at Golazo Haasrode Leuven (3-0), at home against Waremme (2-3) and on derby trip in Maaseik (3-0). Only in recent days do the North Limburgers seem to be catching their breath. It was nail-biting for Achel’s first wins via double home success against Guibertin in the round of 16 of the Belgian Cup and in the league. Then Lindemans Aalst will pass in review in the Achel sports hall De Koekoek on Saturday 7 November. An extremely important evening, which should give the cautious turnaround extra shine. The Limburg train, seventh in the standings, seems to be travelling the winning track.

We fished for views and answers about the poor start to the season. German setter Mario Schmidgall, former player and new T1 Tim Verschueren and chairman Ben Schuurmans offer a triple perspective on the evolution in the still young new season.
T1 Tim Verschueren: “Search for more consistency in our game”

Tim Verschueren (47), father of Kato (21) and Len (18) from Vosselaar, and once cup winner with Asse-Lennik, makes his debut as head coach in Liga A after a brilliant career as a player.
“I thought about it for exactly one day, when my old beloved club Achel called me with the proposal to become T1. It is 60 km one way, not that far. That way I can combine the training sessions with my job at the company Infano (childcare sector)”, he says. “I stopped as a player at Tectum in 2022, after which I led VC Noorderkempen for four years. I did not want to turn down the Achel offer. I did suspect that, due to the restructuring of the core, with the new T2 Robin Overbeeke from Rotselaar, I would need time to knead an efficient whole.”

“Due to circumstances, the Supercup (1-2 loss immediately in the semi-final against Menen) went laboriously. Such a duel, for my part, may well be played to three winning sets! Then we had trips to the favourites: Golazo Haasrode Leuven and Maaseik. Not ideal, still looking for more consistency in the team play. The regrettable home defeat against Borgworm/Waremme did surprise me. Possibly sour in the final reckoning, because a number of teams have the same ambition: finishing in the top four.”

“I expect an absolutely tough competition. It will be jostling for the places. But okay, I see it working. We train 15 hours with the ball, we do 5 hours of power and we organise video sessions. The fact that Achel plays in Europe, I also find attractive for Belgian volleyball and even more for our fans. My biggest concern in the short term is to bring much more consistency into our actions. We clearly have to start a match much more firmly. Sometimes it goes very well, a little later we inexplicably drop below average. But all understanding: we had to get through a spicy start, moreover Mario Schmidgall felt a bit ill in Haasrode Leuven. In the meantime, Ward Van Dyck is dealing with a knee injury, albeit a light one. Those are little annoyances I would rather miss. We simply have to get more ‘solidity’. That we ‘forget’ to finish sets and matches winning, that feeling has to come out as soon as possible.”

Chairman Ben Schuurmans: “Biggest wish: finally green light for new sports hall”
The permit for the extension of a new sports hall has been blocked for years, to the point of annoyance. Chairman Schuurmans reacts: “The umpteenth permit round is running. We are finally living in good hope. Although an objection has again been submitted by the tennis club and one neighbour. That cannot continue. As for the strength of the team… It is a bit of a puzzle for the new coaching duo Verschueren-Overbeeke. Replacing the stars Yannick Bak, Dion Verweij (both to Decospan Menen) and Red Dragon Martijn Colson (to Knack Roeselare) is and remains the biggest challenge. The Spaniard David Lopez, as back-up for Colson, has to fill big holes centrally. That does not happen with a snap of the fingers, because Red Dragon Michiel Fransen (Haasrode Leuven), Felix Baumann (stopped) and Dawid Pruszkowski (Kluczbork/Pol) have also left.”

“In terms of serving pressure, we have been strengthened with the Danish left-handed ‘powerboy’ Axel Juul Larsen (2m03, ex-Lüneburg) and the Norwegian Eirik Kavlik (2m00, ex-Orion Doetinchem). Larsen feels in his element now that his German girlfriend has arrived in Achel. The libero position is filled excellently by Alek Aleksov from Dynamo Apeldoorn. The duo Robbe Van Loon (2m02) and Ward Van Dyck are working on a comeback with us. Well, everything takes time. I firmly count on T1 Tim Verschueren as a driven motivator. He is a team player. His driven approach radiates onto the complete group of players, formed by six nationalities”, states the kindly Achel president.
“All noses are gradually pointing in the right direction. Success in the future beckons. In the cup we play in the quarter-final against Nijvel (Liga B): an achievable card. Then the semi-finals await us against Golazo Haasrode Leuven or Lindemans Aalst. ‘Top four’ is certainly our ambition.”

Ben Schuurmans: “In the European Challenge Cup we will probably first play away on 9 December against the Czech Brno (favourite in the pre-match against Ferizaj from Kosovo). We received an exception from the CEV to handle the return of that 1/16th final in our own hall ‘De Koekoek’. Date: 07/01/2027. If we advance, we have to move again to the Steengoedarena of Greenyard Maaseik for the 1/8th final. Therefore an appeal to politics and the neighbourhood: please grant us that new hall! That way we can compete for the prizes at all levels and our youth teams will benefit.”

Setter Mario Schmidgall: “I expected nothing else: first digest a delayed start”
The German Mario Schmidgall (28 years old, 2m05) is, as captain and setter, the central figure in the distribution of the game. His strongest points: making high receptions playable, blocking solidly and positively ‘managing’ the team on the court. A role that suits him. He comes from Schwäbisch Hall (city of 45,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg) and is completing his fourth season. Earlier he won the German Cup with Volley Frankfurt against Netzhoppers (coach Christophe Achten).

“As a young lad, I had heard a lot of good things about Achel during my time at the youth academy of VfB Friedrichshafen, where Vital Heynen was coach at the time. But back then, as a young lanky guy, I looked far too ‘squeaky’ to stand out and make demands, apart from a few substitute appearances.”

From his Finnish agent Nisse Huttunen, the skipper also received nice feedback about Achel. And another windfall of magnitude: in the meantime Mario found love with the Limburg physiotherapist An-Marie, with whom he lives in an apartment in Neerpelt. She worked in Achel’s medical staff. But no longer at the moment, due to a turn in her professional career. Mario himself is learning Dutch and cherishes playing the piano as a musical hobby.

Mario: “The start of the season did not go as hoped. After all, a fine preparation campaign, in which I saw a lot of good things. Unfortunately, afterwards we took only one point in three matches, although as a plus point I saw progress in every match. So after the delayed start we are clearly taking steps. Fortunately, the mentality in the team has remained optimal. The strange thing is that we do get ahead each time, but then give that margin away again in the final phase. Does that betray a lack of stability? I suspect so, because especially in the all-or-nothing phases it often goes wrong in ‘moneytime’. But I myself remain calm about it. I preach patience and calmness. Our opening programme did not lie. In the Supercup against Menen in Roeselare, we were waiting for an unchristian early Sunday starting time, which forced the club to incur costs for a hotel overnight stay. That extra cost, according to our chairman too, is absolutely not to be repeated. That it did not work against title candidate Golazo Haasrode Leuven around setter Matthias Valkiers and Simon Peeters is very logical. Against Waremme we collided in the tie-break with an astonishingly swirling Martin Lallemand who struck almost uncontainably.”

You also saw bright spots?
“Oh yes, it is touching to see how all teammates are working hard to improve the playing process. Axel Juul Larsen is standing out more and more with his power, the Norwegian Kavli is taking steps and main attacker Jippe Schroeven is increasingly showcasing his physical abilities. Everyone is working on a better level and on every match day our team play is growing. I therefore have every confidence that the puzzle pieces will soon fall into place. Against Maaseik, however, our serving pressure was not high enough. But we did force our neighbours to the limit in two sets, after which we fell back too markedly. Against Guibertin we then really got going, resulting in two consecutive wins. As a setter, I want to bring more speed to my attacking options. I am working on that.
Look: our season start began with a package of heavy challenges. We searched for our better level for a while, now it is systematically progressing. Our two coaches are rocks in the development of a solid tactical plan, so that is fine too.”

Text: Leo Peeters
Image: Tectum Achel