Behind the Scenes: the Media Officers

They work "Behind the scenes", but they are essential for their teams.

We are talking about the media officers, the people in charge of communication, social media, press releases and much more for elite men's national teams. 
But who are the media officers? Who work at EuroVolley 2021 and more specifically are covering the Pool C matches in Tampere?

We had the pleasure to have a chat with Toni Flink (Media Officer for Team Finland), Eduardo Martín (Media Officer for Team Spain) and Coen Kaaij (Media Officer for Team Netherlands).

Your role is fundamental for your team's success at the most important competitions and the European Championship. Can you describe our job?

Toni Flink: "This time, my job at the tournament is different in many ways than normally. I have been working now in ten EuroVolley or World Championships with our team to compare action easily. Here I also work as an announcer for a couple of days, which has been a great experience. And also little CEV press work. I take care during the tournament about all our players and coaches interviews with TV and other media and fix all these schedules. In Finland, we have nice coverage from our media, so fulfilling all of their requests is quite an interesting and hard task. Previews, game reports, videos are my daily tasks and feeding our Federation media with our great media team. Also, this time I have had the honour to see Infront work a little closer and learned many new things. A little extra is also communicating daily with host broadcaster YLE helping with their work."

Eduardo Martín: "Basically,  everything. Publish on social media, video recordings for media with team moments from all day, interviews, send press releases, reviews, news articles… It's hard work, full time, but very exciting. Luckily, all team members, players and staff are very helpful, and are always ready to collaborate."

Coen Kaaij: “I am the media officer and responsible for liaising with CEV in regards to media matters. Next to that, I write the match reports for the Dutch federation (Nevobo) and I also manage the social media accounts of the team (@lange_mannen). During matches, I post stories on Instagram, post videos on Twitter and write the report, in close contact with colleagues from home. Afterwards, I do an interview with one of the key players of the match. When media from the Netherlands have questions about the event, or the team they approach me, or Thijs Pietersen, who is the press officer for Nevobo. Together we make sure all questions are answered.”  

How do you feel being at the EuroVolley and supporting team Finland?

Toni Flink: "My heart is filled with joy. Working 15 years with the team worldwide has already been a great experience, but now I can see all this happening here in my home country – it is amazing. We have great fans and contact with them, and our team is amazingly beautiful. I can tell that entering the hall for the first time, hearing our national anthem and seeing the audience's joy after a long break has made me cry a couple of times. The love for this sport is such a big thing for me."

How do you feel being at the EuroVolley and supporting team Spain?

Eduardo Martín: "For me, this is my first #EurovolleyM. I'd been to two EuroVolley Women (2007 and 2013), and this one is a fantastic tournament, in all respects, despite the problems and constraints caused by the COVID pandemic. Supporting Spain in any competition is always really exciting. Besides the clichés: when you listen to your national anthem or see your flag away from your country, you feel like part of the team. You are suffering the defeats as if you were on the court. This team has a long and rich history, and though unfortunately, they are not transforming the good performance shown during their preparation into victories, surely they will bring a lot of joy to the Spanish fans in the next few years."

How do you feel being at the EuroVolley and supporting team Netherlands?

Coen Kaaij: “EuroVolley is a great tournament to play. Two years ago, when it was partly held in the Netherlands, we were the hosting federation. A filled Rotterdam Ahoy stadium with over 11,000 spectators in a match against Poland was the absolute pinnacle of a volleyball experience. Here in Finland we are fortunate to have an audience present as well, which helps a lot in conveying the feeling of the tournament. Supporting the Netherlands in this atmosphere is great. I try to best portray the team as they move through the tournament and allow fans to have a peek inside the team along the way.

What makes you proud to be a media officer for a Volleyball national team?

Toni Flink: "I am very proud of our players and staff how they act every way: on the court and off the court. Everybody understands the value of media coverage, and everyone is always ready to play their role. I want to thank our head coach Joel Banks, who is an amazing man to work with also from a Media Officer’s point of view. He is always more than helpful, and I have again learned so much from him."

Eduardo Martín: "It is a great opportunity to continue learning new things, also to know different ways of working, and take new ideas that we can transfer to national competitions run by the Spanish Federation. The first thing that makes me proud to be with the team is to be part of it, and then be able to serve as a link between the team and the fans. In Spain, we do not have many media that speak continuously of volleyball, so any contribution is always good. My fellow journalists in Spain are grateful for the work we provide from here and, for me, it is always a good feeling to see that your work is valued."

Coen Kaaij: “Working at tournaments with the team is always a pleasure. It is the place where they want to perform at their best, and I get to be there to record it all, which is a privileged spot. I get to share in the feelings of victory, but also of defeat. Showing those emotions and getting them to the people at home, that’s the part I like the most about being a media officer.”