Wilfredo León: the
big kid of
the World League
Anne-Marie
García
AT just 15 years, Wilfredo León, the best server
in the current volleyball World League, is the
youngest player in the tournament.
"I learned how to serve when I started to play at
seven years of age. My mom (Alina del Rosario
Venero), who used to play volleyball taught me; she
advised me to work really hard on it because it is
an essential part of the game," explained León, who
notched up 11 aces (or direct points from the serve)
in the World League.
Last season, Cuban manager Orlando Samuels sent
León – who was then just 14 – into action: "I didn’t
feel overwhelmed or scared, it was quite the
opposite; I felt really happy because I had achieved
the goal I set for myself when I began: to become a
member of the national team."
From the height of his 2.01 meters, León recalls
how "our opponents, especially the Russians and
Italians, serve in my direction to see if I’ll get
tired or unbalanced. They also put their best
defender in front of me to block my attacks."
Samuels describes this young man, born on July
31, 1993 in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba as
"out of this world."
"He has all the necessary techniques to be a
great player," emphasized the experienced trainer.
Meanwhile, León himself stated that defense and
blocking are the techniques that he needs to improve.
His trainer smiles when talking about his
personality. "He’s a teenager and he reacts like one.
But, during the game, he demonstrates tremendous
maturity and I could say that, at this moment in
time, he is one of the stalwarts of the team."
His dream is to win an Olympic medal and he added
that this Cuban team is very united. "We have
tremendous cohesion; we know that we can secure
qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games and we’ll
fight together for a medal there."
For the moment, León knows that the road there
requires a good performance in the World League, a
competition in which he is hoping to lead the team
through to the final.
