Kim Staelens

Volleyball player infobox
playername = Kim Staelens


fullname = Kim Staelens
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|01|07
cityofbirth = Kortrijk
countryofbirth = Belgium
hometown = Eindhoven
homecountry = The Netherlands
height = 182 cm
weight = 75 kg
position = Setter
spike = 305 cm
block = 301 cm
team = HCC/net Martinus Amstelveen
nationalteam = Netherlands
caps = 154
updated = 28 October, 2006

Kim Staelens (born January 7, 1982 in Kortrijk) is a Dutch professional volleyball player born in Belgium. Her older sister Chaïne is also a Dutch international volleyball player. Their father Jean-Pierre played many international matches for the Belgium national volleyball team. Staelens speaks Dutch, English, French and German. She's currently under contract at Dutch team HCC/net Martinus Amstelveen. Kim Staelens plays as a setter and is able to spike at 305 cm, while she is capable of at 301 cm. Her jump serve is feared by many opponents.

International team career

Born in Belgium both Staelens sisters were known to be talented players and decided to acquire for Dutch citizenship because they did not see enough future in the Belgian team. As their mother is Dutch both were welcomed in The Netherlands and became national team regulars shortly after. So far she has played 154 international matches for the Dutch team. Staelens was part of the Dutch squad for the 2006 World Championship where the placed 8th. She was also part of the team during the 2007 Boris Yeltsin Cup in Yekaterinburg where the Dutch won the silver medal after losing the final to China (3-1).

Club team career

*flagicon|BEL Hermanas Wervik
*flagicon|BEL VC Wevelgem
*flagicon|NED Bonduelle WC
*flagicon|NED VC Weert
*flagicon|FRA Marcq en Baroeul
*flagicon|FRA USSPA Albi
*flagicon|GER USC Munster
*flagicon|NED HCC/net Martinus Amstelveen

At the age of 15 Staelens decided to join her sister and play abroad in the Netherlands. Before that she played mainly in the reserve teams in the Belgian First division. As being only 15 years old she was having a hard time keeping up with her team mates during her first season in The Netherlands at Bonduelle WC. She moved to VC weert and during her second season at the club in 1999 she captured her first two prizes, winning both the Dutch league and the cup.

In 2000 she moved to France to play for Marcq en Baroeul, where she struggled to find her place in the team. She however decided to stay in France, but moved to another team. Also at USSPA Albi she was unable to become a key player and to get used to the French lifestyle. She then found her way to Germany where she signed a contract with USC Munster.

In Munster things went better for herself which also resulted in better results. During her first season she did not capture any prizes but Munster finished in both the German league and cup in second position. One year later they showed their potential and were able to win both competitions. Staelens was at that time still part of the Munster team, however she did miss the crucial part of the season due to a knee injury.

This knee injury prevented her from playing volleyball during the 2004 and 2005 seasons and she was recovering from her injury in a sports clinic in Zeist. For a long time it was unsure whether she was able to return to her top level. As soon as she was able to play in the later part of 2005 she was however immediately being called up for the national squad and participated in several tournaments. Like most of her fellow national squad members and coach Avital Selinger she decided to sign a contract with HCC/net Martinus Amstelveen to be part of a unique project on their way to the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was not much of a surprise that Martinus captured both the Dutch league title as they Dutch cup in that year.

Prizes

*Dutch National Championship title: 1999 (VC Weert), 2006 (Martinus)
*Dutch National Cup title: 1999 (VC Weert), 2006 (Martinus)
*German National Championship title: 2003 (USC Munster)
*German National Cup title: 2003 (USC Munster)

Awards

*best setter at the 1999 European Youth Championship in Poland
*best setter at the 1999 Youth Eight Nations Tournament in France
*runner-up setter at the 2003 European Championship in Turkey
*4th best blocker at the 2003 World Grand Prix
*4th best server at the 2003 World Grand Prix
*4th best setter at the 2003 World Grand Prix

External links

* [http://www.kimstaelens.nl/index1.php Official site]
* [http://www.kimstaelens.nl/index2.php Kim Staelens intro movie]
* [http://www.fivb.org/en/Volleyball/Competitions/WorldGrandPrix/2003/star_profiles/KStaelens.asp FIVB profile]