“I used number 7 until last season, but Captain Choi Seok-gi was using it…” Park Jin-woo, who is entering his second season with the Woori Card, revealed the reason why he chose the new number 33.
Jinwoo Park is a player who has created the history of Woori Card. He joined Dream Six, the predecessor of the current Woori Card, as the 1st round 2nd pick in the 2012-2013 V-League Rookie Player Draft, and played as a starting middle blocker for Woori Card for the next 6 seasons. Park Jin-woo, who transferred to KB Insurance through a trade after the end of the 2018-2019 season, rejoined Woori Card this off-season as a compensation player for free agent Na Kyung-bok’s transfer to KB Insurance.바카라사이트
On the 2nd, I met Park Jin-woo, who is working hard to improve his condition at Woori Card, at Incheon Songlim Gymnasium. Jin-Woo Park said, “I was doing personal exercise during my vacation when I received a call from coach Hu In-Jeong and told me that I had been selected as a compensatory player. He was silent because he was slightly thinking that maybe I could go with our card. When I got back to my card, I was a little confused. “I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m back here again’ (laughter),” he said, first conveying how he felt about returning to his former team.
Park Jin-woo, who also reunited with coach Shin Young-cheol, with whom he worked in the 2018-2019 season, said, “The coach said, ‘I have to learn again.’ In fact, it feels like I’m learning all the basics again. In particular, we are focusing on preparing for areas such as second-level passing and defense. Therefore, the intensity of training has to be high, and it is a bit physically difficult,” he said with a smile.
Jinwoo Park, who was in his 20s when he left Woori Card, has now become a 33-year-old veteran. He has reached an age where he must fulfill a different role than in the past, both on and off the court. However, Jinwoo Park did not choose a too heavy approach. He said, “He plays a lot of pranks on his juniors. “It seems like my juniors don’t find it easy to talk to me if I stay still, so I try to be proactive and joke around first,” he said, expressing that he approaches his juniors in a friendly way. When asked who he pranks the most with, he answered without hesitation, “(Han) Taejun,” and burst out laughing.
Woori Card has many middle blockers other than Park Jin-woo. Led by Lee Sang-hyun and Park Jun-hyuk, who played as the starting duo last season and also played for the national team, Kim Wan-jong and Choi Seok-gi are also holding on. Issei Otake, who joined the Asia Quarter team, is also a resource that can play as a middle blocker. Park Jin-woo said, “(Lee) Sang-hyun and (Park) Jun-hyuk haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together because they are away with the national team, so we haven’t figured out a lot of things yet. (Kim) Wan-jong has a really fast fast-break swing, and (Choi) Seok-gi has a strong mentality that even has a positive influence on others,” he said, evaluating his fellow and rival players.
So, I was curious about what Park Jin-Woo’s weapon would be to survive the competition for the starting middle blocker spot. He said, “Our team’s middle blockers are generally young. So, I think I have better vision to understand the flow of the game, which is necessary when making a block. “I guess I have some experience,” he said, carefully appealing to his strengths. Regarding physical condition, which is another important factor in becoming a starting player, he said, “I had a bad knee, so I continued rehabilitation, but now it has improved a lot. He expressed his confidence, saying, “There are no problems at all with training, and I don’t think there will be any negative effects on performance.”
This day was the day of Woori Card’s profile shooting for the 2023-2024 season. Park Jin-woo wore a uniform with number 33 on it for filming. When asked why he chose number 33, Park Jin-woo said, “I wore number 7 until last season, but Captain Choi Seok-gi (?) was already using it (laughter). So, I was thinking about what to do, and since I turned 33 this year, I chose number 33. He shared a pleasant behind-the-scenes story, saying, “We plan to change it to number 34 next year.”
Park Jin-woo’s goal after returning to his former team was clear. He said, “I want to show that Park Jin-woo is back. “I want to let many people know that we have returned to Woori Card not as an incompetent player, but as a player who will definitely do his part,” he said emphatically. In addition, Park Jin-woo said, “I don’t know if there are still fans who supported me during my Woori Card days. However, I will show my best side so that all the new Woori Card fans I meet will also become my fans,” he said, expressing his determination.
The return of Park Jin-woo, who has reliably maintained the center of Woori Card since his Dream Six days, is expected to be a great boost to Woori Card in the upcoming season. I am curious to see how he will perform at Jangchung Gymnasium while wearing his new uniform number.