Cuban defector strikes fear in South Korean volleyball coaches

Written by Meenaa on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Yonhap) — He started playing for the national Cuban volleyball squad at age 15 and defected to the United States five years later just as he came of age.

Yosleyder Cala, 24, is now striking fear in the hearts of South Korean coaches as he is set to play for the Korean Air Jumbos in a league an ocean away from where he spent most of his life.

The Jumbos said this week that they have signed Cala, a permanent U.S. resident who defected from Cuba by not boarding a plane back to his country after an Olympic qualifier in Puerto Rico in 2004.

Cala has since played for Brigham Young University in Utah and in Puerto Rico’s league.

At a public relations ceremony Wednesday celebrating the Nov. 22 opening of the South Korean volleyball season, coaches said they were busy assessing the impact Cala would have on the six-team league.

“I, too, tried to have him sign with us,” said Kim Ho-chul, who coaches the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers, the most favored to win the season until Cala joined the rivaling Jumbos. “The Jumbos will make the most headlines this year because they have taken a good player.”

Shin Chi-yong, Samsung Insurance Bluefangs coach, and LIG Greaters coach Park Ki-won agreed, saying the Cuban will pose a formidable threat.

Cala weighs 94 kilograms and stands at 2.05 meters, a figure that allows him to perform powerful spikes from as high as 3.7 meters. Jumbos coach Jin Joon-taek said this week that Cala makes it “easier to manage the team” because the outside hitter can be deployed on both sides of the court.

The Jumbos have declined to disclose details of the contract with Cala. There are several foreign players in South Korea’s volleyball league. Each team is allowed only one player from outside the country.