07/09/2026
2023: Dries Koekelkoren writes to Olga: play with this young girl. It was close to a disaster 🤣 Xien was still a kid. Olga was new in country. ‘Let’s do a project’ I was asked after that tournament. Challenge on. I told them: ‘it’ll take 3 years to win something’.
2024, first season. First game in Gent, both crying. Badly lost. And then, one loss after another, we kept pushing, we grew, we talked. We have always been talking, a lot.
I still remember the first time we made to a semi. I must still have the text from Hens Pascal congratulating 🙏🏼♥️
And then the first bronze medal of that season. Felt like impossible, and yet…
2025: winning games became the new normal. Getting to semis becomes a habit. More medals coming in. Gold at the WEVZA for Clubs in Bellaria. What a season! Season ended with a bitter 5th place at the Masters in Nieuwpoort.
2026: the girls started strong. Endless hours in the gym. And on the sand. It was never enough. There was a new maturity within the team, one could sense it. And the season kicks off with a bang. Bronze at the Beach Volley Marathon; Silver in Gent, medal after medal. Silver at the WEVZA in Montpellier.
Xien plays the first Beach Pro Tour and goes straight to main draw. Olga gets to another final with Helene Eli Rousseaux
And in Leuven, the first big win at a 3-star. That day was magic.
We didn’t perform as we wanted at the Masters in Nieuwpoort. Another 5th place. This time it was really hard to swallow. It still hurts.
We haven’t really had a chance to sit down and look back at the journey yet, but, I can tell, it was incredible. ♥️
This project ends for now. We’ll see what’s in for tomorrow, but I’ll never forget, the laughs, the tears, the joy, the frustration, the commitment and the sacrifice. The hugs.
Girls, thank you. 🙏🏼 I’m humbled by having had the privilege of working alongside you. Whatever will be, remember that it is the journey that describes you as a player, not a single tournament. And you have shown what you are made for. Ad maiora Bulls team ♥️
Patrizio