Both the coach and captain of the Dutch volleyball team that won a silver medal at the Olympic games in Barcelona are Israelis. They are also father and son.
Arieh Selinger, 55, and Avital, 33, came together to help propel Holland’s national team to Olympic honors after pursuing separate sports careers.
Born in Poland, the father survived Bergen Belsen and came to Israel as a boy. He played volleyball for Israel from 1956 to 1963, later going to the United States to become a successful trainer in women’s volleyball.
In 1983, Israeli-born Avital joined the Martinus volleyball club in Amstelveen, near Amsterdam. Eventually, he persuaded his father to join him in Holland and Arieh became the coach of the Dutch national team, captained to an Olympic medal by his son. Arieh is author of a 1985 book “Selinger’s Power Volleyball.”
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