Doctor Volleyball

As a child he loved football, like everyone else, and basketball. Later, however, he chose volleyball. "It happened when my father, I must have been 13-14 years old, took me to see a game. I was very impressed."  Andrea Coali, 29, from Trento, is now a PhD student at the Department of Management and Technology of Bocconi University and, at the same time, the center of Volley 2001 Garlasco, a team that has just reached the A3 league. "That was the goal we set ourselves, since we are newly promoted after the victory in B league last season," says Andrea, who takes a look back. "In Trento there is football, as everywhere in Italy, but also a deep-rooted tradition in basketball and volleyball. Trentino Volley, in particular, sends its scouts around the schools in search of interesting prospects. I was already very tall in middle school and they invited me for a tryout."

That was a shock, for him and for the team. Andrea completed all the steps of the youth league (culminating, in 2011, with a championship in the Under 20 league) and at the same time studies: first the scientific high school, then the three-year degree, political science in Trento. With passion, but also with some difficulties. "My real debut in volleyball that counts was in San Giustino, in Umbria. A1 Championship, that is the maximum." His studies were not really put aside, but relegated to the periods in which competitive commitments slowed down. Because conquering the A1 league is difficult, but staying there is even harder, if you don't do only that. And Andrea never wanted to be just an athlete.

"My rational side has taken over," he says, "volleyball is not like football. Except in very rare cases, you cannot retire and live on income after your competitive career. But this is only one of the reasons. The other, no less important, is that I don't like to do just one thing at a time and the prospect of an academic career, both in teaching and research, is really inspiring. At least as much as volleyball."

Andrea Coali did not come to these conclusions suddenly. Between getting a Bachelor degree and the beginning of the doctorate there are many other things. He sums them up as follows: "As far as volleyball is concerned, I got closer to home. First in Verona, in A1, then in Bolzano, in B1. In 2015 I arrived at Bocconi, where I enrolled  in Economic and Social Sciences, playing at the same time in B league, right in Garlasco. I moved to Sweden for a period of exchange, and I kept fit by training with a local team. So," continues Andrea, "after a season on the Bocconi team, which was then playing in the B league, in 2017/2018 I had a work experience at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, where I played in the local A league, winning the championship with Fentange."

The rest is the story up to now. A few work experiences and then the decision to devote himself to research. "An academic career has a positive uncertainty; the doctorate represents a challenge, an opportunity for growth. I deal with decision-making processes in the managerial field, a topic that has a close connection with the corporate world. This research has practical implications. And then there is the teaching part, which I am passionate about."  Volleyball, however, remains. Every year, he says, could be the last. But in the meantime it continues. "It's my hobby, my stress resource.  A moment of relaxation. These are two activities at opposite extremes, but they reflect the two sides of my character. And then, I am convinced, those who play sports, especially as a team, have an extra gear. Whatever they do."