The Next Big Thing in Volleyball: Damiano Catania
Feature
Last September was a remarkable month for the Italian Volleyball family, and the U21 Men’s team was no exception. Crowned champions of the world, the players around head coach Angiolino Frigoni claimed the gold medal without losing a single match. 20-year-old libero, Damiano Catania played a crucial role for his team’s excellent performance throughout the whole tournament, and deservedly grabbed the Best Libero award. With the team of Gas Sales Blue Energy Piacenza, Catania is now enjoying a brand-new experience in his career, competing for a very first time in the Italian Super League. Showing а technical set of skills, and adding the Volleyball passion into what he is doing, Catania might very well be the Next Big Thing in Volleyball.
His story
For Damiano, born in Sicily, Volleyball turned out to be a “family matter”. It was his sister’s “guilt” for the young hope of Italian Volleyball to take up on the sport. “I used to watch my sister playing Volleyball during the weekends, and this is how I first started getting to know the game. Then, when I began training and played matches myself, I immediately felt at ease and good on the court.”
In the beginning, Catania was performing as an outside hitter, but afterwards had to change his position to libero. The U21 Best Libero is aware that it was a matter of height, but in time, he also has discovered the full potential of his new role. “In the under age categories, I was alternating both positions.”
Damiano Catania“Step by step, I began appreciating the libero role more and more. Nowadays, I am fully aware of the difficulties and responsibilities of the position.”
Going pro
Born in 2001, Damiano already has experience in the Italian Serie A2, where he showed all his energy and his technical skills in defense and reception, especially during the 2020/2021 season when he reached the semifinals phase with Cuneo.
From this season, Damiano has the chance to play on an even higher level - in the Italian Super Leaguе. Catania’s good performance has called the attention of the legendary Lorenzo Bernardi (who is at the helm of the Piacenza team), and so the specialist shared that Damiano was “an interesting prospect, with technical skills and strong personality”.
To Catania, this new experience mean a lot.
Damiano Catania“The Italian Super League is considered by many the best league in the world. For me, playing with all these great players, has an added value. I feel good in Piacenza - I found teammates and staff that are hungry for victories. I will try to help the team achieve all the goals by delivering hard work in the gym. Hopefully, I can grow both on a technical and on a human level.”
The national team
For Damiano and his teammates, the U21 Men’s team has been like a family for many years. They were able to conclude this stage of their professional lives in the best possible way, becoming world champions two years after doing the same, but in the Boys’ U19 category. The same generation of players also reached the final of EuroVolley U20 back in September 2020, finishing with the silver medals.
Damiano Catania“Winning a second world championship in a row, at home in Sardinia, means a lot. Furthermore, receiving the Best Libero award is an individual recognition that can only make me proud. It is an extra boost as well to try reaching even greater goals.”
The Inspiration
Looking for inspiration for the future, Damiano is following the game of Jenia Grebennikov.
“To me, his is the best one. However, when I started, I remember watching the Brazilian Sergio - I admire his way of revolutionizing the libero position, delivering so many spectacular plays.”