Red Dragon Verhees says goodbye to competitive sport
News
Belgian middle blocker Pieter Verhees has announced his retirement from competitive sport at the age of 31. Verhees spent the last season at VC Greenyard MAASEIK, reaching the semis of the CEV Volleyball Cup and finishing as runner-up in the Belgian national league to Maaseik’s eternal rivals, Knack ROESELARE. Verhees ends an international career that has spanned some 15 years – which started back in 2007 when he helped Belgium secure a historic bronze medal at the U19 European Championship in Austria.
“It is time for something different. I have been living programmed for Volleyball for 15 years and everything else has had to make way for the sport. Now it is time to catch up with family and friends. Since the age of 15, my body has had to deal with the pressure and constraints of competitive sport without any break. There was never any peace of mind because of the summer campaigns with the Red Dragons, but as a top athlete, you obviously want to be there. Now it is over.”
At club level, Verhees moved to the senior ranks in 2008, spending three years at Volley ASSE-LENNIK before a brief stint at Maaseik, where he claimed the only national league title of his career. After that, he ventured to Italy, spending eight seasons in that country – and winning the national cup with MODENA Volley. He also reached the finals of the CEV Cup and Challenge Cup in consecutive years while playing for Andreoli LATINA. After leaving Italy, Verhees moved to Poland for a year at Zawiercie before his last competitive season coincided with a return to Maaseik.
With the Red Dragons, Verhees finished fourth at EuroVolley 2017 in Poland – in what remains Belgium’s top performance on the international stage, together with their 10th place finish at the World Championship held in Italy and Bulgaria a year later.
Pieter’s parents and grandparents, as well as his three siblings, have followed him across Europe for many years – thus accounting for some noisy support from the stands together with the parents and relatives of other Red Dragons. Verhees is currently in a relationship with Bosnian outside hitter Edina Begić (28), who won the CEV Cup title this year with Saugella MONZA and is due to play for Dinamo MOSCOW in the 2021/2022 season.