The Volleyball DNA: Tania Moreno
Editorial
Parents are supposed to always be on the same side as their children, no matter what. But if mother and daughter both decide to pursue a career in the same sport and Father Time is generous, there’s a chance the opposite could happen. That was the case with Spanish beach volleyball player Tania Moreno and her mother Olga Matveeva.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Olga moved to Spain in 1999, to practice with coach Juan Manuel Moreno, who eventually became her husband. The two had Tania in 2002 and a few years later Olga decided to resume her beach career, this time representing Spain. She couldn’t qualify for the Beijing Olympics, but her journey was funny enough to attract the attention of the young Tania, who a few years later decided to be an athlete as well.
The two started working together, with Olga coaching Tania and teaching her lessons about the sport and life, and in 2015, when she was 39 and her daughter just 13, they competed in a national event in Spain together.
Playing tournaments as partners became routine for the two, who still do it when they have a chance, but there were also occasions in which they were opponents.
Tania Moreno“I prefer playing with her than against her as I believe we’ve won medals every time we played together. We know each other really well and things never get heated between us on the court. When we’re on opposite sides, however, sometimes there’s that little spark on the court. Anytime I get to win a match against her, it makes me really proud because she coaches me, so she knows all my weaknesses and has much more experience.”
Spanish Beach Volleyball Player
Olga played in 34 international and 18 continental events in her career. Aged 45, she still plays in Spain but the main focus now is on preparing the 19-year-old Tania, who’s currently studying and playing beach volleyball at the Texas Christian University, in the United States, for the biggest steps of her career.
Tania has enjoyed some early success, winning bronze at the 2019 U19 World Championship and three medals in CEV Age Group Championships between 2019 and 2021. If it depends on her mother, there might be a lot more to come, but the most important thing is to have fun and be happy.
Olga Matveeva“One thing I always tell her is to enjoy every day in beach volleyball as much as she can. And to bring her passion to each training session or match and everything she does. I believe she can go really far in her career. At the end of the day, it will all depend on which goals she sets for herself and how hard she’ll be willing to work for them. Hopefully she can compete in the Olympics or the World Championships one day.”
Russian/Spanish Beach Volleyball Player
Volleyball is a true family sport. Not only because of the friendly environment found in indoor and beach tournaments around the world, but also due to the simplicity of the game, which allows people of all ages and physical abilities to play it. It’s also a captivating sport and because of that it happens often that several generations of a same family fall in love with it. Every once in a while, we can see those family connections at the professional level and that’s exactly what we’re going to show in our series ‘The Volleyball DNA’.