Austrian Volleyball ace Thomas Zass says goodbye to competitive sport

Austria’s national team player Thomas Zass has decided to end his competitive career at the age of 31. Zass spent the last three seasons in the Swiss national league with Volley AMRISWIL and announced his retirement shortly after losing the championship series of the NLA to Chênois GENEVE.

Zass started his Volleyball career at VC Klafs Brixental and VCA Amstetten NÖ, before representing some truly prestigious teams abroad, such as PARIS Volley and AS CANNES in France or VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN of Germany. Zass top scored for Team Austria (85 points) at their historic EuroVolley appearance in 2019. Thomas played a key role in helping Austria qualify for EuroVolley 2019 after the injury suffered by Paul Buchegger and rose to the occasion in an all-important and dramatic match with Portugal.

While playing with Volley AMRISWIL, Zass won the 2019 edition of the Swiss national cup and received the MVP award in the 2018/2019 Swiss national league. Through Volleyball, Zass did also meet his soulmate, Canadian Brianna Beamish, as the two were both playing in Cannes.

“It was a great Volleyball journey! I can be satisfied, since I was able to play at a very good level for a long time. I was also part of the national team for a long time, where I played great games, celebrated good successes and made some of my best friends. In general, I was lucky to have always come to nice clubs. It has always been fun. My last three years in Amriswil were the first time I stayed anywhere for such a long time. I felt at home there too. Unfortunately, it was not enough for the gold medal in the end, but I gave everything until the end and also played good playoffs and a good championship series,” Zass says. “Personally, I am satisfied with my performance. For me it was always important to be able to quit the sport with a good feeling. Now I will be with my family in Austria for a few weeks before I go to Canada with Brianna on May 3 for an indefinite period. Then we will see what is next. Volleyball was a great time in my life. Now I am ready for the next chapter.”