Former Thai national team member Onuma Sittirak has encouraged women to embrace the possibility of being a coach to younger athletes after their professional volleyball career.
Sittirak is currently working as assistant head coach of Thailand’s national team after retiring from the squad at the age of 35.
She was part of the Thai women’s squad that competed at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League before stepping away from the professional scene.
She didn’t plan it
The former national team spiker admitted that becoming an assistant coach was not part of her plan after her retirement.
“First of all, I have to admit that becoming a coach was not something I had planned from the beginning. At first, I only wanted to be a player. But after my playing career, I realised that volleyball is what I love most,” she said in a feature released by the FIVB.
Sittirak added that she ultimately embraced coaching after realising that her passion for the sport would remain even after her playing career came to an end.
Rather than stepping away from volleyball entirely, the new role has allowed her to remain involved in the sport while sharing the experience she gained throughout her playing career.
It has also given her an opportunity to help guide the next generation of players and contribute to the team in a different way.
Coaching initiatives
The Thai star called for the implementation of more initiatives to help encourage other women to consider coaching younger athletes.
Sittirak shared that she did not consider becoming a coach after her retirement because women coaches were rare during the peak of her career.
But she pointed out that having female leaders in volleyball teams will create a more comfortable environment for athletes, especially for women’s teams.
“When there is a woman on the coaching staff of a women’s team, the players are often more comfortable discussing matters related to their health or other personal issues with a woman coach than with a man. I believe that is a very important role that women coaches can play,” the assistant coach added.
Sittirak stressed that women should overcome their fear of becoming coaches and should be brave enough to embrace the challenges of becoming a leader in a male-dominated role.
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Decorated career
Sittirak has already contributed a lot to Thailand as a professional player before transitioning to an assistant coach for the national team.
She helped Thailand win their first Asian Championship in 2009. She also became a champion during the 2010 Asian Club Championship.
Sittirak is part of Thailand’s Fab Six, alongside Pleumjit Thinkaow, Wilavan Apinyapong, Nootsara Tomkom, Malika Kanthong, and Amporn Hyapha.
All six players lacked height for the professional volleyball scene, but their skills and team chemistry within the national team lasted for two decades.
The Fab Six last played together during the 2021 VNL, a moment that became historic for many volleyball fans since all six players had already announced their retirement before the league even started.
The Thailand Volleyball Association brought in its veterans for one last time after the new-look Thai national team encountered issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand finished in last place during the 2021 VNL, but the legacies established by Sittirak and other Fab Six members served as an inspiration for the younger players who represented the country in the following years.
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Vivien Bernardino 
Wendellyn Mateo 
Maybelene Marcelino