The roles of a volleyball coach and a beach volleyball coach, while distinct in many aspects, share a fundamental commonality: their critical influence on a team`s achievement. To offer fans a deeper understanding of this pivotal role and gain direct insights into what it takes to be a successful coach, I am presenting a series titled “Secrets of Coaching Success.” This series features accomplished European coaches from both disciplines, aiming to uncover their invaluable expertise.
In this seventh installment, we delve into the career of one of the most successful coaches in contemporary beach volleyball: Jetmund Berntsen. His significant contribution to the triumph of Anders Mol & Christian Sorum—Norway`s reigning world and Olympic champions—speaks volumes about his capabilities. Let`s explore more about the man behind their incredible journey.
Early Life and Athletic Roots
Born in 1973, Jetmund was the second of five siblings, all of whom eventually became national team players in either volleyball or beach volleyball. His oldest sister, Merita, now widely recognized as Anders Mol`s mother, achieved the most athletic success, representing Norway at the Atlanta 1996 beach event and securing a ninth-place finish.
As a child, young Jetmund had a keen interest in various ball games, particularly football in the summer and volleyball during winter. Following his older sister`s footsteps, he joined organized volleyball at the age of seven. By seventeen, he expanded his athletic pursuits to include beach volleyball in the summer months.
His passion for beach volleyball was further ignited by his indoor national team colleague, Jan Kvalheim, who was an internationally renowned professional beach volleyball player at the time, and notably by his brother-in-law, Merita`s husband, Kare Mol. Jetmund and Kare formed a formidable team, even clinching a national championship bronze medal in 1995. Berntsen also competed in a couple of FIVB World Tour events, including the 1997 Marseille Open and the 1999 Stavanger Open. His career as an indoor player reached its zenith approximately a decade later when he won both the Norwegian national title and national cup with the Forde team.
The Path to Coaching and the Beachvolley Vikings
Merita Mol`s journey to the Atlanta Olympics, with her husband Kare Mol serving as her coach, profoundly inspired Berntsen`s own interest in coaching. They spent considerable time together raising their children, during which Jetmund closely observed Kare, seeking answers to his questions and experimenting with coaching techniques as he embarked on his own coaching career.
Ultimately, all five of the Mols` children and Jetmund`s two children became involved in the sport, transforming beach volleyball into a true family enterprise: the “Beachvolley Vikings.” This initiative began in 2016 with three key players: Kare`s son Anders Mol and Jetmund`s son Mathias Berntsen, who had already secured their first significant international victory together at the 2015 CEV U20 European Championship, alongside the “adopted” Christian Sorum.
A Dynasty Forged: The Rise of Mol & Sorum
The young Vikings` list of achievements continued to grow rapidly. Anders Mol clinched the continental U20 title again in 2016, this time with Christian Sorum`s younger brother Aleksander. Later that same year, he won the U22 title alongside Christian, and in 2017, he earned U22 silver with Mathias Berntsen. That pivotal year also saw Anders achieve his first international podium finishes at the senior level: a gold medal at the Ljubljana Masters on the CEV European Tour with Christian and a bronze at the Espinho two-star event on the FIVB World Tour with Mathias.
During this period, the BeachVolley Vikings were still in a testing phase, with Jetmund Berntsen and his coaching team experimenting with various player combinations. They soon realized that Anders and Christian possessed a unique ability to read the game in unison and shared an extraordinary chemistry, enough to propel the sport to an entirely new echelon.
Mol & Sorum`s monumental breakthrough occurred in 2018, when they secured an astounding five top-level victories consecutively: the Gstaad five-star, the CEV European Championship in The Hague, the Vienna five-star, the World Tour Finals in Hamburg, and the Las Vegas four-star. This marked the true beginning of their fairy-tale journey.
In 2019, Mol & Sorum continued their dominance, capturing another six gold medals from the seven World Tour finals they contested. The Vikings also earned bronze at the FIVB World Championship in Hamburg and at the World Tour Finals in Rome. They were crowned World Tour season champions in both 2018 and 2019, further adding to their impressive collection with two more consecutive European titles at Moscow 2019 and Jurmala 2020.
2021 proved to be another landmark year for the Beachvolley Vikings. For Mol & Sorum, the season commenced with back-to-back four-star titles on the World Tour and reached its pinnacle with the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020. They then followed this historic win with their fourth consecutive EuroBeachVolley title at the Vienna tournament and a gold at the final edition of the World Tour Finals in Cagliari.
At this juncture, Kare Mol stepped back, allowing Jetmund Berntsen to assume the primary leadership role within their coaching team. The narrative of success continued unabated into 2022. The inaugural season of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour was highlighted by Mol & Sorum`s three Elite16 gold medals, but the ultimate triumph came at the World Championship in Rome, where they added the coveted world title to their glorious showcase. Following their success at the Paris Elite16 in October, the pair reclaimed the number one spot in the FIVB World Ranking, a position they have held ever since.
Mol & Sorum finished “only” third at EuroBeachVolley 2022 in Munich, which interrupted their remarkable streak of four consecutive continental titles. However, the CEV BeachVolley Nations Cup in Vienna presented another major highlight for the Beachvolley Vikings in 2022. With Jetmund Berntsen as the head coach of the Norwegian men’s national team (comprising Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, Hendrik Mol, and Mathias Berntsen), they triumphed atop the podium at the inaugural event.
The pairing of Mathias Berntsen with Anders’s older brother Hendrik Mol also experienced a successful year on the Beach Pro Tour. They secured silver at the Agadir Challenge and ultimately concluded the year ranked 13th in the World Ranking.
Jetmund Berntsen`s coaching prowess isn`t confined solely to the men’s division. At the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, he guided Emilie Olimstad and his daughter Frida Berntsen to well-deserved bronze medals.
Nurturing Future Talent
Since 2018, Jetmund Berntsen has also been involved with the ToppVolley Norge private boarding school. This esteemed institution offers a unique environment where aspiring volleyball and beach volleyball talents can combine rigorous high school education with intensive athletic training.
Beach volleyball coach
