MB Lim Hye-rim returns to Heungkuk Life after a year as a compensation player, “I will try to play as a starter”

“I will try my best to play in the starting lineup.”

Lim Hye-rim, a 184-centimeter middle blocker born in 2004, is back in a Heungkuk Life jersey after a year away. She has a new opportunity.

Heungkuk Life announced on March 21, “We have selected rookie Lim Hye-rim as a compensation player for middle blocker Lee Ju-ah who moved to IBK.”

After Heungkuk Life’s main middle blocker Lee Ju-ah became a free agent for the first time in her life and moved to IBK, 메이저 토토사이트 Heungkuk Life reinforced the center by naming Lim Hye-rim as a compensation player.

Lim was selected by Heungkuk Life with the second overall pick in the first round of the 2022 Korean Rookie Draft. As a rookie, she played in 18 regular season games and 30 sets in her first professional season, scoring 18 points. Then, in 2023, Heungkuk Life acquired veteran middle blocker Kim Soo-ji from IBK as a free agent, and Lim found a new home with IBK as compensation.

In the 2023-24 season, Lim was often given opportunities in the V-League. With Choi Jung-min occupying the middle blocker spot, Lim and Kim Hyun-jung alternated between the two due to Kim Hee-jin’s inconsistency. Lim played 30 matches and 76 sets, scoring 75 points. She also ranked 11th in digs.

In 2024, she moved again as a compensation player. A year later, she returned to Heungkuk Life.

Lim received the news of her nomination as a compensation player while she was working out at IBK Bank on Dec. 12, the day she returned to the team after the season ended. “I was working out at IBK’s hostel when I got a call from the secretary general,” Lim told on the 25th. At first, I thought it was the secretary general of IBK, but when I saw the name of the secretary general of Heungkuk Life appear, I think I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going again,'” she said honestly.

She also spoke with Kim Ho-cheol, the director of IBK. “He came to see me, and he thanked me for doing a good job and apologized for letting me go,” Lim said. He also told me to do well in my new job,” Lim said.

She will be returning to the team where she was first named as a rookie, but as a compensatory player for the second year in a row. “I had to accept the situation and didn’t think much about it. “I had to accept the situation and didn’t care too much about it. I will try my best to live up to the coach’s expectations,” she said. “I would have been worried about going to a team I didn’t know at all, but I think I was a little more relaxed because I had been there for a season.

For Lim, the 2023-24 season was a meaningful one, and her motivation is clear. “Last year, I was named a compensation player, and I also had an older sister who was injured, so I had a lot more opportunities. But after I injured my ankle, I was disappointed because I felt like I couldn’t do it, and I felt like I needed to practice more. It’s different being off the court, coming in as a substitute, and playing as a starter. Definitely, when you’re a starter, you’re given the opportunity to grow. I will train harder and try to become a starter,” he said, showing his determination.

He will also be reunited with Heungkuk Life head coach Marcello Abondanza. Abondanza took over the reins of Heungkuk Life in February 2023, midway through the 2022-23 season. He also worked with Lim for about three months. “I had a short time to learn from him, so when I changed teams, I felt a lot of regret. I am grateful that I can learn again,” she said.

Coach Avondanza is full of enthusiasm in both training and matches. Even veteran players can’t escape his criticism. “I was scolded by Coach Kim Ho-cheol a lot at IBK, so I don’t worry too much,” Lim said, before laughing and adding, “I think he gets angry when I don’t perform according to the plan. I think I’m being scolded because I didn’t perform properly, so I think the execution of the operation is the first thing, and even if I’m scolded, I shouldn’t be shaken, just think about what I need to do, accept it well, and have a good mental attitude.”

This was something she criticized herself for last season as well. “I think I got too nervous when I had to make a promised play or made a mistake and got embarrassed,” Lim said. I think I got better as I played, but then I got injured again and it took me a long time to find my game again. I think the most important thing is to keep practicing consistently and to stay relaxed in practice and execute my promised plays.”

Blocking was one of the things that Avondanza emphasized to Lim in the 2022-23 season. “I learned a lot of things in a short period of time, but first, he told me to be more detailed in my blocking, and to tuck my hands into the opposite side of my body when blocking, rather than just raising my hands high,” Lim said.

In conclusion, Lim said, “I think I learned a lot during my year at the bank. I want to say thank you,” she said, adding, “I’m back at Heungkuk Life after a year, and I’m going to work hard this off-season so that I can show good form in the season and help the team achieve its championship goal. I will also have to learn a lot from (Kim) Suzy,” he said.

Heungkuk Life used Lee Ju-ah and Kim Su-ji as their main middle blockers until last season. At the beginning of the season, Kim Chae-yeon filled the position, but an injury left her disappointed. Byun Ji-soo and Kim Na-hee were then brought in as substitutes. With Lee Ju-ah out of the team, Lim Hye-rim joined the competition. Now in her third season in the V-League, Lim has another chance to make her presence felt.