[TV Report = Reporter Kim Hae-seul] Former volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung revealed her thoughts on ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung Season 2’. On November 30, the channel ‘Bread Sister Kim Yeon-koung’ uploaded a video titled, “Thank you for your hard work. And now we can finally say it! The stories we couldn’t share, discussed over a farewell dinner.”
In the video, Kim Yeon-koung is seen attending a farewell dinner with the players of MBC’s ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung”s team ‘Pilseung Wonder Dogs’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Wonder Dogs’) after their last game. While introducing the unsung heroes of ‘Wonder Dogs’, she shared her reflections as a coach, saying, “It’s always important to determine how we start the basic framework. We’ve built up well—blocking positions, serving positions, and how players should move for serve-receives. Once these are set, the players can proceed comfortably.”
Recalling the team’s first consecutive losses, she said, “After finishing the interview at midnight, I went to a convenience store, bought two cans of beer and potato chips, and reviewed the game alone in my room. I was that frustrated. I felt where I was lacking and how I should have acted in that situation. It’s feedback I give myself even as the players feel it.” She added, “This is important for me as well. (Together with the players) I’ve grown.”
Regarding season 2, Kim Yeon-koung expressed, “I won’t be a coach anymore. My voice is hoarse, it’s too exhausting. Coaching is harder than playing.” Despite this, player Lee Jin from ‘Wonder Dogs’ commented, “It’s nice to try coordinating with players I didn’t know well after always doing so with the same ones.” Another player, Inku, remarked, “I liked that many unknown coaches came to teach us. The atmosphere of everyone working hard towards a common goal was great,” conveying a desire for a second season.
The final episode of ‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung’, aired on November 23, topped all TV non-drama topics and ranked first for six consecutive weeks on TV-OTT Sunday topics, marking a grand finale. Kim Yeon-koung achieved the top spot in TV-OTT non-drama participant topics, with both the program and its participants reaching the peak simultaneously. Especially on this broadcast, Wonder Dogs achieved a 3:0 shutout victory against Kim Yeon-koung’s original team, ‘Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders’, finishing the season with 5 wins and 2 losses (win rate 71.4%). The program’s past 7 episodes reached a real-time viewership rating of 64.7% on Wave, demonstrating its immense popularity.