IO – The legendary hurler of the Indonesian volleyball team, Loudry Maspaitella, never actually dreamed of becoming a volleyball athlete. Loudry’s childhood was filled with dreams of becoming a footballer. He even trained diligently at the Surabaya Young Indonesia club; Loudry chose the position as a goalkeeper.
Born into a family of athletes, his father Leonard Jonas Maspaitella is a national athlete in the triple jump, his mother is a national volleyball athlete. Leo is also a volleyball coach and coach. Not only active in the field, Leo, who died three years ago, was also the Chairman of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) in East Java.
Loudry’s older sister, Henny Maspaitella, first made brilliant achievements in athletics. Henny won a gold medal at the 1979 SEA Games in Jakarta at the age of 15.
“I used to also train in athletics, but my interest was greater in football,” said Loudry.
Being a volleyball athlete was outside of Loudry’s plans. When he was in junior high school, his father saw Loudry’s talent at playing volleyball. Incidentally, at that time the club that was coached by Leo needed a hurler. He also invited Loudry to play in a junior tournament. After the tournament, Loudry returned to soccer practice.
The tournament turned out to be the selection of the East Java team for the All-Indonesia Student Sports Week and the selected Loudry. Loudry’s path in volleyball continued smoothly, he was then elected to the Indonesian student national team to the ASEAN School Games. “At that time my father tried to persuade me to do volleyball. He said I had only been playing volleyball for six months and had already gone abroad,” he recalled.
Loudry has many interests and talents in various sports. While in high school, he entered the school softball team. “Even if I participate in a multi-event such as the SEA Games and the SEA Games, when I don’t play I often watch other branches, such as softball rather than volleyball,” he admitted.
Loudry continues to shine. His achievements continue from the junior national team to the senior national team. Loudry became a mainstay for the Indonesian national team to win gold medals in 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1997 SEA Games. After retiring, Loudry was again called up by the national team, and successfully won the gold medal at the 2005 SEA Games.
Successfully achieving in sports, Loudry does not forget to further his education. Loudry is a graduate of the University of Indonesia with a major in Business Policy Administration. The father of three, who is also an official at Bank BNI 46, wants his children to also attain an educational level higher than his own. “My father used to say that I had to go to a higher school than him, as he had only graduated with an S-1. I also want my children to get a higher education than me,” he said.
Retiring as a player, Loudry did not completely leave volleyball. He is included in the ranks of the Central Board of the Indonesian Volleyball Association in the field of achievement development. He became the person in charge of the national team at the 2019 SEA Games; as a result, the men’s gold medal and women’s bronze medal were won by the Indonesian national team.
For sports today, volleyball is no longer the main choice. “I like to play golf now,” he admitted. (RP)