While significant differences exist between coaching indoor and beach volleyball, the coach`s vital role in a team`s triumph remains a constant. To offer fans deeper insight into what constitutes successful coaching directly from accomplished figures in the field, this series highlights prominent European coaches from both disciplines, seeking their expert perspectives. This inaugural part introduces Jetmund Berntsen, a highly successful coach in the beach volleyball world today.
Jetmund Berntsen is recognized as one of the masterminds behind the success of Anders Mol & Christian Sorum, the current world and Olympic champions from Norway. Born in 1973, Jetmund was one of five siblings, all of whom went on to play for the national teams in either volleyball or beach volleyball. His oldest sibling, Merita, now known as Anders Mol`s mother, was the most accomplished athlete in the family, representing Norway in beach volleyball at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, finishing ninth.
As a child, young Jetmund enjoyed various ball sports, favoring football in the summer and volleyball in the winter. Following his older sister`s path, he began organized volleyball at age seven and took up beach volleyball during the summers from age 17.
His interest in beach volleyball was further sparked by his indoor national teammate, Jan Kvalheim, who was already an internationally recognized professional beach player, and significantly by his brother-in-law, Kare Mol (Merita`s husband). Jetmund and Kare formed a team themselves, even securing a national championship bronze medal in 1995. Berntsen also participated in a couple of FIVB World Tour events. His indoor career highlights came about a decade later, winning the Norwegian national title and cup with the Forde team.
Merita Mol`s Olympic journey to Atlanta with her husband Kare as coach inspired Berntsen`s own interest in coaching. They spent considerable time together while raising their children, allowing Jetmund to closely observe Kare, get his questions answered, and experiment as he started his coaching path.
With all five of the Mols` children and the two Berntsen children eventually getting involved in the sport, beach volleyball evolved into a family enterprise known as the Beachvolley Vikings. It officially started in 2016 with three players: Kare’s son Anders Mol, Jetmund’s son Mathias Berntsen (who had already won the 2015 CEV U20 European Championship as a team), and the “adopted” Christian Sorum.
The young Vikings continued to achieve success. Anders Mol claimed the continental U20 title again in 2016 alongside Christian Sorum`s younger brother, Aleksander. Later that year, he won the U22 title with Christian and secured U22 silver with Mathias Berntsen in 2017. That same year, Anders also earned his first senior international podiums: gold at the Ljubljana Masters (CEV European Tour) with Christian, and bronze at the Espinho two-star (FIVB World Tour) with Mathias.
This period was still experimental for the BeachVolley Vikings, with Jetmund Berntsen and the coaching team trying various player combinations. They soon recognized the exceptional chemistry and shared game understanding between Anders and Christian, realizing this pairing had the potential to reach an entirely new level in the sport.
Mol & Sorum`s significant breakthrough occurred in 2018 when they won five consecutive top-tier events: 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 beginning of their remarkable journey.
In 2019, Mol & Sorum added six more gold medals from the seven World Tour finals they contested. The Vikings also earned bronze at the FIVB World Championship in Hamburg and the World Tour Finals in Rome. They were crowned World Tour season champions in both 2018 and 2019. Their impressive collection grew with back-to-back European titles in Moscow (2019) and Jurmala (2020).
2021 proved to be another monumental year for the Beachvolley Vikings. For Mol & Sorum, it began with consecutive four-star titles on the World Tour and reached its peak with the Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Following this, they secured their fourth consecutive EuroBeachVolley title in Vienna and gold at the final World Tour Finals edition in Cagliari.
Around this time, Kare Mol stepped back, allowing Jetmund Berntsen to assume the primary leadership role in their coaching team. The string of successes continued into 2022, the inaugural season of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Mol & Sorum won three Elite16 gold medals, but the highlight was their World Championship gold medal in Rome, adding the world title to their accomplishments. After winning the Paris Elite16 in October, they regained and have since held the number one position in the FIVB World Ranking.
Mol & Sorum finished third at EuroBeachVolley 2022 in Munich, ending their impressive run of four consecutive continental titles. However, the CEV BeachVolley Nations Cup in Vienna was another triumph for the Beachvolley Vikings in 2022. With Jetmund Berntsen as the head coach of the Norwegian men`s national team (featuring Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, Hendrik Mol, and Mathias Berntsen), they secured victory at the first-ever event.
The pairing of Mathias Berntsen with Anders’s older brother Hendrik Mol also had a successful year on the Beach Pro Tour, winning silver at the Agadir Challenge and ending the year ranked 13th globally.
Jetmund Berntsen`s coaching achievements extend beyond the men`s game. At the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, he coached Emilie Olimstad and his daughter Frida Berntsen to bronze medals.
Since 2018, Jetmund Berntsen has also worked at ToppVolley Norge, a private boarding school offering volleyball and beach volleyball talents the opportunity to combine high school education with dedicated athletic training – a truly aspirational setting for young athletes.
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Jetmund Berntsen
Beach volleyball coach
Torin Vale