FOOTBALL PLAYERS HAVE THEIR „SECOND HOME“ HERE
Young football players are under the watchful eye of scouts from football clubs all over Europe. Every match is their chance to show and „sell“ themselves to one of the elite football clubs. „It is important for them where and how they train and prepare for matches. The environment can do a lot to the players‘ psyche,“ says Filip Trosko of the Slovak Football Association.
When do we have the opportunity to come across the U16 and U19 national football teams in the x-bionic® sphere?
By the time we are doing this interview, we may have been here for the 25th time. Last fall alone, we had six training camps at the resort. We have check ups at the center when we’re just doing training, but we also come here before games or qualifications. For example, we were here last May before we left for the World Cup in Argentina, and the national coach selected the final 21-player lineup at that time. Now we are here again to prepare for the double-match with Ireland, which is to be played in Dunajská Streda.
What criteria must the venue meet to become a training centre for the Slovak national football team?
The alpha and omega for us are high quality training areas and a wide range of regeneration possibilities, cold and warm swimming pools, saunas, etc. Of course, quality, tasty and healthy food that respects the needs of the athletes, comfortable accommodation or closed meeting rooms with technical equipment such as a projector are also important. The x-bionic® Sphere multifunctional resort fulfils all this and gives us something extra.
Providing your players with everything they need in training or pre-qualification is probably quite logistically challenging, isn’t it? They need to train and regenerate, a space where you can go over tactical matters with them in peace…
We have quite a bit of a packed schedule throughout the day, and it helps when we don’t have to waste time moving around, for example from accommodation to training or then to recovery. Players tend to get tired from the constant transfers, it distracts them unnecessarily. Having everything under one roof saves time, energy and allows the players to concentrate fully on the training process and preparing for matches. The only resort in Slovakia that provides such an „everything under one roof“ option and in such high quality is x-bionic® sphere. It has no competition. That is why it is our second home, so to speak. (laughs)
To what extent can the environment affect an athlete’s performance and mental well-being?
The optimal environment is an extremely important factor and can do a lot to an athlete’s psyche. When we go to play abroad or find ourselves in a new hotel where, for example, the internet doesn’t work or the food isn’t ideal, there are no regeneration options or players can’t make a phone call home – it can put them off. You can see that they’re uncomfortable. It is important that they are as comfortable as possible and can concentrate only on themselves and football. That’s why we love coming back to the x-bionic® sphere. The players know it here, they know where to find what, how it works, their head doesn’t have to be occupied with new surroundings, problems, they have their peace of mind here.
In the x-bionic® sphere we meet not only Slovak football players, but often also your opponents…
In the autumn we played international matches against the Swedish and Croats, and currently we have a match against the Irish. All of them have also been in the x-bionic® sphere. Our opponents are asking where we will be staying and they want to be in the same place. They take it as a guarantee that if the home team is somewhere, they will be comfortable there as well. And they’ve always been enthusiastic.
And how do they get along?
Of course, during a game most athletes switch into another mode and don’t care about anything else except the goal of winning. Scouts from football clubs all over Europe come to watch the U19 players play. And the players know that every game is their chance to impress and sell themselves.
What does a normal training day look like for the national football team?
The programme depends a lot on the coach, who sticks to his philosophy. Generally though, our day starts with breakfast, which is either shared or individual from 7:30 – 9:30 depending on who gets up when. We have one – two meetings during the day. At these we pass on information about our opponents, discuss the game and tactics. After that we prepare for training, have lunch and then in the afternoon we have the training itself. Sometimes they also have two-phase training and rest in between. The post-match day is often a recovery day and sometimes there is no training at all. We have a „medical team“ in the team, i.e. physiotherapists and other medical staff, players can use their services in acute cases throughout the day. Also various equipment etc. An hour or two is usually reserved in the evening for the massage room, when the players come in for muscle relaxation, massage, taping. In the evening we have a classic dinner and end of the day. However, the daily schedule depends on whether we have a pre-game or post-game. So to sum it up, our stays consist of training, meetings and recovery in a nice environment.
What’s the most unusual request you’ve surprised the x-bionic® sphere staff with?
I’m sure there would be quite a few. 🙂 When we were here in the winter, they used to brew tea in big thermal flasks for our trainings. We have a player on the U16 team who comes from a very religious family. On Saturday night, we would hunt around the resort for a bike for him so he could go to church in Samorin for mass and not have to walk. We borrowed that one several times. 🙂
What do your players appreciate the most in the x-bionic® sphere?
Especially the food, because it is healthy and varied, they have a lot to choose from. For example, we also had a player who had a very specific diet – the kitchen was very helpful and was able to prepare special meals for him. Our footballers also appreciate the wide range of regeneration options and the spacious wellness area where they have peace of mind. Overall, they are happy for the comfort they have here – from the large rooms to the possibility to use the services of the medical staff in the massage rooms.
Is there anything you miss at the x-bionic® Sphere?
I can tell you exactly two things that if we had here, we wouldn’t have to go anywhere else. The first thing is artificial grass. In the winter – usually until April – they don’t let you on the grass because the grass needs to rest and it would get ruined. So in the winter we train on artificial grass, and if there was artificial grass in the x-bionic® sphere, we could go here in January or February. For now, we have to deal with it differently. And the other thing that would also help us extremely is the locker rooms in the athletic stadium. If they were there, along with being able to play the national anthem, we could have international games there just a few steps away. That would be our dream. 🙂 But otherwise, everything is really there.
