Máme hráče z Ruska, Spojených států, Ukrajiny, Kazachstánu, Kyrgyzstánu, České republiky, Vietnamu, Brazílie, Mexika a dalších...

Tento rozhovor byl s ohledem na národnost zástupců školy a také na druh školy, veden v anglickém jazyce. Redaktor doufá, že se při kladení otázek svou angličtinou neztrapnil a to samé platí i pro překlad obou rozhovorů. Ty naleznete v přiložené galerii.

This interview was conducted in English, given the nationality of the school's representatives and also the type of school. The editor hopes that he has not embarrassed by his English when asking questions, and the same applies to the translation of both interviews. You can find them in the attached gallery.

Daniel Padolsky | Anglo-American University Student Life Specialist

1) What made your school get involved in the project? What do you see as benefits for students?

We got involved quite by accident, honestly. Last year AAU made a conscious decision to expand its sports opportunities for its students, so I began searching for leagues for our students to play in. But, as you probably can imagine, my search was limited because I don’t speak Czech well enough. So I was talking to the former captain of our basketball club about something completely unrelated when I thought to ask him if he knew of any basketball leagues and he told me of CAUS and the six university leagues. The funny thing is that the captain of our football team was talking about organizing a university league at the exact same time I happened upon the league. So the fit was perfect. 

As for the benefits, generally speaking, I think having sports teams and cheering for them is good for school spirit. It gives our students something to rally behind. Also, it gives our students something to look forward to. The games can be fun to attend, social events. But, on a more personal level, for the players involved, I think playing football (and sports, in general) in this league will give students more confidence. At the university I went to as an undergrad (San Diego State), sports were a major part of life there. Some of my fondest memories were playing sports. I was fortunate to play for some excellent teams, and I remember how playing sports helped me to develop confidence that I, like so many students, are lacking when they get to university. A simple example, which I cringe about now, is throwing a frisbee. Before university I couldn’t throw one for the life of me. But, when I saw other students playing it there, I realized I couldn’t avoid doing it anymore, so I forced myself to play with them and, sure enough, after a few tosses, I was throwing like a champ. I grew so confident that I began throwing it with both hands. I really shocked myself. So I think playing football as a representative of your school against students from other schools will give students more confidence in themselves.

2) Is there a lot of interest in enrolling in the school team roster?

At the moment, I think football is our most popular sport, so we are continuously getting students asking if we have a team. It actually has almost always been our most popular sport. In all my 16 years at AAU, I think we’ve only not had a team 1 or 2 years.

3) Are there any joint trainings already taking place, or do you rely on the individual quality and readiness of the players?

Yes, our team trains at least once a week together, and we sometimes play friendlies against other local teams.

4) What do you say about the draw of your group and your opponent?

We know that Charles University won the league last year, and we’re playing them in our first game, which is a bit unlucky, so I’m a little apprehensive about that. Other than that, we’re satisfied with whom our opponents are. We also realize that teams differ year-to-year, some players leave, others join, so we are just concentrating on playing our best at all times with the players we have.

5) What are the ambitions of the school team?

We’d like to finish in second, at least, and make the playoffs. Since we’ve never played in this league, it is difficult to say, though.

6) As you are an international university, your team will probably be made up of many foreigners. What nationalities will your team represent?

We have players from Russia, United States, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico, and others. Our university prides itself on its diversity, and I think the football team does a good job representing the school.

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Beksultan Kalbekov | Anglo-American University Football Team Captain

1) What made your school get involved in the project? What do you see as benefits for students?

The motto of AAU Football team from the moment of its first creation is "from the students to the students", which means that a great amount of work was put into developing a team by the university's active students and the Student Council. We have always wanted to play competitive at university level and this was our priority goal since 2019. Back then, the club would reach out to other international institutions by email and phone and try to schedule friendly games and luckily it worked! So, that year marked the moment when AAU started playing football games with other universities. From 2021, however, thanks to our Student Life specialist, the club was able to reach a new level. Over the years, the team evolved in the number of players, their skills, and commitment, proving that we are ready to be competitive and try ourselves in tournaments. This project specifically is an amazing opportunity for students to get a feeling of real football, something that a lot of us dreamed about. Participation in this tournament could create an even stronger sense of community within the school.

2) Is there a lot of interest in enrolling in the school team roster?

Interest in joining the team has been growing continuously and having the tournament as our semester milestone helps with finding good student players. As of right now, we have over 32 members in the club, including 4 girls. Out of which we draft a starting roster for our friendly and official games.

3) Are there any joint trainings already taking place, or do you rely on the individual quality and readiness of the players?

Both. We have weekly trainings on Saturdays that are about 1 hour focused conditioning and skill and another hour for playing. However, it does not mean that we limit our players in terms of training time and many of them actually go on to train on their own during their free time. Students want to train and meet more regularly so that is one of our goals for the future.

4) What do you say about the draw of your group and your opponent?

We were very happy with the results of the draw! Watching it live on Facebook was stressful as we were hoping to stay in the regional group Prague, not to incur additional travel expenses. Fortunately, we were drawn to stay in the capital and play against amazing opponents including VŠCHT, VŠE, and last year's champions Univerzita Karlova. This is our first time participating in any official tournament, so we are eagerly looking forward to showcasing our skill and hopefully making some friends.

5) What are the ambitions of the school team?

We hope to advance to the play-offs which will happen in the Fall 2022.

6) As you are an international university, your team will probably be made up of many foreigners. What nationalities will your team represent?

The team consists of players from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, USA, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Russia, and more.

Kdo by se na první utkání mezi AAU a Univerzitou Karlovo chtěl podívat, zápas startuje 29.3.2022 v 16:00 na hřišti FTVS UK, José Martího 269, 162 52 Praha 6.