For the whole Galychanka team, escaping Ukraine was not easy.
“I went by car with my mother, who is unable to walk, and we had to wait two and a half days on the border. And the girls got stuck for eight hours before crossing the border on foot,” Shtefan recalls.
Hodonin sent a bus to the Ukrainian-Slovakian border to pick up the Galychanka team, but it also had to wait for a long time.
“We didn’t know where the team would cross the border. Our bus stopped for more than one day in Michalovce, the driver kept calling and writing text messages so that he could pick up the players at the crossing,” the Czech team’s manager Radek Bican says.
Galychanka are very grateful to HK Hodonin, the city of Hodonin and the Southmoravian region for giving them a shelter.
“We have all necessary conditions here – a good hotel, food, hall, and gym. And there are actually quite a lot of Ukrainians in this region, so I think we will have enough support. Some people will even come from Poland,” the assistant coach says.
However, in the current situation it is hard for the players to focus on handball.
“The atmosphere is tense. We are worried about our friends and relatives in Ukraine. However, we do our best at the trainings and hope to put up a good game against Rocasa,” team captain Tetiana Poliak says.
Shtefan seconds the words of the captain.
“It is mentally very hard to see what is going on in our country. The worst thing is that many people are dying, men and women, and we are far from our loved ones. It’s not easy for a coach to motivate the players under these circumstances, but we use different methods, including working with a psychologist. Now we represent not only Galychanka, but the whole of Ukraine.”
The girls didn't want to leave Ukraine during the war, as their parents and husbands stayed at home. But then we calmed down and decided to go to Czech Republic. After all, we have an opportunity to train and represent Ukraine.
