Whatever the time of year, summer is always going full tilt at one spot in Prague

in news by admin — March 5, 2010 at 0:00 | 0 comments

Whatever the time of year, summer is always going full tilt at one spot in Prague 10. Previous beach volleyball Olympian and current Czech Nationwide Team Coach Michal Palinek has partnered up with previous American pro Curtis Neuschaefer to run a beach volleyball program that targets expats at the Gutovka Sports Complicated . Sand, baby palm trees and lots of heat create the surreal atmosphere of a beach masses of miles from any shore. “We make our own beach, rather than moaning we do not have one,” asserts Neuschaefer, a Miami local who has been playing since age fifteen.

“I was a basketball player, and folks kept pronouncing, ‘Go down to the beach, and it will enhance your jumps if you play on the sand,’ and I ended up liking the sand more than playing basketball.” Beach volleyball for expats What : Michal Palinek and Curtis Neuschaefer lead lessons, practices and games for all age groups ( ages 8 ), catering to English-speakers When : Mondays 4:30-6 and Fridays 8-9:30 ( Fridays are adults only with after-party ) Where : Gutovka Sports Complicated , Gutova 39, Prague ten Admission : two hundred K269 ; per lesson For more data, email praguevolleygmail.com For the teen Neuschaefer, “pretty much everybody running around in bikinis,” and the promise of a “good party after” made the transition a simple one.

“Yeah, it is a tricky life,” related the 34-year-old, who moved to Prague 3 years back with his Czech other half. Palinek, a 42-year-old Czech, has similar memories of the beach volleyball good life from the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. “After the competition there were giant parties with everybody from the U.S, Canada, Australia … And lots of discos and bars,” he asserts. While the views and the laidback beach atmosphere that surrounds the game makes it engaging to relaxed players, both men take the game seriously.

They assert their lessons are open to all levels, meaning a mixture of fun and competition. They offer instruction in English and hope that, for 2 days each week, the program will draw a diverse world customers. One of Neuschaefer’s best competitive moments was “nearly thrashing Phil Dalhausser,” he claimed. “The last year before I left Florida, I played in the Florida State Championships. We were in the semifinals, and we played against Phil Dalhausser, who is the man who just won the Olympic Games . We ended up losing 17-15.” Palinek started his beach volleyball career in Brno in 1989, in the first days of the sport’s existence in the Czech Republic. His college gymnasium teacher was searching for a method to get scholars outside and had read about beach volleyball in Italian mags.

Palinek and 6 classmates built a beach volleyball court with aid from their teacher. “It was a special place, close to the stream. It was nice,” Palinek declared. By the age of twenty-four, he had a private coach and was pushing to “catch up with the global level” of competition. “The Olympic Games were the largest motivation,” Palinek announced.

About twelve thousand folk now frequently play beach volleyball in the Czech Republic, according to the Czech Beach Volleyball organisation. “Although only recreationally, beach volleyball is one of the quickest growing sports in the Czech Republic,” related Josef Bene, boss of the organisation.

“It has actually grown a lot,” Neuschaefer claimed. “I’ve seen it from when we could hardly find a court in the summertime to hearing there are seventeen courts under domes in Prague.” Kamil Vedral, director of another indoor facility, Beachklub in Pankrc, claimed, “There are about forty new courts built annually, and more it is played even in winter.” If any more indicators of the expansion of the game are required, Prague will host a men’s competition from the Swatch FIVB pro tour June 15-20, in which $190,000 in prize cash will be up for grabs. For those not actually prepared for that degree of play there are always the parties and bikinis.