by Austin Brizee and Alex Schoepfel
Our day began in the morning with a group breakfast at the hotel, the B&B Hotel Prague-City. I was surprised about the choices for breakfast as it consisted of mostly sandwich meats which was very different from the breakfast we had in Munich or have in America. Nonetheless, it was excellent!
We then proceeded to walk to the Hilton hotel for our first lecture of the day. Our lecturer was Michal Barda, a former Czech national handball player who played in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Barda spoke to us about professional sports during the time of the Soviet Union and how that affected Czech sport. He began the lecture by talking to us about the political timeline the Czech Republic over the past 100 years and would later tie that into sports. A quick summary is that Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918 after World War I, annexed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and became part of the Soviet Eastern Bloc in 1948. After adopting communism, the ideology and way of life changed for the Czechs as education and career path development was reserved only for the working class or communist party members. Barda talked to us about sport being a “ticket” to a better life and gave a personal anecdote about his personal struggles and distaste for the ideology. This was pretty surreal to hear first hand because although we already knew about the atrocities done at the hands of communism, we literally got to listen to personal stories from a primary source rather than reading about it in a textbook! Overall, it was a great and fascinating lecture!
We then bussed over to our second lecture of the day where we were lectured by Antonin Plachy, the Chief of Education of Coaches in the Czech Republic and UEFA representative. He spoke to us about the tactical model of Czech soccer training which included steps to develop youth player abilities for the upcoming generation.
He concluded the lecture discussing the financial challenges the Czech FA and the educational materials to help coaches at the grassroots level. It was interesting to hear about their youth development academy system, as this is very different from the North American collegiate development approach. We finished the lecture by touring the Czech stadium, which was very old and unkept, and the Czech FA building. We hopped back on the bus and headed over to our walking tour, but first had a quick lunch at a local food stand.
The tour of the city started off with taking us into the Prague Castle where the Czech president has his office that overlooks the beautiful sights to the city. Inside of the castle complex we visited the cathedral called St. Vitus Cathedral and this cathedral can be seen at just about any point around the city because it sits on top of a hill. Looking at this building firsthand really set it apart from anything that I have seen before in the states because everything was so intricate with the stain glass windows and sculptures around the cathedral so you could tell this structure took years to make.
Once we went down the hill we made our way to the Valdstejnska Zahrada garden.
At this garden there were peacocks running free and there were caged owls along a back wall. This garden had great relaxing scenery that allowed us to sit back and enjoy one of the many different sights this city has to offer. From there we got the opportunity to walk across the Charles Bridge which is the oldest bridge in Prague. On our way to the bridge there was a Czech 9/11 memorial which was really cool to see one of our allies memorialize such a devastating point in American history.
This bridge started its construction in 1357, but now finished this bridge stands as a historical landmark for many tourists to walk on every day and provide a great focal point to the city.
One of the last things we did was walked to the big square where there was an astronomical clock and a statue of Martin Luther in the center. This area was filled with many restaurants, shops, and even an individual that was from the lovely school up north. We decided to yell out an O-H but somehow he fought the dying urge to yell back the I-O to finish it off.
After the tour we decided to go out as a group to a restaurant called the Fat Cat. Here we were able to get off our feet for a little bit and relax after walking on our old aging legs all day. So far this trip has exceeded all the expectations that I have had and I cannot wait to see what is in store in the coming days!
