Hockey at USUE: an interview with Igor Shabalin, goalkeeper of HC «Dynamo-Yekaterinburg»

Sports achievements are possible only if you give your training a lot of time. When an athlete enters the national team and goes to the training camp, he is away from home and university for several months. A USUE student Igor Shabalin, the goalkeeper of HC «Dynamo-Yekaterinburg» and national youth field hockey and indoor hockey team, told how to combine lectures and trainings.

How do you combine sport with studies?

— I have a busy schedule, so I learned to appreciate every minute and try to organize my day. It is especially difficult during a training camp, when I have almost no free time. I try not to drop studies, I regularly attend lectures, and teachers check my lecture notes. When I return competitions, I complete missed assignments and catch up with the schedule. Sports fosters hard work, so I can easily cope with the load.

In which tournaments and championships did you participate?

— Recently the summer season of field hockey has ended, where the Ural club did not perform well. At the same time, the youth national team, where I am a goalkeeper, managed to keep a «residence permit» in the elite division. The spring of 2017 was successful. In early April, the youth indoor hockey team of Russia was a success in Lisbon but failed to reach the final, losing in the shootout to the Austrians. The team of participants under the age of 21 in the match for the third place did not leave any chances of peers from Belarus, having won with a score of 7-1, and returned to Yekaterinburg as the bronze medalist of the European Championship.

How did you adapt to the national team?

— In the youth national team, almost all are old acquaintances. We often met as opponents in the domestic Championship and perfectly know each other.

What is your impression of international tournaments and Championships?

At Championships, we get a colossal international experience. We were a little bit unlucky in the semi-finals with the team of Austria, but, in general, the team performed well. We were recognized as the most «kicking» team of the youth European Championship. The second important international tournament for the Russian indoor field hockey was the European Cup, which was held in mid-June in Vienna. I went to this tournament as the main and the only goalkeeper, having played all the matches at the gate. We, Yekaterinburg Dynamo, became the fifth in Europe.

You often participate in various competitions, including the international level. What is it like to represent the country?

This is very pleasant and exciting. You feel that they expect a good result from you, so you try to show the best game. This is a great responsibility.

What qualities, in your opinion, should a person have who wants to excel in something?

It seems to me that it is very important to have patience: you cannot have everything at once. Success comes to one who knows how to wait. However, you should not sit with arms folded. Behind any victory, there is much work and diligence. The main thing is to love what you do and be able to fight. Recognition and respect are sometimes very difficult to obtain. However, every day on the way to your goal you become a little better than yesterday. Every new day is a step that brings you closer to the cherished victory.

Sports achievements are possible only if you give your training a lot of time. When an athlete enters the national team and goes to the training camp, he is away from home and university for several months. A USUE student Igor Shabalin, the goalkeeper of HC «Dynamo-Yekaterinburg» and national youth field hockey and indoor hockey team, told how to combine lectures and trainings.

Пресс-служба УрГЭУ

Просмотров: 2597
Поделиться: