University of Massachusets Athletics
Volleyball As a Way of Life
November 07, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
By MATTHEW BENCAL
The Maroon & White
She eats, drinks, sleeps and dreams volleyball. And she's been doing that since she was four years old when her father was teaching her the basics of the game. Now, she's 20 years old and head coach Bonnie Kenny is teaching her the intricacies of the sport. Her name is Jitka Stehnova and her volleyball talents have taken her from her homeland of Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, to Amherst Mass., to help the Minutewomen compete for the Atlantic 10 crown.
Stehnova is not your typical volleyball player. She's been bred for the past 15 years of her life to live the volleyball lifestyle, and she's developed talents that she hopes to continue utilizing professionally after she graduates. Her journey to Division I college athletics in the United States has been one of unexpected twists and turns, and thanks to a little luck and some top notch recruiting, she is the starting setter for UMass this season. But her journey has been far from ordinary.
Stehnova started playing organized volleyball when she was only six years old, learning the game's basic skills. After seven years of lower level competition, at age 13, Stehnova accepted an invitation to join a highly talented club team in Prague, "Olymp Prague." The structure of athletic competition in the Czech Republic is based upon a countrywide club system, with a mix of professionals and exceptional amateurs filling roster spots. For an amateur, such as Stehnova, earning playing time is very difficult with paid pros at the top of the depth chart. But the opportunity to join such teams is not offered to just anyone. Scouts had taken note of Stehnova's exceptional play at the lower level, and saw potential in the long-term investment.
Stehnova entered a highly competitive forum that allowed her to learn from the older players while she practiced. The demanding schedule featured in-season practice and play for Stehnova from September to May each year for seven years until she arrived in the Pioneer Valley this past fall. But in between each May and September was a break in the traditional hard-court action that allowed players a chance to either relax from the physically demanding schedule of club volleyball or continue to prone their skills on the summer battle fields known as beach volleyball. And it's the beach volleyball circuit where Stehnova made her mark.
Beach volleyball sounds like a fun and relaxing way to spend a summer. But ask Stehnova, and she'll tell you otherwise. The differences in beach volleyball and its traditional hardwood counterpart are substantial. Instead of six players on the traditional court, only two players don a side of the net in the sand. And the sand itself poses a problem for many players. Players must adjust themselves to the give and take of the sand that is not a factor in the traditional version of the sport. Speed, quickness and agility are only three of the many areas where players must adapt to succeed at the summertime sport. Stehnova started her beach career when she was 17 as a way to improve her play for her club team. In her never-ending quest for improvement, she discovered a new favorite sport.
"I love beach volleyball," Stehnova said. "I like beach volleyball more than normal volleyball. In the first year, it was really, really hard. You have to be very good at all aspects of volleyball-serving, setting and hitting." Stehnova's three summers of beach volleyball earned her notability and respect in the European volleyball world. The summer circuit features only the best players in the country, and to compete in the seasonal tourney is an honor in its own right. But to succeed at that level of competition takes the most dynamic duo of players, and Stehnova was able to succeed.
Stehnova partnered up with Marketa Tychnova for her first two seasons and the duo matched up perfectly. In only their second year together, Stehnova and Tychnova attained the kind of ultimate success that most players only dream of. Thanks to regional success, the duo was chosen to represent the Czech Republic in a youth tournament of all European teams in Greece. And the underdogs did the unthinkable, conquering both Olympic and National teams to win the 1998 Youth Championship de Europe. Stehnova claims the victory as the crowing achievement in her volleyball career so far.
"It's a really big tournament because each country in Europe has only one team that can play there," Stehnova said. "So, there are only 16 or 17 girl's teams. We became very famous in the Czech Republic because there are no oceans and no conditions for beach volleyball."
Stehnova and Tychnova went their own ways after the championship win, but Stehnova hit the jackpot when she found her next partner. In the summer of 1999, the 19-year-old Stehnova paired up with a member of the Czech National Team, 29-year-old Jaroslav Bajerova. The future Minutewoman once again found herself in the spotlight by reaching success in the sand on the World Tour Beach Volleyball circuit. The circuit consists of teams from all nations around the world. There are only 13 tourneys throughout the year, and countries are only allowed to tryout for the tournaments if they achieve a certain amount of points through a point system. The system is based upon the countries' Olympic, National and World Tour success, but the Czech Republic received a complementary invite because the country hadn't competed at any of those levels. With 60-70 teams attempting to qualify for the tournament, it seemed highly unlikely that a rookie country, such as the Czech Republic, would earn a spot. But despite the odds, Stehnova and partner Bajerova earned a spot in the tournament.
"We qualified, and it was the second biggest success in my life, after winning the Junior Championship," Stehnova said.
Stehnova and Bajerova represented the Czech Republic admirably. As a No. 8 seed, they played the No. 1 ranked Olympic team from Australia. Despite the odds, Stehnova and Bajerova only lost 21-19 and 21-17 to the Aussies.
And those two losses marked the end of Stehnova's beach volleyball career temporarily. More than likely, the international superstar will return to action in the sand after her collegiate career at UMass is completed.
Stehnova returned to her club team for one more season, and in the midst of the action, she decided that she wanted to pursue academic and athletic careers at a university in the United States.
Upon Stehnova's decision was a flurry of interest from NCAA coaches throughout the nation. Her e-mail account was overflowing with scholarship offers from schools of every shape and variety. Stehnova based the decision about her future academic and athletic career on two criteria, she wanted to attend a school that competed at the highest level of competition, a Division I school, and she wanted to attend a school on the East Coast to keep the distance from the Czech Republic at a minimum. Stehnova crossed out school after school, and eventually, only Arkansas and UMass remained. Each school competed at a high level of competition, and despite the extra distance, Arkansas seemed intriguing to Stehnova. And in the end, Stehnova's final decision wasn't based on the two criteria that she set forth to judge schools, it was based upon people. While officials from Arkansas were sweet-talking Stehnova about their volleyball program and the opportunities within the University, UMass assistant coach Cindy Gregory was asking Stehnova about what she wanted and how she felt. In the end, it was Gregory's intra-personal skills and sincere interest in Stehnova's well being that dictated which school the Czech standout would attend.
Now, Stehnova is the starting setter for a UMass volleyball team that has its sights set on the Atlantic 10 championship. She is in her first year of her three years of athletic eligibility, and if Stehnova has anything to say about it, she'll return to the Czech Republic in three years with a degree in Mathematics and an Atlantic 10 championship resume.
The Maroon & White
She eats, drinks, sleeps and dreams volleyball. And she's been doing that since she was four years old when her father was teaching her the basics of the game. Now, she's 20 years old and head coach Bonnie Kenny is teaching her the intricacies of the sport. Her name is Jitka Stehnova and her volleyball talents have taken her from her homeland of Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, to Amherst Mass., to help the Minutewomen compete for the Atlantic 10 crown.
Stehnova is not your typical volleyball player. She's been bred for the past 15 years of her life to live the volleyball lifestyle, and she's developed talents that she hopes to continue utilizing professionally after she graduates. Her journey to Division I college athletics in the United States has been one of unexpected twists and turns, and thanks to a little luck and some top notch recruiting, she is the starting setter for UMass this season. But her journey has been far from ordinary.
Stehnova started playing organized volleyball when she was only six years old, learning the game's basic skills. After seven years of lower level competition, at age 13, Stehnova accepted an invitation to join a highly talented club team in Prague, "Olymp Prague." The structure of athletic competition in the Czech Republic is based upon a countrywide club system, with a mix of professionals and exceptional amateurs filling roster spots. For an amateur, such as Stehnova, earning playing time is very difficult with paid pros at the top of the depth chart. But the opportunity to join such teams is not offered to just anyone. Scouts had taken note of Stehnova's exceptional play at the lower level, and saw potential in the long-term investment.
Stehnova entered a highly competitive forum that allowed her to learn from the older players while she practiced. The demanding schedule featured in-season practice and play for Stehnova from September to May each year for seven years until she arrived in the Pioneer Valley this past fall. But in between each May and September was a break in the traditional hard-court action that allowed players a chance to either relax from the physically demanding schedule of club volleyball or continue to prone their skills on the summer battle fields known as beach volleyball. And it's the beach volleyball circuit where Stehnova made her mark.
Beach volleyball sounds like a fun and relaxing way to spend a summer. But ask Stehnova, and she'll tell you otherwise. The differences in beach volleyball and its traditional hardwood counterpart are substantial. Instead of six players on the traditional court, only two players don a side of the net in the sand. And the sand itself poses a problem for many players. Players must adjust themselves to the give and take of the sand that is not a factor in the traditional version of the sport. Speed, quickness and agility are only three of the many areas where players must adapt to succeed at the summertime sport. Stehnova started her beach career when she was 17 as a way to improve her play for her club team. In her never-ending quest for improvement, she discovered a new favorite sport.
"I love beach volleyball," Stehnova said. "I like beach volleyball more than normal volleyball. In the first year, it was really, really hard. You have to be very good at all aspects of volleyball-serving, setting and hitting." Stehnova's three summers of beach volleyball earned her notability and respect in the European volleyball world. The summer circuit features only the best players in the country, and to compete in the seasonal tourney is an honor in its own right. But to succeed at that level of competition takes the most dynamic duo of players, and Stehnova was able to succeed.
Stehnova partnered up with Marketa Tychnova for her first two seasons and the duo matched up perfectly. In only their second year together, Stehnova and Tychnova attained the kind of ultimate success that most players only dream of. Thanks to regional success, the duo was chosen to represent the Czech Republic in a youth tournament of all European teams in Greece. And the underdogs did the unthinkable, conquering both Olympic and National teams to win the 1998 Youth Championship de Europe. Stehnova claims the victory as the crowing achievement in her volleyball career so far.
"It's a really big tournament because each country in Europe has only one team that can play there," Stehnova said. "So, there are only 16 or 17 girl's teams. We became very famous in the Czech Republic because there are no oceans and no conditions for beach volleyball."
Stehnova and Tychnova went their own ways after the championship win, but Stehnova hit the jackpot when she found her next partner. In the summer of 1999, the 19-year-old Stehnova paired up with a member of the Czech National Team, 29-year-old Jaroslav Bajerova. The future Minutewoman once again found herself in the spotlight by reaching success in the sand on the World Tour Beach Volleyball circuit. The circuit consists of teams from all nations around the world. There are only 13 tourneys throughout the year, and countries are only allowed to tryout for the tournaments if they achieve a certain amount of points through a point system. The system is based upon the countries' Olympic, National and World Tour success, but the Czech Republic received a complementary invite because the country hadn't competed at any of those levels. With 60-70 teams attempting to qualify for the tournament, it seemed highly unlikely that a rookie country, such as the Czech Republic, would earn a spot. But despite the odds, Stehnova and partner Bajerova earned a spot in the tournament.
"We qualified, and it was the second biggest success in my life, after winning the Junior Championship," Stehnova said.
Stehnova and Bajerova represented the Czech Republic admirably. As a No. 8 seed, they played the No. 1 ranked Olympic team from Australia. Despite the odds, Stehnova and Bajerova only lost 21-19 and 21-17 to the Aussies.
And those two losses marked the end of Stehnova's beach volleyball career temporarily. More than likely, the international superstar will return to action in the sand after her collegiate career at UMass is completed.
Stehnova returned to her club team for one more season, and in the midst of the action, she decided that she wanted to pursue academic and athletic careers at a university in the United States.
Upon Stehnova's decision was a flurry of interest from NCAA coaches throughout the nation. Her e-mail account was overflowing with scholarship offers from schools of every shape and variety. Stehnova based the decision about her future academic and athletic career on two criteria, she wanted to attend a school that competed at the highest level of competition, a Division I school, and she wanted to attend a school on the East Coast to keep the distance from the Czech Republic at a minimum. Stehnova crossed out school after school, and eventually, only Arkansas and UMass remained. Each school competed at a high level of competition, and despite the extra distance, Arkansas seemed intriguing to Stehnova. And in the end, Stehnova's final decision wasn't based on the two criteria that she set forth to judge schools, it was based upon people. While officials from Arkansas were sweet-talking Stehnova about their volleyball program and the opportunities within the University, UMass assistant coach Cindy Gregory was asking Stehnova about what she wanted and how she felt. In the end, it was Gregory's intra-personal skills and sincere interest in Stehnova's well being that dictated which school the Czech standout would attend.
Now, Stehnova is the starting setter for a UMass volleyball team that has its sights set on the Atlantic 10 championship. She is in her first year of her three years of athletic eligibility, and if Stehnova has anything to say about it, she'll return to the Czech Republic in three years with a degree in Mathematics and an Atlantic 10 championship resume.
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