Petro Hlushko is a member of the basketball club "Staryi Lutsk – University". He plays for the Top Basketball League of Ukraine. A number of the team’s players are students of Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University. The basketball club collaborates with the management of the higher educational institution to organise various events, and the club players train in the gyms of the university.
Petro is a graduate of Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University, and now he is a postgraduate and assistant at the Department of Theory of Physical Education, Fitness and Recreation. In addition, Petro Hlushko is a coach of the university basketball team. Modern technologies make it possible to communicate even during quarantine. Therefore, we are talking about the preparation for the Student Basketball League of Ukraine, exercising at home and peculiarities of the athletes training.
- Due to the recent events, athletes do not have the opportunity to train themselves to the fullest extent. Do you continue to train on your own?
- I used to train every day, at least one training. I have dumbbells and elastic resistance bands that I apply to train at home. I also go out to the school playground, where there is a horizontal bar and parallel bars, in order to train at a cross-country running.
- Did you, as the coach of the student team of Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University, give any assignments to your mentees for the quarantine period?
- No. Fellows, as usual, keep fit, following all the recommendations of specialists, of course.
- The Student Basketball League of Ukraine will start at the end of April. Is our university team ready to perform well this year?
- Yes, of course! Thanks to the Lutsk Amateur Basketball League in which the University participates we were able to choose the line-up and practice team interactions. I hope that after the quarantine, we will be able to catch up as soon as possible and be able to perform well in the competitions if they take place.
- Unexpected quarantine is an opportunity to start doing sports. Do you support this opinion?
- Yes, sure. There are a lot of programs on the Internet to exercise at home, even if there is no equipment. There are also online trainers to help you make your workouts better and more productive.
- How effective and useful are such "home" workouts?
- Certainly, training in the gym or outdoors will be more effective. But when it is not possible, people can keep fit even staying at home.
- Will you, please, give some tips to students who want to do sports but do not know where to begin.
- I think the so-called competitive spirit will be a very good motivator. You can train in pairs or with a group of friends, compete on the number of times in push-ups or squats; you can do a plank against time or do a set of exercises that you need to work out daily, and share a video report with friends.
- Let’s talk a little bit about your speciality. You are a graduate of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health at our University, and you play basketball professionally. Was education important for you? Did it affect you as an athlete?
- When I was studying, I realized that as an athlete, I needed to attend classes and gain knowledge. Moreover, all the classes were interesting and intensive.
I started to look at the training process from a completely different perspective. I began to understand why we do it and how to act to improve physically. And the most important thing is how to practise it every day without harming your health.
- Why, in your opinion, should one choose Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University to study in this speciality?
- As a person who has passed all stages of student preparation, I can say that the study here is at the highest level. Firstly, an experienced teaching staff, and secondly, a modern material and technical base help students to develop their skills and gain new victories. In short, our University has everything to educate a professional athlete.
Interviewed by Olga YURCHUK
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