During the 2017/2018 season 10 boys from Russia, 4 from Ukraine, and 1 from Kazakhstan will be studying. Their date of birth is from 2000 to 2004. The main difference of the gymnasium where our hockey players chose to study is that all classes are in English. Also, they are going to study a second foreign language, as well as Slovak language and social studies (in Slovak language). There is also a lecture course with a native speaker discussing various topics with the pupils. The control system is based on testing. The goal of the mode of study is the ability to draw knowledge; it is close to real life and is useful. The cases when pupils have to deal with something they will not have to deal with in the future are very rare. Another important difference which is often mistaken for “backlog” is the speed of education. The topics can be “stretched” in time. However, it is worth to remember that summer holidays only last 2 months, and education in bilingual gymnasium takes 13 years. We should also lay emphasis on the grading system: 5 is the lowest grade, and 1 is the highest. Grades are the combination of the percent of tests passed. All the grades are registered in the electronic diary; both the parents and the children have access to it. You will see the complicated calculation of grades in the diary. Let’s look at grading system example using one of the subjects:
Biology: 5.7/9; 12/15; 8/10; 6/14. The total percent of performance is 66%. According to the results of the semester, the student will receive “3” (dobrý), which means that his performance is good.
We should note that the requirements for attire are rather liberal, which is why our boys usually stand out against the general background of jerseys, tights, and Crocs due to their bearing. If you see a student wearing shirts, trousers or even suit jackets, you can be sure that this player is from Russia.
A couple of times a year a “School in nature” is organized. The whole class goes to the mountains. They can go rafting with experienced instructors, skiing or snowboarding. Trips to London, Malta, and Parish are organized quite often for the purpose of language immersion.
We would like to put emphasis on the friendly environment among the students, tolerant attitude towards all foreigners in general and newcomers in particular.

During the 2017/2018 season 10 boys from Russia, 4 from Ukraine, and 1 from Kazakhstan will be studying. Their date of birth is from 2000 to 2004. The main difference of the gymnasium where our hockey players chose to study is that all classes are in English. Also, they are going to study a second foreign language, as well as Slovak language and social studies (in Slovak language). There is also a lecture course with a native speaker discussing various topics with the pupils. The control system is based on testing. The goal of the mode of study is the ability to draw knowledge; it is close to real life and is useful. The cases when pupils have to deal with something they will not have to deal with in the future are very rare. Another important difference which is often mistaken for “backlog” is the speed of education. The topics can be “stretched” in time. However, it is worth to remember that summer holidays only last 2 months, and education in bilingual gymnasium takes 13 years. We should also lay emphasis on the grading system: 5 is the lowest grade, and 1 is the highest. Grades are the combination of the percent of tests passed. All the grades are registered in the electronic diary; both the parents and the children have access to it. You will see the complicated calculation of grades in the diary. Let’s look at grading system example using one of the subjects:
Biology: 5.7/9; 12/15; 8/10; 6/14. The total percent of performance is 66%. According to the results of the semester, the student will receive “3” (dobrý), which means that his performance is good.
We should note that the requirements for attire are rather liberal, which is why our boys usually stand out against the general background of jerseys, tights, and Crocs due to their bearing. If you see a student wearing shirts, trousers or even suit jackets, you can be sure that this player is from Russia.
A couple of times a year a “School in nature” is organized. The whole class goes to the mountains. They can go rafting with experienced instructors, skiing or snowboarding. Trips to London, Malta, and Parish are organized quite often for the purpose of language immersion.
We would like to put emphasis on the friendly environment among the students, tolerant attitude towards all foreigners in general and newcomers in particular.

Education takes 13 years. If you entered the school in your homeland when you were 7, you will graduate from the gymnasium when you will turn 20. Children play hockey up to U-20. They receive the graduation certificate of hockey school and the state certificate of education called “Maturita” which gives them the right to enter any university in the world. The students learn 3 foreign languages (Slovak, English; they also choose the third language — French, Spanish or German).

I can’t give you a definite answer. Hockey here is different! Speaking about the technical aspect — Russian players usually show better skiing skills and stickhandling. However, in strength, physical condition, and theoretical knowledge the local boys older than 16 are better than our boys. They are learning how to play hockey as a whole, because hockey is not just ice. It is also weight training, as well as track and field, during the week. They have video classes and game analysis. Hockey is a team game, and this is the focus of attention. The essential component is team environment, and this aspect is also something that is worked on. Young athletes acquire the knowledge about sport nutrition, including dietary supplements. The boys start to learn about it and familiarize themselves with it quite early. Hockey players receive sport education in the broad sense of the word. They are familiar with self-training techniques, and they can organize self-training outside the club’s activities correctly. Workout, stretching, and cool exercises are not just empty words for them. When they come from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, the boys learn about the “productivity coefficient” and find out how to track their “+” and “-”. The coaching approach is also different. All the athletes are treated like children until they turn 18, and no coach is forcing their pubescence. Everyone is waiting, they help the players to develop in correct and balanced way to avoid any injuries. In Europe it is important to keep the players safe and give them the opportunity to develop all their abilities to the maximum extent.

If we are speaking about the total number of games during the season for older boys, there are 54-75 games. The total number depends on the number of play-off games and the number of games during pre-season training. 2-3 major tournaments are held in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary during the season. International tournaments are also held in Russia and North America.

Of course, the most important thing is Stepan’s monumental desire! The second important aspect is a good level of English and math. The third aspect is the financial capacity of the parents and their patience.
The choice of the parents to send their children to foreign schools is worthy of respect. The cost of the education is 19800 euro for the first year and 17500 euro for each following year. It is paid in installments, which is rather convenient for the family budget. This investment is very advantageous, but nonetheless risky. This is why you, as a parent, should make a sober estimate of all pros and cons, listen to your son, take his ability of self-organization, as well as physical and intellectual potential into account.
Those are the basic requirements for applicants and their parents. In our turn, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the child feels good and feels at home. All household problems are taken care by the host family. Home cooking, outdoor events, birthday celebrations — those children who come to us and live with local families are not deprived of all of this. They are tracking the players’ health, daily schedule, progress and problems at school and in the club.
We would also like the parents to remember that European education is the best thing you can give to your child without regard to whether he will or will not become a hockey player. Gymnasium certificates will let your child to not only enter a university in Slovakia without the need to pay anything — he will also be able to enter any university in the world. As for the certificate from your homeland — sadly, it cannot give you such opportunities.

The choice is yours. I would call “family education” the best option. You can file an application to your school stating that you would like to continue the education of your child at home and agree to let him pass mandatory examinations 2 times a year (or according to your agreement with school’s administration). Then you will have the time to prepare for examinations and think about the practicability of parallel education. Usually those children who have a clear goal and treat the education in the gymnasium seriously do not need to complete education in Russia. Their goal is to graduate from the gymnasium and continue their education in a university. However, if education progress is weak, it would be better to continue education in one of Russian schools. Children often complete the program of grade 9 in Russia and then drop out of school there.
I described the special aspects and advantages of European education in my answer to the previous question; I believe my answer will help you make the right decision.

Children have virtually no free time. During the working week in addition to school and trainings in the club, children are busy in the gym improving skating on a simulator, or making liners. On weekends, there are home or away games. Here is an example of day schedule:
7 a.m. getting up
(if there is zero lesson, or early training, then getting up is earlier)
7.20 breakfast
8.20 lessons at school
(the duration of the school day depends on the number of lessons, or the availability of training and can last to 14.55)
13.00 lunch
14.00 training in the club
16.30 afternoon's luncheon
17.30 training with an instructor in the gym
19.00 dinners
20.00 self-preparation for school, or another training
22.00 lights out
If there is free time, the boys play football, table tennis, go to the movies. During the weekend between April and early September, when there are no games, the children together with their host families go to the country side, thermal baths and water parks, the Prater amusement park (Vienna) or the excursions to the nearest cities.

No such issues should arise. Any attempts to demand a release fee are illegal! There is a document called Hockey player’s status, it includes a detailed description of rules and conditions of players’ transfers, as well as their rights valid for all ages. Players have the right to switch clubs if they register at another location or change education institutions, and no payment should be made in this case! There is one exception applicable to national team players — their transfers are regulated by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. In this case the transfers can be both chargeable and limited, i.e. with a limited time period.

It is rather complicated. First of all, your father will have to register his athletic higher education diploma in Europe in the initial stage. This process is long and expensive. Then he will have to obtain a permit (category) in the local hockey federation. The highest coaching category is “AAA”; it allows to work as senior coach. To get this category you need to speak two languages — local and English, to complete a special course from C category to A category, as well as to increase the qualification level to AA by completing additional training programs. Then you will have the right to take the ice.

Children live in different families. Those can be Russian or Slovak families of people whose children play hockey. The host family takes great responsibility for your underage son who is staying in Europe temporarily. They are your representatives in all governmental institutions and organizations, including the school, the polyclinic, and the club. They keep a check of his health, nutrition, schedule, leisure activities, and academic progress. All of your functions concerning the care for your child will be fulfilled by adult and adequate people. The food supply is not limited. Fruit will be readily available. Apart from main meals the child will be able to take a yoghurt from the fridge or make a sandwich anytime. Fresh fruit drinks, tea, cocoa, and water are unlimited.
Menu example:
Breakfast: eggs and sausage, cornmeal porridge, yoghurt
Brunch: borshch, potato casserole with ground meat and cheese, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes
Lunch: muffins, yoghurt drink
Dinner: beef goulash with buckwheat; radish, cucumber and green onion salad.
The boys have to clean their rooms (2 boys will live in one room) every day. Wet cleaning, laundry and ironing will be provided.

They can be different. I can’t speak of my case as the only right way. The reality is this: the agent appears and finds a contract for the player. If something happens, he helps to solve the problem. That’s it. The agent has 30 players, and he needs to find a job for each of them. If one of the players happens to sustain an injury, he will call his agent and tell him about it. The agent can call and ask about what happened. Agents and players don’t have to be friends. You need to respect your job, to respect what you do. People’s destinies depend on the agent. The lives of their families and children. You should never forget that agent works with many people. They can suffer the consequences of my wrong decisions.

We discuss all the details beforehand. Players fill questionnaires and they appear on http://www.europa-stars.eu/byuro-igrokov. If someone gets interested in it, we will give them the contact information. If a player wants someone to represent him, it’s not a problem — we can do that, too.

Our main goal is to see the potential. It is very hard to avoid mistakes at this point. We look at the boys who are taking the leading positions in their clubs. Our agency is a commercial project Five percent goes to the agent, it is mentioned in the agreement and approved by the labor union and the league. We get these money, this is why we are interested in players who are going to play in Europe. The expense portion of agent’s work is big, and it should be compensated. We are also looking at very young boys, from U-14 to U-20. We choose to work with their parents for agent service fee. You have to understand that nothing is free!! We have established relationship with some of them long time ago.
We speak with their parents, and they are asking us to find a team. That being said, the league created an agent agreement which can be terminated by any party in unilateral manner. I am not protected by law in any way. For instance, if an agent has been working with a player born in 1998, there is no guarantee that I or some other agent will not start working with him three or four years later.

You may need agents for advice or as help when making choices. For example, for OHL, CHL draft — the agent and the player have to come to an agreement beforehand. When are children leave children’s hockey, the agents are needed to find the best team, a coach with the best approach, to let the player have a lot of play time. You can make a mistake here though. You found a team, the player starts playing, but the coach can be replaced at anytime. Another coach comes and says “I don’t see him as suitable for the team” and puts the player in the fourth line. Then the agent’s work starts: if he sees that the player is not given play time (if the player is worth it), you have to carry out negotiations with the team and with the management to arrange the transition. The players or their parents are most often incompetent when it comes to legal issues; they are also not aware of other aspects. This is why this job is easier for the agent to do.

Let’s just say this: they are not in our company, but they are in our team. There are scouts working with clubs. There are agents from other countries. There are many certified agents, not listed on our website: http://www.europa-stars.eu/. However, we often ask them to help us. Hockey world is small, which is why you can always get an opinion. We are doing our best to keep good relationship with everyone.

The engagement agreement is initially not meant to be thrown away. It is stated in it, that this agreement is a part of the general agreement, details of the parties and signatures are included in it, too. It is usually signed in such cases when there are some inconsistencies with the regulations or the issue of the official agreement or its form has not been resolved yes. It can also be concluded in case of introduction of new sport rules by the Hockey Union, just like it happens in the Slovak Tipsport Liga. The form and the contents of the agreements were change, there are some inconsistencies with valid legislation of certain countries, about 70 to 30.
It means that it is an agreement without the possibility of termination. If you signed an engagement contract, you will sign a regular contract later!!!