At the top of her game: field hockey and medicine ****************************************************************************************** * At the top of her game: Lucie Ledvinová on field hockey and studying medicine ****************************************************************************************** Originally, she wanted to be a ballerina but 24-year-old Lucie Ledvinová [ URL "http://hoc player/lucie-ledvinova/"] , a fifth-year student at CU’s First Faculty of Medicine, choose cleats over pointe shoes. Ledvinová, who is with the top flight club SK Slavia Prague, has game since she was a pre-schooler. As a youngster, she too joined the ranks of HC Hostivář, and played for the club until 201 big opportunity: a chance to join Slavia Prague. She admits some players see such transfer but when you are talking about a top club with a proven track record, whose players often team, it was a dream come true. The Slavia defender/midfielder now has more than six seaso belt. How hard is it combining your studies and field hockey? In my first year, I managed to combine school also with the national squad without any pro came to the conclusion that if I was serious about medicine I would have to make adjustmen “only” for Slavia Prague. Even though the season is pretty difficult, balancing the two ha so far. Will it be the case one day, that you’ll be rushing out of your doctor’s office to get rea For me, field hockey is a perfect way to relax. Generally-speaking, I think combining spor is super. Right now, I don’t k now what area I will be specialising in after finishing uni mulling a number of options, from obstetrics to gynaecology, to being a GP or paediatricia time to decide. At the age of five, you opted for field hockey; when did you decide you wanted to do medic It was pretty much my mum’s influence as she’s a nurse. She used to take me to work quite small, and while I was there I’d pretend I was a doctor. Thanks to her, I was able to play own surgery. So, becoming a doctor one day was another childhood dream. In what ways were you influenced by your dad? My father works in IT and he taught me about physics, astronomy, and math. That was so int me that, when at first I was not accepted to medicine, I applied at the Faculty of Nuclear Physical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT)– and got in! Durin however, I decided I needed to try for medicine one more time and the second time around i To come back to sport, what do you consider the biggest success in your field hockey caree I am always thrilled when we win the Czech championship. I don’t want it to sound boastful do win often. I have been with the team for six titles. Of course, the team has seen chang come and go – often girls decide to have kids – younger players come up. Winning certainly and clinching the title is always hard work. But when we succeed, it’s great and there’s l How much of an impact did the pandemic have on your studies – and your sport? It was an unusual period, for sure. I was supposed to have two days of exams the day the l all of a sudden everything was cancelled. After about a month at home, I got involved in v thing that was positive about the quarantine was distance learning: it became apparent tha could be studied remotely and extra time could be used effectively for particularly diffic Hands-on experience was more complicated but after some time it was possible to work in sm In terms of field hockey, the season was cancelled as well as training camp. I was hoping shot at the European title – I was in good shape – but that too was cancelled. Right now I things will resume and whether the league winner will even be announced. What are other dreams you have when it comes to your sport? I hope I have a few more years with Slavia. Once I complete my studies I’ll probably be to national team. On the other hand, some players retire from the game at 40, so maybe I’ll g yet (laughs). ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Lucie░Ledvinová░(24)░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Fifth-year student at the First Faculty of Medicine. Born in Prague. Has been playing fiel Prague as a defender and midfielder. She wears the number 3 on her jersey. Besides her clu Translated by Jan Velinger You can find the article in Czech here [ URL "https://iforum.cuni.cz/IFORUM-16877.html"] .