Biography of Alina Popova

Personal aircraft, contracts for thousands of euros: Yuri Dryagunov about the Golden Age of Volgodonsk Football in the year, another Cherepovets School team, which performs in the Popular League A, the second largest championship in Russia. In the new season, Alina began to play for this team. Last season, Alina Popova, as part of Seversyanka-2, won the High League B, and in the current season, the Cherepovets “shift” in the High League “A”, in which the athlete plays, takes fourth place in the draw.

Often Alina becomes the most effective in the composition of the "shift". So, for example, it was December 10, when the girl scored 33 points in the match against the Kaliningrad team Lokomotiv-2. In the year, Alina Popova, as part of the Youth team of Russia in volleyball under the age of 17, became the European champion in Montenegro. A year later, Alina managed to repeat the success at the World Cup in Mexico.

In the final, the Russians outplayed Italians. In an interview with “Notepad”, Alina Popova shared emotions from victories in these tournaments, talked about how her sports career in Cherepovets now develops, and also shared plans for the future. When and where were you born? What was you a child? I was born on January 4 of the year in the village of Dubovskoye, Rostov region.

I have an older brother Nikita, he is 24 years old. I would say that I was a very active, but quiet child. How did you study?

What hobbies did you have in childhood? I studied and now study perfectly, I'm going to a gold medal. There were actually a lot of hobbies. I really liked to weave from beads, embroider, and in general, classes with fine motor skills attracted me. I also went to the mugs, mostly they were a sports orientation. Table tennis, chess, handball, athletics, basketball, of course, volleyball.

Participated in various literary competitions, olympiads. In a rural school there was an opportunity to do everything you want. How did you come to sport? I have a rather sports family, I took an example from my relatives. Speaking in numbers, then at the age of six I already went to my first karate lesson. My cousin, who was a little older than me, was engaged in martial arts and I also wanted to try.

Were there any success in karate? I would say yes. I have a black belt, 1 Dan. The championship of the region and the city won. Under what circumstances did you move from karate to volleyball? This was not a transition in the full sense of the word. I combined classes for three years. After a volleyball training, I ran to change clothes for karate training.

I was lucky that the sections were in the same sports complex and came up in time. Mom offered me to go to the volleyball training training, I agreed. I remember very worried that I would lag behind the rest of the girls. After class, the coach talked to me, which motivated me. Before that, of course, I played volleyball, only at school. I liked this sport, probably from the younger grades.

From childhood, you have been playing sports: was it your desire or did your parents insist on this? Do you have a sports family? My parents never insisted on anything, only helped to fulfill desires. My whole family works at school. Grandmother - in the past, a teacher of Russian language and literature, grandfather taught physical education and technology earlier, for the past 20 years he was the director of the school.

Mom is a geography teacher, and dad led my physical education. Brother loved football, was a goalkeeper. Although none of them was engaged in professional sports, I can say that my family is sports. Alina Popova with a grandmother and a girl, you were born and lived in the Dubovsky district, and your parents drove you to training in the city. Was it hard to combine training with study, and even to overcome a considerable distance daily?

I never thought about whether it was hard, I just liked both to study and train. Well, if you combine something, then you need to combine everything well. I did not fight fatigue in any way, because I did not feel it, the dense schedule became quite familiar to me. It happened fleeting and such that I wanted to quit everything, but I just remembered that I really liked it.

Have you managed to play the Impulse volleyball club? What did I feel when I found out that the club ceased to exist? Do you think Volgodonsk and its pupils are worthy of their own professional city team? No, I did not have time to play the Impulse, I was only at summer training camps with this team. When I found out about the disbandment of the team, I was upset, because many girls in the city sections dreamed of playing for the "impulse".

It seems to me that definitely yes, there are many talented children in the city who could get development and ticket to sports life in a professional team. Tell me about how you received an invitation to the volleyball club "Seversyanka-2"? Did you scare you to another city for a thousand kilometers? Tell me about the conditions that the Cherepovets team provided to you?

After the championship of Russia, among the girls of birth, I was celebrated and invited to the training camp of the youth team of Russia until 17 years old.There, Alexander Viktorovich Karikov invited me to Severian-2. He is the head coach of our youth team and, accordingly, the northerner-2 coach. In my opinion, I didn’t really hesitate, I decided to try. After all, if you do not like it, you can always return home.

The move did not scare me at all, I often left the house for various competitions. The new team accepted me very well. I live in a volleyball hostel, I get a salary. Alina Popova in the form of the Cherepovets team "Seversyanka-2" for which team are you now playing? That year I played for Northerner-2 in the Major League “B”, and this year the club opened the new “Change” team in the High League “A”, which I am now playing.

Over the past two years, you won the European Championship and the World Championship as part of the youth team of Russian volleyball. What did you feel when playing for the national team? I was at the European Championship in Montenegro and at the World Cup in Mexico. For me, these are completely different tournaments. If I went to the European Championship a little in a state of shock, never playing at a professional level, then the World Cup already had a completely different psychological state.

When you think about what you imagine such a huge country, so many people, you feel the burden of responsibility for yourself, your actions, the team. I can’t say which championship was more difficult for me, it is very difficult to compare them. I confidently say that there was no easily in Montenegro or Mexico. The most striking moments for me are the latest victorious balls, with the conquest of which you become a champion.

What qualities do you need to have to play for the Russian national team? I can only say that in order to achieve something, you need to work. And your result depends on how you do it. An important but: the lesson should not bring bad emotions. The media often mention that you are the youngest as part of the Russian national team and clubs. How are things going on the site and in the locker room?

Are you listening to the opinion of senior, more experienced players or sometimes can you take the initiative for yourself? Age on the site does not matter, only the result is important. And in the locker room the topic of age never rises. And I listen, and take the initiative. The advice of experienced players help to develop, the nature helps to show initiative.

Would you like to get into the main team of the Russian national volleyball team? What does the coaching staff say about this? Probably, every athlete wants to get to the national team, so this is rather a rhetorical question. Honestly, I don’t know anything about it, so far it’s too early to think about it.