World Championship Silver Medalist from Ostrava Joins SV Gals! It Was a Small Dream of Mine and I Wanted to Experience Life Abroad, Says Zbyšek Kastner

After the home World Championship in Ostrava, Zbyšek Kastner headed to Switzerland for a new ball hockey challenge. The World Championship silver medalist will wear the jersey of SV Gals, with whom he will begin the new season this weekend. What role will he have on the team.

Good conditions, a quality team and the potential for success

Zbyšek, ahead of this season you decided to make a major change in your ball hockey career and move to Switzerland. When did the idea of playing abroad first start to appeal to you, and what ultimately convinced you to take this step?

You could say it was a bit of a dream of mine, and I also wanted to experience living abroad. Sometime in May, Lukáš Plzák helped arrange the opportunity for me to play in Switzerland. After the World Championship in Ostrava, I made the final decision to take on a new challenge in my life.

Your new club is Swiss side SV Gals. What attracted you most about their offer, and why did you ultimately choose Gals?

The decision was easy. Good conditions, a quality team and the potential to achieve something. My teammates are great people and they help me a lot. There are also two Slovaks and some Czechs on the team. Martin Garňák, who is Slovak and is both my roommate and teammate, is an excellent cook, but that is just an added bonus. (laughs)

You are arriving in Switzerland with experience from the Czech Extraliga as well as the national team. What do you expect your role at SV Gals to be? Can you reveal what the coaches and the team expect from you?

Well, the coach has ordered me to score five goals a game. I still have no idea how I am going to do that, but we’ll see. (laughs) Expectations are high, and my role is more or less clear: score goals. (smiles)

I see it as a life experience I will carry with me forever

The season in Switzerland does not begin until this weekend. What did the period after the World Championship in Ostrava look like for you, and how did you prepare for your first season in Switzerland?

After the World Championship, I was more or less resting because of an injury. I started with light training at the beginning of August. Honestly, I was a little afraid to return to full intensity because of the injury I picked up at the World Championship, but in the end everything has held up as it should.

I only really started my preparation after arriving in Switzerland, so I am still catching up ahead of the start of the season.

Moving abroad is not only about ball hockey, but above all also about gaining a new life experience. In your case, did the club help you arrange accommodation and work as well? And what kind of work are you doing?

The club has helped me with everything and arranged it all. Unfortunately, there have been some complications with work, but everything is being sorted out.

Do you see this season mainly as a new experience and an opportunity to get to know ball hockey abroad, or are you already thinking that your time in Switzerland could become more long-term?

I see it as a life experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I can thank ball hockey for giving me the opportunity to move abroad and do what I love.

As for living in Switzerland long-term, I do not think I can answer that yet. I have only been here for about a month, so we will see what the future brings. As my coach would say, “we’ve got džas.” (laughs)