JKS San Jarosław is gearing up. Will they challenge for the Central League?

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Professor "Vala" knows exactly what she's talking about. She's spent too many years playing at the highest levels of the game to be unaware that putting any kind of pressure on female players can do more harm than good. She's experienced this herself many times. When we spoke with her in mid-May of this year, she said, among other things:

"We're starting to finalize the squad, which will consist of a dozen or so girls. I don't want to reveal everything yet. We want to completely change the face, we want to show that despite the obstacles thrown our way, despite the multitude of problems, that it's possible. That despite the fact that we're still being neglected, handball in Jarosław will not die, that we will create a team that will surprise many. We want to do this for our incredible fans who were with us last season through thick and thin (...)."

It wasn't just empty promises. The team is truly changing with each passing week. For a decidedly better quality. A sense of stability is emerging, something that was definitely missing last season. JKS San finished 7th. Eight players left the team, including all the goalkeepers (N. Buch, O. Wolak, M. Pal). Jarosław couldn't retain three crucial players: Hanna Szczotka, Aleksandra Leśniak, and Maja Tukaj. Aleksandra Czapla and Martyna Hawryluk also departed. It seemed the team might be bleeding. Nothing of the sort!

Slovak Anna-Maria Musakova, who is returning to Jarosław, will guard the goal. Her replacement is yet to be announced. However, signing a second goalkeeper is only a matter of days away. Aleksandra Dorsz will be the head of defense, and one of the team's leaders! Kołowa, a former Polish international, has decided to help V. Kozimur. Five valuable players who last season represented SPR Handball Rzeszów – a team that fought until the end for promotion to the Central League – have also joined the team: Julia Jamrozik, Julia Płocica, Katarzyna Różycka, Aleksandra Tomaszewska, and Malwina Dymnicka. Weronika Pokrzywka has been added from the youth ranks. Add to this roster the players who remain at JKS San: Julia Dmytroczenko, Paulina Galas, Aleksandra Pazdro, Aleksandra Dębiak, and Viridiana Szymańczyk, and a truly interesting roster emerges. And as V. Kozimur assured us, this is likely not the end of the reinforcements.

"From August 1st, the girls trained individually for two weeks. We have a physical conditioning coach who provided them with detailed training schedules. We've been training together since August 18th. I hope to return to our home court, the MOSiR arena, at the turn of October and November. Until then, we'll play our championship matches in Przeworsk."

– said V. Kozimur.

"I'm glad things are moving forward. Both organizationally and marketing-wise. We've managed to secure a lot of new partners and sponsors. We'd like to thank each and every one of you! We encourage others to collaborate. Thanks to this, I sincerely hope everything will be much better than last season."

– she added.

"I don't like to blow up the bubble. I don't like to put extra pressure on the girls. I've divided the entire season into mini-cycles. Now we're focusing on physical and motor preparation. Then teamwork, building chemistry. Finally, the championship matches. For us, each subsequent match will be the most important. If we give our all in them, the results will follow. The girls need to feel the air of professionalism, even in the first league, which is more amateur."

– assured V. Kozimur.

As we've already mentioned, there's no need to worry about stability. And with stability comes consistency. With consistency, mentality and confidence build. They're interconnected. The JKS San Jarosław handball team will begin their league campaign on September 13th with a home match against AZS UMCS Lublin. It promises to be a truly exciting season...