Alexandra Žirovnická is glad that she heeded the advice of her mother when it came to choosing which sport to play in her teenage years.
When Alexandra grew tired of video games and roller-blading, it seemed like football, which her father was involved in, would be a natural choice - only for her mother to suggest that she might enjoy rugby more.
“In my teenage years, when I’d stopped playing video games and roller-blading didn’t provide me with any social contact, I started to look for a team sport,” Alexandra told World Rugby.
“My dad was a former football youth coach and we have football in our family history. However, my mum said that rugby would be better. She took me to my first rugby practice the next week.”
Alexandra’s mother was proved right. She flourished in rugby and went on to represent her country, being voted Most Valuable Player in a victory over Switzerland that ended a five-year losing run.
Alexandra has now moved into coaching, working as Regional Performance Centre Manager for the national union, and coaching – both rugby and strength and conditioning – with an Under-16 team.
She will gain invaluable experience as the first Czech member of the Gallagher High Performance Academy, where she will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other talented female coaches from across the rugby world to help develop the next generation of players and coaches.
“This programme is important because half of the population are women and they should have the same opportunities in sport as their male counterparts,” she said.
“Also, as a women’s coach, you can better understand the problems in women’s teams. This can also help to grow rugby as a whole.
“For young girls, it can be inspirational to see other women in high positions; they can be inspired to become involved more in roles outside of playing.
“I hope that the programme will give me detailed insight into high performance coaching. Also, I’m currently running my own high performance programme, so hopefully the Gallagher High Performance Academy will help me to improve that too.”
