Velika Gocevska: I am proud of my club's achievements, Flamingo Volej is much more than volleyball to me

Velika Gocevska, a former national team player who today is founder, president and coach, leads the Flamingo Volej Skopje team which in the new season will compete in the women's elite volleyball league of North Macedonia. In an interview for "Women's Sports Stories" she recounts how returning after maternity leave in 2018 turned into a project that grew from flyers and basic equipment into a club with a school and a first team that rose to the First League.

From a break to a project: how Flamingo was born

Gocevska says she got the idea after taking a break from the courts due to maternity leave. She described the process of founding an association, buying the necessary equipment and, with the help of a friend named Caci, recruiting children by distributing flyers at schools: "After several years of a break from the volleyball courts due to maternity leave, in 2018 I had a strong desire to return to the hall and do what fulfills me, and that is volleyball."

The work, she says, was modest but steady — month by month new children joined the trainings, the coaches paid attention to each player and after the first year the project gained momentum.

Even today Velika combines several roles, but working with the youngest fills her the most: "Yes, or as you could say three-in-one, and maybe more knowing how many roles I have in the team. Still the dearest and still the most fulfilling for me is the direct work with our youngest members, that is, coach of the beginners, those who are just getting acquainted with volleyball as a sport. My goal is for them, from a young age, to fall in love with the sport, with volleyball, with the magic that socializing with children in the gym offers. That is why I founded the club and after so many years it still keeps me going. Especially when you see day by day how a girl progresses, how she grows and develops into a good volleyball player, that feeling is priceless."

The road to the First League, she says, was not easy — behind the club stand hours spent in the gym, decisions and patience. Gocevska emphasizes that much of the success is owed to the players from their own school: "A large part of our success and growth is due to the players from our school and I am immeasurably proud of that." She also praised the dedication of the coaches who work to get the maximum out of every training.

Besides sporting results, Velika stresses that Flamingo should build character and values in the girls — discipline, responsibility, teamwork and self-belief. "They don't all have to become professional volleyball players one day, but I would like all of them to leave Flamingo stronger, more independent and better prepared for the challenges life brings. If tomorrow we see them as successful women, each in her field, and we know that Flamingo contributed at least a little to the kind of people they became — for me that will be the greatest success."

Asked what will make her say the goal has been achieved, she emphasizes that first she wants the club to become stable and sustainable, with clear organization and working conditions. Then, according to her: "There, that's it."

In the interview she also talks about balancing family, work and club duties — how she often performs multiple tasks at once, and how her family sometimes follows her to the gym so they can be together while she finishes her obligations.

Photo: press material from the event