Among the many students of the Pljeval High School who proudly carry the name of their school are eight current students, members of the volleyball, handball and football teams of Montenegro.
Majda Čakar, Teodora Leovac, Maja Miletić, Džejrana Čengić, Jelena Tošić, Ervin Helić, Radojica Čepić and Arsenije Dragašević, students of the first, third and fourth grades, are some of the best athletes among the generations of students who attended the famous Pljeval High School.
Physical education professor Danko Despotović and Goran Marjanović say that they are proud of their students - national team members, who proudly carry the name of the school they attend and the environment they come from wherever they travel.
In addition to being members of the Montenegrin national team in volleyball, handball and football, eight of them are members of school sports teams with which they participated in municipal, regional and national competitions. They brought medals and cups from those competitions, further raising the reputation of one of the most respected educational institutions in Montenegro.
"That the ancient wisdom 'mens sana in corpore sano' - a healthy mind in a healthy body - is timeless, is confirmed by the students of the Tanasije Pejatović Gymnasium, who actively play sports and at the same time have the status of regular students. What adorns them is a high degree of socialization, self-sacrifice, respect for their peers and respect for professors. Besides training regularly in their clubs, our athletes regularly and actively participate in extracurricular activities (school sports tournaments)," said Despotović.
Marjanović and Despotović say that the athletes have the support of the school administration, which is in constant contact with the sports clubs, and that the professors try to meet the promising athletes and respond to their requests, given that they often have to miss classes due to matches. .
Third-grade student Majda Čakar is a member of the women's volleyball team.
He has been training volleyball since he was six years old. She says that her great love for sports was awakened very early, thanks to her family's sporting spirit.
"Volleyball taught me how to fight, to be great in both victory and defeat. Through all selections, I trained with girls older than me and at certain moments I was the youngest player in the league, which helped me progress very quickly. I was called to the national team for the first time at the age of fourteen. Also, I passed all representative selections in younger categories. In addition to numerous competitions, I would like to point out the first place at the Balkan Championship and the individual award for the best proofreader of the championship, then the European Championship for female cadets held in Podgorica, first place at the National School Championship," Čakar told "Vijesti".
Teodora Leovac, a first-grader, is also a member of the women's volleyball team.
"I started playing volleyball at the age of six out of great love for the sport. Since the age of thirteen, I have been part of the first team of 'Miners'. As a member of the pioneering team, I won the gold medal in 2019. I was a member of the pioneering, and now the cadet national team of Montenegro. "I currently play for OK 'Rudar' in the First Montenegrin League in the positions of corrector and receiver," she says.
Maja Miletić, a fourth-grade student at the Gymnasium, is a member of the Montenegrin women's football team.
She started training football six years ago at FC "Breznica". The story is that for two years she performed for the club's cadet team, with which she became the champion of Montenegro in the cadet competition in 2018. The following year, she made her debut for the first team in which she still plays today and says that it is already the fifth team she has played in - the state champion.
"Since 2017, I have been a member of the cadet national team, for which I performed for two years, then I moved to the youth selection, where I also performed for as long. This year, my wishes came true when I was invited to perform for the A selection, which is the dream of every athlete," she says.
Her peer and clubmate Džejrana Čengić is also a member of the women's soccer team. She took her first football steps in FC "Breznica" seven years ago. She was the captain of the cadet team until 2018. She was also a member of the soccer generation that was the cadet champion of Montenegro.
"Next year, I will move to the first team, where I still perform today. We have been state champions for the last five years. "I made my debut for the national team of Montenegro in 2018 in the cadet team, and later in the youth team," says Čengić.
Jelena Tošić, a member of the women's national football team, also started her career at FC "Breznica" in 2013.
"Performing for the cadet team of our club, we became the champions of Montenegro. After that, I played for the first team that was the national champion for the next five years. I made my debut for the national team in 2017, performing for the cadet selection, and in the same year I made my debut for the 'A' selection," she says.
A member of the men's football team, Ervin Helić is a graduate of the Pljeval High School.
"I started coaching football in 2008 at FC 'Rudar', where I coached until 2013, and then I moved to FC 'Breznica', where I stayed for the next four years. After that, I returned to Rudar, for which I perform in the cadet and later youth competitions," the young man told the school's website.
He made his debut for the first team of the Miners in 2019 and is defending as the first goalkeeper in the next 40 official games.
"I received my first invitation to the national team of Montenegro in November 2019 for the U19 selection. Since then, I have been a standard member of the youth national team of Montenegro, for which I have played four official matches," the promising athlete points out.
Fourth-grade students Radojica Čepić and Arsenije Dragašević are members of the men's handball team of Montenegro, and one of the most promising Montenegrin athletes.
"I started training handball seven years ago in RK 'Rudar'. I performed for four years for the junior selections of the club. After that, I made my debut for the first team where, after two years of playing, we achieved placement in the first league. I passed all the junior selections of the national team of Montenegro, where I won second place with the cadet team in 2019 (Egypt) and 2020 (Athens). At the Mediterranean Championship, I was named the best middle back. In 2019, I was declared the most promising young athlete of Pljevlja and the young player of Montenegro. After that, I transferred to RK 'Celje' (Slovenia), where I still perform today, and in 2020 I will make my debut for the A selection of Montenegro, thus fulfilling my dream," says Čepić.
Arsenije Dragašević started playing handball six years ago in RK "Rudar". He says that he performed for the club's younger selections. After that, he made his debut for the first team, with which, after two years of playing, he achieved placement in the first league.
"I passed all the junior selections of the national team of Montenegro, where I won second place with the cadet team in 2019 (Egypt) and 2020 (Athens). After three seasons spent at the club, I moved to RK "Celje" (Slovenia), where I still perform today. In 2020, I will receive an invitation to the A selection of the national team of Montenegro," said Dragašević.
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