Sergey Monya: Practices are very intense

02.07.2003
Sergey Monya (photo cskabasket.com)
Today after the morning practice session, Russian national team players got a half-day break. We asked CSKA forward Sergey Monya to tell our site how the preperations at the Soyuz training camp for the European Championships in Sweden are going.

What does the Soyuz camp have to offer? What kind of conditions are there?

- The camp is located 40 kilometers from Moscow in a forest. We live in two-story houses, two to a room. My roommate is Viktor Khryapa. We eat in a restaurant located on the premises. The conditions are just fine.

How many practices a day do you have? What are you working on?

- We have two practices a day. Outside in the morning, including running for 25 to 40 minutes and sprints at different distances. On the first day we played football, and yesterday we had a run. In the evening we played for two hours in the gym. We-re working on passing, shooting, dribbling. We play one-on-one and work on pressing three-on-three.

How was your success in football?

- My team lost by two goals, and I was able to score too goals.

Are the practices difficult? How are you handling them?

- The practices are very interesting. They-re very hard. After vacation it-s difficult, but I-m getting back into shape.

Are you missing vacation yet? How do you spend your free time at the camp?

- I-m missing vacation a little, but you have to work. Sometimes we watch television, but mainly we sleep after such hard work.

What do you think about Darius Songaila-s contract with the Sacramento Kings?

- I found out about my former roommate on the road signing with and NBA club
from the newspapers. I would have liked to have heard it from him personally, but Darius probably had too many things to do at that time. I-m very happy for him and I wish him luck in the NBA.