Vardar is one of the rare teams with selections in all youth categories, with its own league in which of almost 2000 children the best are selected. Every year the age category of children that join the youth selections reduces in order to include them in the training process as soon as possible.
For the first time in the youth national championship Vardar participates with a team composed of girls aged 12 to 13. How did you select the girls for the pioneer's selection?
This year we started a new project with children born in 2004/05 and we will see the outcome. These kids go in elementary school, and therefore we picked only children from Skopje. We did not choose children from the whole country because they go to school and cannot move to Skopje. They are still too young to live here alone, their parents would not let them, and of course, we do not have the right to enrol them in schools in Skopje, although there are many good young players all over Macedonia. Therefore, we did not choose many children for this category and we will see how they will adjust to our system. We plan to continue this category selection in future and we will follow their improvement. Sport is cruel. If you are selected, it does not mean you will remain in the selection forever, on the contrary, you have to prove yourself every day. The children that are not part of this selection can always prove themselves through hard work and playing matches in the Vardar Junior League, and become part of this selection.
Youth selections improve through playing international tournaments too. Will this category participate on some tournaments?
Of course, but our plan is when we go to tournaments with this age category, to invite children that have quality from all over Macedonia. We already know these children, they are part of the Academy, and we noticed their talent on the matches within the Junior League.
This year, you continue to follow the Vardar Junior League and look for talented children that could become part of Vardar. Which generations will you be focused on?
We absolutely continue to follow the development of all children in the Vardar Junior League. However, the focus will be on the age category 2004/05 because they will have to play in the pioneers' league and become good athletes. We will also follow the 2006/07 category. We will follow their improvement, and when we notice a child that stands out among its teammates, we will advise the coach to work more with her.
What will you do for improvement of these youth categories?
For example, within the 2004/05 category we have girls that were leaders in their own teams. Now, we have to work with them, stimulate their team spirit, so that they could function as part of one team. We try to explain them that winning is not always important, team spirit is. Within the 2002/03 category, we have very good players, but now they are in their "wildest" years when you have to work more with them and pay more attention. Few days ago, we organized for them matches with the team Bek from Podgorica, and we try to organize them as many matches with international clubs in order to see their game level. We want to see their mistakes and eliminate them. Every day you learn something new.
Part of the girls in the youth selection got a chance to reach Vardar Junior. How did you chose the girls for this team, according to their technics or maybe their height?
To be able to play in Vardar's 2nd team, your technics needs to be on a high level. Of course that we want tall kids, but there are not many in Macedonia. It is much harder in the 2nd team, trainings are more exhausting, matches are tougher, but I could see that girls improve and adjust with each day. They become a team.
