The result of the last match in 2025 was 3:0 for Jihostroj in Venice. The match was important for two reasons. It might seem that it was a normal extra league match, but České Budějovice had previously lost three games, which is not usual for the club’s management and Jihostroj fans. Jihostroj lost in Italy in the CEV Cup in Cagliari, then in Prague against Lvy and also in the Aera Odolena Voda hall. Three losses in a row is not pleasant. From Jihostroj’s point of view and with a view to 2026: on January 7th, the opponent will come to České Budějovice for the rematch of the CEV Cup, on January 10th, an extra-league clash with Karlovarsk will take place. The Final four of the Czech Cup, which will start on February 26 in České Budějovice, still falls before the beginning of 2026. Both male and female volleyball players will play. It will be another attractive highlight of the season. From this point of view, České Budějovice needed to get back on a winning streak. Maybe the club management felt a little nervous, which could be confirmed by Jihostroje masseur Filip Hoch. “There was no nervousness,” he answers matter-of-factly. “The three losses were against tough opponents. Mainly the Italian club, which is extremely strong, Lvi Praha are the top of the Czech volleyball extra league.”
They say it’s better to burn out than to move. Jihostroj České Budějovice is moving now? “You mean moving into the new dressing room? It’s really beautiful. We’ve had to postpone the move. For a comical reason, because the company that operates the codes that open our doors has Christmas and New Year’s holidays, so they don’t work until after the New Year, so we have to postpone it by a few days.” Jihostroje’s new locker room is really interesting. “I have never seen one like this before,” says Filip Hoch. “I saw the dressing room of České Budějovice Motor, it is also beautiful, I was also in the dressing room of Energie Karlovy Vary, but the one in Budějovice, Jihostroje, is beautiful.”
Upon entering the dressing room, the first thing that catches your eye is the large television. “It’s huge. It’s not a television for movies, but a touch screen. It’s modern. It will be a thing for coaches, for tactical preparations that will take place on it. The seating of the players is also such that everyone can see the TV well.” Filip’s son Štěpán moved to the United States of America for a few days. Filip follows all matches of the U20 World Cup. “I wake up at the alarm clock. I’m glad it turned out like this, that I wasn’t at a match with Jihostroj and I was at home, so I always watched hockey until the morning. It was great.”
Few people know that the great-grandmother of Štěpán Hoch, the current hockey representative of the Czech Republic, was twice at the Olympic Games. In London and Helsinki. She was throwing a ball. In London in 1948, Jaroslava Křítková – Komárková even finished in 5th place in the shot put. “I didn’t talk much about it with Štěpán, but she has detailed information from her grandmother. She was at two Olympics. She was athletic and I remember when both of my children, Kristýna and Štěpán, were small, Štěpán was three years old and she was kicking around the house with him at the age of eighty. She was active in sports until the last day.”
It is interesting that the hockey representative also plays volleyball very well. “She plays really well,” nods the masseur of the České Budějovice volleyball players. “I don’t want to praise him, but he is talented in all sports. When he decided he wanted to learn how to snowboard, he took it and rode it in the morning. He can play tennis and volleyball. He has the gift of watching TV and being able to look things up. He can do exactly what the coach tells him. Not everyone can do that.” Štěpán’s mother, Kateřina, who was among the talented volleyball players, also has national team experience. Filip was also in the national team. “I have passive representation experience with the national team,” he laughs. “Not only with the volleyball team, but also with the cycling team when I started massaging.”
To make the list of athletes from one family complete, it is worth recalling the great performances of Štěpán’s grandmother Zdena Böhmová in athletic stadiums and the performances of Štěpán’s sister Kristýna. “She was in the regional selections, she’s an excellent volleyball player and athlete, but she’s an even better student. She’s definitely better at studies than Štěpán. He’s got sports, she’s a lot more educated.”
At the end of the year, Filip Hoch left all his worries behind. “My wife and I went to Plechý,” describes an admirable sporting feat. “To get some fresh air and put ourselves in a good mood for hockey in the evening.”
