First theory, then practice. The 21-year-old received training from experts and then tried out how to save a life on mannequins. In the morning the players, in the afternoon it was the turn of the implementation team.
“I had no idea that something like this was waiting for us, but it’s only good if you go through such a course. You never know what can happen. Hopefully we’ll never need it, but it’s always good to be prepared,” noted Vlček.
U21 | 🇨🇿The lion cubs completed first aid training on Wednesday, mandatory for all championship participants. The players received information on how to proceed during resuscitation and tried themselves how to correctly perform heart massage or artificial respiration ✅ pic.twitter.com/pRe9dBFFFz
— Czech national football team (@ceskarepre_cz) June 14, 2023
The medical workshop is a mandatory novelty for all participants of the championship, UEFA also came up with it because of the collapse of the Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen at the European Championship the year before last. His life was saved by the quick intervention of teammates and paramedics. Eriksen’s moving story had a happy ending, today he plays in the famous Manchester United with a smart defibrillator under his skin.
“In situations where there is a collapse, it is crucial not to mess up and to know how to react properly. Call first aid and then provide first aid if necessary,” Martin Mohyla, a doctor of the twenty-one-year-old, described for the website of the Football Association
“I learned a lot of new things. In reality, I would probably be under much more stress than during training, but at least I will know what to do,” said Vlček.
On Monday, he and his teammates will go to Georgia, the start of the European Championship is approaching. The Czechs will start on June 22 in Batumi against England, against whom they lost twice in the qualifiers. Germany (June 25) and Israel (June 28) await them in the group. The top two will advance to the quarterfinals.
