Ihor Sokolov is living one of the experiences that students crave the most, Erasmus. The young man of Ukrainian origin is having the opportunity to get to know other countries, cultures and even languages. However, his stay is not entirely idyllic, as it is marked by the war conflict who lives in his country Ihor had to leave his native country after the Russian invasion. But do not grieve for him, because in Spain he has already found his place. And it is that, who was going to tell the young man of only 18 years that in his first year in the Unicaja Costa de Almería volleyball team he would be able to proclaim himself the Spanish junior male champion? It was unimaginable. But to understand how he got to this point, we have to go back a while.
“I arrived in Spain on May 6 of last year,” Ihor begins to relate, although it is Anthony Perez, a Red Cross volunteer, who translates it. “When I arrived, I was lost, disoriented, I didn’t know what to do.” It can’t be easy to suddenly move and not have a plan. Fortunately, Ihor was accompanied, in his first weeks in Spain, by his mother and his sister. Why did you choose our country? Well, it wasn’t his decision. It was the young man’s university that, once the war began, gave him the opportunity to come to Almería as part of the Erasmus program.
The first days they rented a room, while they thought about what their next step would be, which was Go to the Red Cross for help. The entity admitted them to the Temporary Shelter program for Ukrainians displaced by the war. To him and his mother, because his sister decided to return to Ukraine, since she only wanted to make sure that her brother was safe.
Ihor continues with his studies in “Business Administration”, a degree that he himself pronounces in perfect Spanish, at the University of Almería. But, in addition to studying, he began to pursue one of his passions, volleyball.
It is a sport that He began practicing in his native country in 2013. But he did not do it professionally, as is the case in the Andalusian province. In Ukraine he was only part of teams amateur. When we ask him about the differences between the two countries, Ihor is clear: “In Ukraine there is a higher level of technical preparation, while in Spain attention to the athlete is prioritized.”