06/03/2021 09:00
Milica Tufegdžić, a young albatross flying higher and higher
News from the National Federations
Podgorica, Montenegro, March 6, 2021. Those who know her well say that she is the type of girl you do not meet often. She is a person in the full sense of that word, a leader who works to grow friendships. She has come to training even when sick and injured, nobody remembers that she has skipped any training session, and nothing can stop her. She loves Volleyball almost as much as her family, and her family the most in the world. Her coach says that this season she has grown into a ‘real volleyball player’. Milica Tufegdžić, the best athlete of Herceg Novi for two years in a row, is truly like an albatross, since she is flying high to reach the top of international Volleyball. That flight, however, has just begun…
“I am satisfied with the progress that my club has made and with my own progress as well. We are playing the first league only for the second year. During those two years, I have played very good games against strong clubs, which have been competing in the First League for many years, so thanks to each game, I have made progress and worked on my mistakes. With the help of coaches and teammates, I was able to fix it all in training. As for the current season, I especially like the matches that I played against Jedinstvo, Buducnost, Morača, and Luka Bar,” says the middle blocker of Albatross Herceg Novi, which currently sits in fourth place in the First Montenegrin League.
Milica will celebrate her 23rd birthday later this month. She was born in Kotor before growing up in Herceg Novi. This is where her love for Volleyball was born. She is a third-year student at the Faculty of Management in Meljine, majoring in Tourism and Hospitality, and she has been proving herself off the Volleyball court as well.
Middle blocker Milica Tufegdžić in action during a match of the First Montenegrin League
“I was part of the organisation ‘Masquerade’, which promotes our city and the mimosa holiday. Moreover, I volunteered for an organisation called “New Chance in the Novi”, where I understood the values of life. In the summer, when we do not have any training, I participate in Beach Volleyball tournaments.”
She is just as successful on the beach as she is indoors – once she received the award for the best player of the Beach Volleyball League in Montenegro, she won first place in the mixed doubles, twice she was second in the women’s competition, and her resume includes an award as Competitions Coordinator too. The most valuable awards are certainly those for the best athlete of Herceg Novi in 2019 and 2020.
Milica in the gym together with her teammates from Albatross Herceg Novi
“These awards mean a lot to me. They will only further motivate me to fulfil my next wishes and goals. They are the result of my hard work. These are definitely my two most successful years since I started to play Volleyball,” she says. This journey began at the age of nine. “At that time, a Volleyball club started operating in Herceg Novi for the very first time. From that first day, my first training, touching the ball, a love for Volleyball was born and until today that love has not disappeared. Volleyball has always been in the first place for me, even before the school, but I have always been a good student. It has rarely happened that I missed training. I live far away from the gym and I always find a way to attend training, even if the weather is bad. Volleyball has changed my life for the better. Sport is the only thing I am interested in.”
For everything that she has achieved so far, full credit goes to “… Branka Obradović! I like to tell her that she is my second mother. I have worked with a number of coaches, but Branka is the most important and she will always have a special place in my heart. Because of her influence, I have loved Volleyball more and more,” Milica points out.
The idol of Tufegdzic is a Serbian player who is only one year older than she is. “Everyone has their idol and someone pushing us to be better. Tijana Bošković is one of my idols; her successes and love for Volleyball encourage me to be better every day. My wish is that one day I can play the same role for the younger generations who start playing the game.”
Milica together with her long-time coach and mentor at Albatross Herceg Novi, Branka Obradović
One wish, however, has not yet come true… “I have never had the opportunity to play for the national team of Montenegro. Maybe I lost every chance but you never know what will happen tomorrow. I play for my team because I love it, and I want to play for a bigger club. I have always had a desire to play for some strong clubs, in some stronger leagues and bigger countries than Montenegro,” she adds.
Branka Obradović has been working with Milica Tufegdžić for seven years. She deserves much credit for the steady improvement of her middle blocker as well as of the whole team. “As Milica’s coach, I can say everything about her that she certainly won’t, because she is a modest, very well-mannered and good girl. It is difficult to describe all her qualities, starting from the desire to work, the will to progress, the commitment, to the fact that she always pulls the team forward. She makes sure they all stick together on and off the court. We are like a family, I treat them as my children, and they treat me as a parent. We are a great team where Milica has a special place. She is progressing from year to year, and this year she has grown into a real Volleyball player. She found herself in the position of middle blocker and I am sure that she deserves to be at least on the longlist of the Montenegrin national team. It would be a reward for all her work and sacrifices, but also the great performances that she has been delivering for several years, and especially this season,” Obradović says.
|