Dragan on the phenomenon of top athletes from Mount Kopaonik: the Đoković family, the Micić family, and skiing – the secret lies in this!
The Đoković family's love for skiing is well-known, as is the fact that they went to Mount Kopaonik for years, which is where Novak Đoković took his first steps in sport. Almost the same is true for the Micić family, except that they can also say with pride that they have an amazing snowboarder among them. Nina Micić is the most successful Serbian woman in this sport.
What's the secret of their success and what role does Kopaonik play there?
"It's not limited to sports. We have many children from Kopaonik who have gone abroad and become renowned university professors and scientists. The school that we have is small but… The children who grew up there were privileged. Living in a natural environment, without a care, a completely free life in nature. That's quite rare," Dragan said.
Unfortunately, it's all becoming a thing of the past.
"Sadly, sports are now completely neglected there. It seems to me that all that matters is the infrastructure, the construction work, and such. Still, I hope that this phenomenon will persist, and that we will have educated and successful athletes hailing from Kopaonik."
'Playing for Serbia is emotional'
Vasa has shown before what the Serbian national team jersey means to him, both on the court and in his actions elsewhere. In the days when he suffered a family tragedy (the passing away of his mother), he stayed at the World Cup, wearing the Serbian national team jersey.
"Playing for Serbia is emotional. Just look at the songs that people sung and listened to after the EuroLeague final, that says it all."