Polish ski jumper in purgatory. To survive, he has to work at an inn

• In the 22/23 season, Mateusz Gruszka tore a ligament. He returned to ski jumping, but it was not an easy path, because he found himself outside the squad, so he was left to his own devices and the club's coaches.
• Although he was often better than the national team players, he did not get a call-up to the competition. And when he did, he was responsible for the travel costs.
• — Thanks to the good cooperation with the Tatra Ski Association, we agreed that Mateusz can take this invoice for them. If not for that, he simply would not have gone to these competitions, because neither he nor the club would have covered it — says Jakub Kot, the club coach of the ski jumper, about the last trip to the FIS Cup. In Eisenerz Gruszka was twice the best of the Poles
• Outside of training, the ski jumper studies and works. "Sometimes work ends at midnight. Half an hour passes before you get home, you get ready for bed and it's already one o'clock, and at eight you have to get up for training," he says.
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— You observe from the sidelines a situation where a player deludes himself that he will get a chance because, riding from the same beam during training, he was better than the national team players, but in the end he does not receive a call-up because a national team player goes to the competition – says Jakub Kot from the perspective of a club coach.

— If a ski jumper like Mateusz is to consider the Orlen Cup as his main start in the season, it's a hobby issue. When you start in international competitions, you have to approach it more professionally. It's just that some motivation would be useful, the conviction that there's a chance to go to the FIS Cup, to the Continental Cup – he adds.

This, in turn, is not so obvious. And when Gruszka was finally called up for the first time this season to a foreign FIS Cup competition on the second weekend of February, he was twice the best among our representatives. If it weren't for the club's involvement and the financial support of the Tatra Ski Association, he probably wouldn't have gone to Austria at all, because as a non-national, he had to cover the costs of accommodation and meals himself.

Gruszka's problems began with an accident on the ski jumping hill. "At first I tore a ligament, but I was still able to train, I combined it with rehabilitation. Later, at the FIS Cup in Szczyrk, something snapped in my knee, it hurt, so I already thought that the ligament might be completely torn. Then I waited a while for the surgery, I had it in June," he says about the events of 2023. He was not included in the staff structures before this season. He recalls that at that time he was helped by coach Zbigniew Klimowski.

Torn ligaments are a relatively common problem among ski jumpers, usually resulting in surgery and then a long rehabilitation. The situation becomes even more problematic when the athlete trains outside the national team. Then he is left to his own devices or at the mercy of the club.

— Of course, I had to pay something from my own money, but I was lucky, because Rafał Kot and Krystian Kołodziej helped me a lot with my rehabilitation. I didn't know if I would ever come back to ski jumping, it was secondary then. I started my studies, so I thought that maybe I should start doing something else in my life. However, my girlfriend told me to go back to the ski jumping hill. Coach Jakub Kot also called and in the end I decided that I would go jumping again. Not to be the best right away, but to just jump with passion — he adds.

It was under the watchful eye of AZS Zakopane coaches – Jakub Kot and Kacper Stosel – that he took his first steps on the ski jump after his injury in the spring of last year. The beginnings were not easy, because although everything was theoretically fine and Gruszka received permission from the doctor to train, the injured knee was still making itself felt. Sessions on the ski jump were interspersed with breaks for rehabilitation.

— We wanted to catch up quickly, but it wasn't possible. It wasn't smooth, harmonious. I knew that Mateusz had potential and was a really cool player. He achieved good results in the juniors, but the injury ruined our plans a bit. We knew that the possibilities were limited, but we had to try. I remember how we sat down at school, started planning everything and simply said that we would help him — says Kot.

— The club, and especially coaches Jakub and Kacper, helped me a lot, both with equipment and training. They adapted to my trips to college. The coach also added yoga classes, which helped me a lot with this knee. When I returned to training, it was fully functional, of course, but it's clear that the range of motion wasn't the same as before the injury, says Mateusz.

They set themselves the Polish Championships in October as their first important goal. In Zakopane, Mateusz really showed himself from a good side. He took 12th place, earlier in the qualifications he had even been fourth. In this way, he won a place in the first team of AZS Zakopane, which won the silver medal the next day.

Although he beat several national team players or competitors from the base groups, this result was not enough to start the season with international competitions. The next official opportunity to test himself against them was the next national championship. Not taking into account guests from abroad, in January in Zakopane, but this time at Wielka Krokiew, he was eighth. And again better than several jumpers financed by the PZN.

— These results in the summer championships were no surprise to me, because I was jumping well then. I thought that maybe I would be able to go to a competition somewhere, because it was a really good competition for me. Now, in the winter, at the Polish Championships, I was jumping well again and I had in the back of my mind that there might be a chance for a trip. Even when I compared myself to my teammates during training, I had the feeling that I wasn't jumping badly, but I was only competing in Poland — says Gruszka.

— On the large hill, where the winter championships were held, the equipment plays an even greater role. If he had a slightly better one, he would probably have gained a few more meters. There is no point in guessing, because he showed that he is capable of a good result, but he waited until February to start. I contacted Daniel Kwiatkowski myself, who already knew what I was calling about — says Kot.

— If the first one ended in hopes, then nothing major happened, but when the second or third one happens, it's a bit sad and demotivating. You know that you're not young anymore, you train, but you see that you're not going to the competitions, so why train? – we hear from Mateusz.

Before the FIS Cup competition in Szczyrk, Gruszka took part in a test that guaranteed him his first international start this winter. However, he had to count on financial support from the club, because as a non-team member, he did not have paid accommodation.

As Kot points out, he didn't show his good jumps there (17th and 42nd place), but a chance to start again quickly appeared, as juniors who flew to the world championships in Lake Placid vacated their spots.

- Only that we heard again that we have to pay for accommodation and meals, because the Polish Ski Association cannot do it. Thanks to good cooperation with the Tatra Ski Association, we came to an agreement that Mateusz can take this invoice on them. If not for that, he simply would not have gone to these competitions, because neither he nor the club would have covered it - says Kot.

On both the first and second day Gruszka was the best of the White and Reds. He took 17th and 19th place.

— Mateusz is another such case of a senior in our club who has great potential. We don't know what he will achieve, but he has definitely found himself at a crossroads. He came back from an injury, he was doing well, he seems to be getting some chances, but the signals about him are not clear. It's a bit like patching up holes. There's no one to go, or we jump in Szczyrk, where we have more places, and then suddenly Mateusz is there — says Kot.

In the Orlen Cup competition, which took place at the beginning of the week, Gruszka won a trip to the next FIS Cup competition. In Zakopane, he took second and fourth place, although on Friday, after a painful fall on the ski jump, he could not bend his knee. Of course, he had to seek help on his own. Similarly, he had to find financing for the next trip. This time, too, TZN will help him.

— I really like training with him, because he is a player who wants to do something. I know that when he says he has something to do at home, it is not an excuse, he actually works hard. He has a good character — we hear from the AZS Zakopane coach.

Apart from training, Gruszka has a lot of duties. She studies criminology in Krakow and works at the "U Zapotocznego" inn in Ząb. - Sometimes work ends at midnight. Half an hour passes before you get home, you get ready for bed and it's already one o'clock, and at eight you have to get up for training. After training I go back to change, take a bath and go to work. If I don't train that day, I simply start at the inn earlier. It's hard to combine all of that, but somehow I manage - says Mateusz.

In the meantime, he also has to take care of his equipment, especially when it comes to competitions of a higher rank than the Orlen Cup. When, shortly after his injury, he took part in a test that allowed him to start in the FIS Cup in Frensztat in August, the club's trainers had to quickly help him get a suit. The one he was jumping in at the time could hardly be described as competitive.

- I remember I was probably second in this test, but I didn't have a suit or anything, so we sorted it all out at the last minute - says Mateusz. - When you train outside the national team, it's hard in this respect. Of course, you can still get skis somewhere, but it's harder with suits... I paid for one myself, and my coach Kacper helped me with the second one for the Polish Championships. And then there are the boots... There is, of course, funding from the club, but it's clear that it's not enough to replace this equipment as quickly as you'd like - we hear.

— When you're in the squad, you know that you have a whole team of people around you, your head is free from certain things. You arrive practically ready, all that's left is to train. There's a physiotherapist, a serviceman, you've got the equipment. Mateusz, on the other hand, only has me and Kacper, and either we help him a little or he has to do it on his own. It's not easy, but you know that in a way it shapes character — says Kot.

The discussion about the successors of the champions is a topic that has been going on in Polish ski jumping for years. Initially somewhat overshadowed by great successes, now in the crisis of our most experienced competitors it is becoming more and more relevant. Almost everything has been written about the lost generation of 1996-1999. There is one common denominator - all of these competitors at some point found themselves in a situation when the heart still wanted, but the mind dictated other decisions.

— The age Mateusz is at now is the worst moment. With players in a school of sports mastery, we are able to keep this graduate for another year, but in the case of young seniors we have more and more such failures. A small percentage makes it to the national team. Those who failed go to university, try to find a job, the results get worse and such a player starts to break down. This is the moment when he should receive a clear signal from the PZN, so that he knows that he is being watched and can count on help — Kot believes.

— Obviously, if there is a competitor who simply doesn't feel like it and lacks motivation, we won't get involved in something like that. On the other hand, if we have a ski jumper who feels like it, and the coach who worked with him for several years thinks it's worth investing in him, why not? After all, we have base groups and in my opinion, this is where we can expand. Here in Zakopane, we have Andrzej Stękała and Jan Galica. If there are two people, why can't there be four or five? The costs aren't that high, and Mateusz, for example, would have at least slightly better care or equipment — adds the coach.

Mateusz himself admits that for now he is not thinking about what the end of the season will bring and what decisions will be made in April. "I am not analyzing anything, I am just doing everything calmly and I am happy with good jumps. If I decide that there is no point in training anymore, I will give up and focus on my private life and studies," he says.

— I hope it won't be another case where someone says that there's no time for ski jumping as a hobby – we hear from Kot, who still can't get over the unfulfilled career of another AZS player, Krzysztof Lea, and admits that as a club coach he was angry seeing how such a great talent was treated.

— Mateusz knows that training in the club won't work miracles, but we're working and I hope it will be a name that shows that it's possible to survive in such a "jumping purgatory" – concludes Kot.