{"id":2456,"date":"2025-07-30T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/?p=2456"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:01:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:01:17","slug":"vitaliy-cherniy-it-s-not-about-names-it-s-about-those-who-execute-the-game-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/vitaliy-cherniy-it-s-not-about-names-it-s-about-those-who-execute-the-game-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitaliy Cherniy: \u201cIt\u2019s not about names \u2014 it\u2019s about those who execute the game plan\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this extended interview, Budivelnyk\u2019s new head coach Vitaliy Cherniy talks about the first steps in his new role, building the team, working with national squads, and shares his thoughts on leadership, European competitions, and the coaching staff.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 You\u2019ve been leading Budivelnyk for two months now. What has been your main focus in this early stage? What\u2019s been accomplished already, and what are the near-term priorities?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 First and foremost \u2014 building the roster. We\u2019re approaching this process very carefully. Every player is a part of the system we aim to create. The team must be competitive and ambitious. Names don\u2019t win games \u2014 those who follow the coaching staff\u2019s plan do.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second key goal is to create a family-like atmosphere. Everyone should have each other\u2019s back \u2014 support and care matter. Team unity is the foundation of all success. The final roster isn\u2019t fully formed yet. It\u2019s a step-by-step process. Some positions still need to be strengthened and refined.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Can you give a sense of when the team\u2019s core will be finalized? There\u2019s no center yet \u2014 are there any leads? Should fans expect American or other international signings?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 The first step is forming a strong Ukrainian core. Then we\u2019ll address the weaker positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the center \u2014 we do have some leads. But I won\u2019t name names just yet. We\u2019re in the middle of calls and correspondence, and everything changes rapidly these days. Some promising options have paused negotiations due to the current situation in the country. So I can\u2019t say we have a done deal or a name ready to shake up Ukrainian basketball. But we\u2019re aiming for quality \u2014 not headlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 How\u2019s your communication with the players at this point?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 I\u2019m currently with the national teams, so the communication isn\u2019t as consistent as I\u2019d like. But we\u2019re in contact \u2014 I see how the players are working. Soon our strength and conditioning coach will provide them with individual workouts to make sure they\u2019re ready for training camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The communication will only grow. I\u2019m in regular contact with Yevheniya Spitkovska \u2014 she\u2019s been a huge help to me and to the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Are you keeping track of other teams\u2019 rosters? Does that influence your decisions?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 Of course. But the market is very limited right now. There aren\u2019t many high-quality players available in Ukraine. I don\u2019t see any extraordinary moves by competitors yet, but we\u2019re monitoring everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 What will the preseason look like? Where and when? Any scrimmages or friendlies planned?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 As any coach will tell you, the more time you have to establish team and individual chemistry, the better. But there\u2019s never enough of it. We\u2019re gathering at the end of August for medicals, and in early September we\u2019ll begin on-court work and tactical drills. Hopefully, by then we\u2019ll have our core squad ready. Negotiations are ongoing, though we still have weak spots \u2014 I won\u2019t get into specifics just yet. We\u2019re planning friendlies, maybe even mini-tournaments. Dates and locations will be announced soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Any ideas on who might take on the captain\u2019s role or lead in the locker room?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 I have some thoughts, but I want to see how things play out on the court and within the group dynamic. I\u2019ve already discussed it with a few players and am gathering input. Leadership is crucial \u2014 this person must lead both on and off the court. That\u2019s true in both women\u2019s and men\u2019s basketball.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 You\u2019re also coaching the U16 women\u2019s national team in Latvia right now. What are the goals for this group ahead of the European Championship? And how many games are you watching these days, with so many youth tournaments going on?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 The U18 Men\u2019s European Championship is happening now, and we\u2019re taking part. I watch every single game our men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams play \u2014 whenever there\u2019s a stream, I\u2019m watching. Sometimes I rewatch games too, to analyze properly. It\u2019s not always straightforward. We analyze each team, player, and coaching decision. I\u2019ve been doing this for two years now \u2014 it\u2019s not just watching, it\u2019s analysis, monitoring progress. There\u2019s a lot of work and a lot of ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, we have long-standing issues to address. These aren\u2019t new, but we must find solutions \u2014 not just me, but as a collective. That\u2019s why constant communication with coaches, commission members, and clubs is vital. We must solve this together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Right now I\u2019m working with the U16 girls in Kraslava, Latvia, where the U20 squad is also based. I\u2019m running practices and observing the older girls as well. Their effort is incredible. I\u2019m grateful to the coaches and the players \u2014 I hope everything we\u2019re working on shows up in real games. Practice is one thing; the match itself is another. That\u2019s where it counts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before this, I worked with the U18 girls and then the U20s. I also visited Riga to observe the U18 boys. So it\u2019s both direct coaching and analytical work across national teams. Sometimes there simply isn\u2019t enough time \u2014 the intensity is enormous.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Do you plan for Budivelnyk to compete in European tournaments this season?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 Absolutely. It\u2019s a different level of play, speed, and skill. If you want to grow, you have to reach higher. European competitions are a challenge that inspires. The more international games \u2014 the better.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Is your coaching staff at Budivelnyk already complete, or still in progress?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 Still in progress. We\u2019re carefully forming a team that\u2019s up to the task. We want a strong, high-quality coaching staff. It\u2019s not perfect yet \u2014 but that\u2019s what drives growth. There\u2019s always room for improvement \u2014 in the team, and in each of us.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this extended interview, Budivelnyk\u2019s new head coach Vitaliy Cherniy talks about the first steps in his new role, building the team, working with national squads, and shares his thoughts on leadership, European competitions, and the coaching staff. \u2014 You\u2019ve been leading Budivelnyk for two months now. What has been your main focus in this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bez-kategoriyi"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456\/revisions\/2457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/budivelnyk.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}