A glimpse into Gregor Magál’s CAS journey

For my CAS activity during the break I helped out a local sports club to manage kids at a camp they had after school. My supervisor for this activity was head coach Emil Cino as he’s also the owner of the Medvedica mountain bike club. I would put this activity in the service sector as I helped out people for a good cause. I really enjoyed this activity since I had to develop my skills in managing a group and taking responsibility. Since I was coaching kids ages 9-11 they looked up to me as the adult which was a weird feeling but a humbling experience. It was a weird feeling as I still remember being a kid at a camp myself since it wasn’t too long ago. Overall I really enjoyed this activity as I got to meet new people and it forced me to go out of my comfort zone to be more disciplined and move forward.

For my next activity I volunteered to do a charity event in the form of a bake sale. All of the money that was raised from the bake sale went to the help of refugees from Ukraine as at the time we did this activity the war had only recently broken out. This was a very meaningful activity for me as I have friends from Ukraine back home and knew the money was going to help or even save peoples lives so it was precious to me. Although for this event we didn’t bake the cakes and cookies ourselves, it sparked motivation in me to try cooking more as well as I figured it would be a great activity to get closer with my family or friends. I would put both of these activities in the creativity sector as we had to find creative ways that even us highschoolers could do to help a more global issue happening even outside of our country. This really shows how with enough commitment anything is possible as long as you take the needed action.

My supervisor for this activity would be Mr. Hofbauer as he looked over us while we conducted this activity. 

CAS activity- Picking up trash

This activity was really simple yet fulfilling as it showed how the little things can help your community and therefore help you become a better person. My supervisor for this activity was our CAS coordinator Mrs. Gritsch as she looked over us while we conducted this activity. The long term impact of our activity is small but it had a great impact on our minds as it showed how we can do the little things to help out. I would put this activity into the service sector as we provided a service for our community for free. 

CAS activity- Hockey game data logging

For this activity I helped out my hockey team by volunteering to do data for a game. It was interesting to see what goes on behind the boards when I’m not playing the game. It was fulfilling as I could help out my fellow colleagues and be involved in my sport from another perspective. I would again put this activity into the service sector and my supervisor would be Natalia Bedáčová as she was the one putting my stats into the league’s website. I did this activity several times during the year. 

CAS activity- Gym progress

This was by far one of the most impactful activities I decided to take on. Going to the gym regularly made me achieve good progress on my body but what I didn’t expect is that it would have a much larger positive effect on my mind. You see, when I set out this challenge I wasn’t in a great place regarding mental health. The gym not only did change my body, it changed my life. You develop discipline that filters to other aspects of your life. I developed a sense of self care and self confidence which helped me get in a better mental state that even other people started to notice. Along my fitness journey I met many like-minded individuals that share that very same discipline. 

Thanks to the gym I met new lifelong friends that helped me with both my mental state and training routine. I realized that nothings stopping me from bettering myself and thanks to the gym you too can become the person you’re meant to be. I documented my progress in my “fitness logbook” which helps me track my workouts and strength progress. I realized that to make optimal progress I had to understand that fitness is composed of three parts which are nutrition, resistance training and rest. If one of these is not sufficient I wouldn’t have seen such good results. I got this advice from our academy fitness coach Florian Dominig who I will use as my counselor for this activity as I spend 30+ hours with him in the gym even outside of practice. 

Overall I’m grateful for this challenge that I undertook as it challenged me in the right manner and made me get the best out of myself. Most people start going to the gym to look better, myself included, but the mental benefits far outweigh the physical ones as now I’m way more confident and disciplined with myself. This CAS activity has opened many doors for me as now I have a wider perspective of the world. I’ll keep on doing this activity even after IB as I fell in love with it.