My whole life has revolved around volleyball
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Petr Pěnkava was born on 24th January 1958 in Pilsen and spent the first years of his life in Tylova Street near Škodovka. He remembers the dirty, dodgy neighbourhood where he went to the local primary school. Later the family moved to Bory, to Dvořákova Street, from where he attended a modern school on náměstí Míru. A crucial turning point in his life was meeting Associate Professor Vojík from the Faculty of Education, who was looking for physically fit boys for the volleyball team after school. Petr Pěnkava was among those selected and from the age of ten he became a member of the team, which soon reached the youth league. Sport shaped his entire childhood and adolescence, influencing his choice of secondary technical school and later life. After graduating from secondary school, he joined the compulsory military service and served in Slovakia, in Poprad, and later in Košice. He describes the reception and military regime as harsh, often humiliating, but also as an experience that gave him discipline. After his return, he continued to work and play sports. In 2025 he was living in Domažlice.
