Adam Michalski dies at 38: Polish volleyball mourns a player who never left the game behind

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Polish volleyball is mourning the loss of Adam Michalski, who has died at just 38 years of age.

The news was announced on Friday, September 4, by MCKiS Jaworzno, one of the clubs that had been an important part of his career. No cause of death has been made public.

“Adam Michalski” may not be a name immediately associated with the biggest stars of Polish volleyball, but his career tells the story of a player who built his path step by step, earned his place at the highest level and, most importantly, never truly left the sport behind.

Born on December 24, 1988, he played as a middle blocker. Standing 2.01 metres tall, he began his senior career with GKS Katowice before moving to Energetyk Jaworzno and Avia Świdnik. He would return to Jaworzno before making the move that would define the most important chapter of his career.

In 2012, he joined Cuprum Lubin.

It was in Lubin that he became part of one of the most significant moments in the club’s history. Cuprum fought its way to promotion to Poland’s top division, and he remained with the team as it stepped onto the PlusLiga stage.

He would spend four seasons in the Polish top flight, from 2014 to 2018, all with Cuprum Lubin. According to the official PlusLiga statistics, he played 50 matches and 130 sets, scoring 148 points, including 32 blocks and seven aces.

Those numbers tell only part of the story. He was never the kind of player whose career was defined by headlines or individual awards. His value was rooted in the less glamorous side of volleyball: work at the net, consistency, commitment to the team and the willingness to do whatever was required of him.
His final season with Cuprum came in 2017/18. At the end of that campaign, he initially considered bringing his senior career to an end, but volleyball had other plans.

“I can’t say at the moment that I have already finished with senior volleyball. I hope not, because I love this sport,” he said at the time, reflecting on his future after leaving Lubin.

He eventually continued.

He joined SPS Chrobry Głogów, where he played from 2018 to 2021, before continuing his career with KPS Chełmiec Wałbrzych and later MKS IKAR Legnica.

And in Legnica, his relationship with volleyball took on another dimension.

In recent years, he combined playing with the role of assistant coach at MKS IKAR Legnica, remaining involved in the development of the sport and passing on his experience to younger players. It was a fitting continuation for someone whose connection with volleyball had lasted far beyond his time in the PlusLiga spotlight.

MCKiS Jaworzno remembered him not simply as a former player, but as a committed athlete, a valued teammate and a man with a great heart for volleyball.

That may ultimately be the most meaningful way to remember Adam Michalski.

His career took him from Katowice to Jaworzno, Świdnik, Lubin, Głogów, Wałbrzych and Legnica. He reached Poland’s highest level, helped Cuprum Lubin earn promotion to the PlusLiga and then continued playing long after his time in the spotlight had ended.

At 38, his journey has come to an unbearably early end.

But the game he loved remains part of his legacy — in the clubs he represented, the teammates who shared the court with him, and the players he continued to help from the sidelines.

Polish volleyball has lost one of its own far too soon.