From time to time different people ask: "Why don't our skiers rise above ... ten third place in the world rankings?" or "And when will our ... take at least some places?" "And why … ?" and so on. In all questions, bewilderment and bitterness sound - it's a shame for the state. And for some reason, I always want to see interesting articles published in the ski magazines of our country by those specialists - coaches who really understand skiing. With amateur or recreational, you can even say "recreational" skiing there are no problems: there are instructors, and amateurs who are ready to write - and write - excellent materials. Reviews on equipment - please, travel sketches - as much as you like, reports from the developing resorts of the Urals - no problem, stories about the World Cup - for God's sake. About the training of instructors, about safety in the mountains, about love, about the weather, about ski lifts - about anything. But about sports training, methods, and in more detail - with graphs, with a comparison of the results training process Vari with the results of Janica, and the results of Andrey or Sergey with the results of Kjetil or Hermann - there is no one to write to. Yes, there is also a letter to the editor came from the coaches of one of the schools Olympic Reserve(!) with a request to publish some good materials on training methods.
And the editor instructed to find a coach who would share his knowledge in the magazine, so that his students would show any results, and to be able to speak, and not only obscenities ... It turned out that there are such coaches. Little, but there is. But firstly, they do not seek to tell at least something, and secondly, they absolutely do not want to learn themselves, and even more so, to teach others. Don't believe? I didn’t believe it either, until I spoke with them, with the coaches, and tried to persuade them to cooperate, to write articles. One senior coach told me so bluntly: “Well, yes! I will teach my coaches what I know myself, and then one of them will set me up! I won’t tell anyone anything. But I can write, in general terms, without details." In general terms, this means talking about the fact that skis have edges and that the edges are iron, but you need to train ... But about the details of the training process, about the methodology - no, no! There is a great secret! Apparently, thanks to this secret, it is considered good result that our top athletes are in the top ten international competitions the results show.
I ask another coach: “Do you read something about alpine skiing (secretly, of course, hoping that he will start calling me the names of special foreign and overseas magazines). He says to me:“ I don’t read anything. I have to work, but there is no time to read books - magazines ... "Understood, I say, I'm sorry that I bothered you with questions, I tore off my work ... And the third, no less experienced, coach told me in detail that the main progress of his students - children - is taking place when they are in competition with more strong athletes perform, copying their technique. I then ask: "So, our best athletes copy the technique of the best in the world, and then those who compete with them at the same competitions copy their technique, and so on?" Yes, he says, it is. And so after all, I think, where the dog rummaged! It turns out that our Vova or Seryozha, to the best of their understanding, copy the manner of one of the best in the world, and since he does not know all the subtleties of the training process of the best in the world, he copies, most likely with an error and, very likely, - without taking into account the anatomical and other individual characteristics of the athlete, taken by him as a sample. Then they copy from him, adding more mistakes - more experienced trainer after all, he does not explain anything to his subordinates - remember why? And it turns out that our boys and girls are, at best, the n-th copy of last year's leader. And what, with such, so to speak, the methodology of the training process, often spiced with obscenities and constantly - the lack of normal funding, can you grow a world-famous star? Something I strongly doubt.
Is it weak to invite one of the world's leading coaches who have already raised serious athletes? No money left? But there is money for five or six snowcats that are in Shukolovo? Eat. And this is several million dollars, by the way. Have you found more than forty million dollars for the first stage of construction of the Sorochany park? And what - for the fact that in the top ten at the World Cup Ivanov-Petrov-Sidorov constantly shone, money can not be found? I do not believe!
Come on, why am I - after all, I’m not a coach, I have a higher specialized education, as well as I don’t have the title of MS - who will listen to me, an amateur? After all, it’s like with us: if a coach, then it means that at least a master of sports should be, otherwise colleagues won’t even listen. That is, it’s nothing that he can’t say two words without obscene copula, nothing that he drinks, nothing that there is only one technique - to drive along the track, nothing that does not understand how amateur skating differs from sports. The main thing is MS, and even better MSMK, and a graduate sports university. And it’s not scary that the university doesn’t even have such a department - alpine skiing, which means that there are no teachers either. Absolutely not. But he is an MC, he knows everything about skiing himself.
Well, okay, back to our sheep. That is, excuse me, to the fact that none of them wants to write in the magazine - and indeed - but why? Here, none of the coaches writes - the fees are small, it takes a lot of time, and then the subordinates will sit up. True, one was found who is not afraid that he will be jailed. Now - an American, our former, from St. Petersburg - Grigory Gurshman. So he tells on the pages of our magazine about this and that, but how the process is going on, and what kind of nuances there are in modern technology. True, his articles are not for everyone Russian coaches to their liking: “Who is it that took it into his head to teach us? Yes, we ourselves know all this, but we don’t want to write! And his film about summer training on roller skates is bullshit, I’ve already seen this exercise ... "
It doesn't matter that Greg coached the Austrian men's team, then the US men's team, and then the Canadian women's team. We still know better than him. It's okay that in the film there are shots of the best athletes in the world training on roller skates. It doesn't matter that Sonya Nef, in part thanks to Greg, stayed in skiing a few years ago. It's not interesting that the boys from the club he is currently coaching are first in all age groups take in competition. However, this is all really unimportant and uninteresting, because the main goal is not to sit up, so that no one learns the secrets and methods thanks to which the best skiers in Russia then take well-deserved places ... And let our Sasha and Masha still be only the second or third copy from the really strongest skiers - that's enough for us! After all, in Russia they are the best, no one disputes this, right?
I'm only afraid that Grisha (before he was Grisha) will get tired of telling at least something worthwhile to our "cool specialists" who don't even want to listen to anything. And then there will again be a black hole in the magazine accessible to all coaches. True, it turns out that I am not the only one who is so timid: in March of this year, several coaches went to Canada for a seminar that Greg held for them free of charge. And the impressions of Lena Vikhreva, who was at this seminar, are published below. And Greg brought his students there, so as not to be unfounded, and conducted training, and showed secret exercises to our coaches, who decided to learn a little. Apparently, he is very "offended for the state" ...
Seminar for trainers from Russia
Elena Vikhreva, ski coach
The first thing I want to note is the level of training. The seminar was held at a high professional level. All classes were held according to the plan presented to the participants at the very beginning. There were no failures even in the smallest details, from hotel reservations to small organizational issues such as transport, meeting time on the slope, food, etc. On the very first day, Gregory suggested that we adopt some rules that helped us do everything on time and methodically, of course, provided that they were followed. If we evaluate the level of the seminar from the point of view of its organization, then I give the highest rating.
Now about my personal impressions about the topic of the seminar. I'm doing coaching the fourth year, I read all Gregory's articles and carefully studied the film on exercises during the summer training of roller-skating skiers, but still I had questions about technique and methodology.
As you know, only very talented people can learn to ride from a self-instruction manual, everyone else needs a teacher. It is possible to teach skiing to another person only if the teacher is able to feel and understand the movements both as a whole and each element of the movement separately. If you just give exercises without understanding their purpose, the result, of course, will be, but the quality will suffer greatly. When I realized that after everything I had read and seen, I didn’t get a complete picture, I decided to go to the seminar. I must say right away that almost all the questions on technique and methodology that I wanted to ask Greg exhausted themselves on the very first day of classes, they simply disappeared. It was like shock therapy: the first impression was the shock of what I saw, then the surprise why I didn’t understand this from the materials studied, because everything is so clearly and clearly written there.
Yes, in order to understand the basics of the movement, they must be seen "live", and performed by an experienced demonstrator, and the vast majority of both coaches and athletes cannot understand from static material what exactly they should strive for. Again, before the ball seminar, I had the wrong picture of ideal skating - what one should strive for. Now there is such a picture, and it remains only to work: to learn to see, feel and move in harmony with these sensations.
It is useless to tell without a demonstration, and so Gregory and I decided that we should hold a seminar in Russia, in which everyone who wants to can take part. For those who want to understand, I will be holding a seminar (dates will be announced closer to autumn), where I will try to talk about the whole picture of an ideal carved turn.
This note was written by Greg Gurshman in a blog on ski.ru....
ABOUT AGGRESSION, TECHNIQUE AND AGGRESSIVE TECHNIQUE - OR WHAT'S FASTER
I answered my own technical questions in some detail here:
but the point about aggressiveness was postponed for later. This is not a very simple question. Therefore, I did not want to write about it somehow casually and in a hurry between planes.
And I was waiting for one event to confirm my words. I'll start with the event.
First Russian athlete was admitted to the best Austrian ski academy STAMS. She turned out to be a Moscow schoolgirl Katya Tkachenko. It should be noted that the admission of foreigners to this ski boarding school, whose graduates are almost all members of the Austrian team, occurs only in extremely rare cases. I have known Katya for many years (I think about 7 years). Of course, I'm happy for her and for my mother, and for Katya's coach Lena Vikhreva (CSKA). On behalf of everyone, I would like to congratulate them here.
But why is this fact interesting in terms of talking about technique and aggressiveness? For a number of years, I have said that Katya and Lena are on the right way in terms of technology. Sometimes I tried to keep her from this path. At the same time, there were many Russian "specialists" - coaches and functionaries who said that Katya was driving incorrectly and, most importantly, not aggressively. Naturally, there were disrespectful comments about her coach. I don't talk about myself anymore.
Those who have seen Katya ride can appreciate that she rides dynamically and very smoothly. In general, such a ride is inherent in the leaders in the World Cup. This was also appreciated by the selection committee in Austria, which watched Katya's skating for several days (both on and off the track). I spoke with the coaches and they unanimously admitted that it was the aggressiveness in Katya's skating that played a decisive role in their choice. At the same time, Russian colleagues believed that Katya did not have aggressiveness. The fact is that they have confused and continue to confuse aggressiveness with twitching, pushing skis and hitting poles.
What do we mean by true aggressiveness? Aggressiveness is the creation of large angles of displacement in the initial phase of the turn above the slope line. Thus, during aggressive skating, the athlete does not "fight" across the slope in the third phase (under the gate), but cuts out most of the arc above the flag. This, of course, is only the ideal of the most efficient and fastest skating. But that is exactly what you need to strive for. Without correct technique this is impossible.
"Aggressive" riding in the typical Russian sense results in pole pits and a clear struggle out of the turn. Therefore, no pseudo-aggressiveness, leading to twitching, is definitely needed, but an aggressive shift inward of the arc precisely leads to smooth, but dynamic skating.
Explained as best I could. I hope that both coaches and athletes and even veterans who especially like to twitch on the track will try to understand that this is not aggressiveness at all. And most importantly, you need to understand that this will definitely not add anything to speed or results. Jerky riding is always slower, despite some illusions that can occur on short bumpy slalom runs.
So, aggressive forward and inward shifting, rather than twitching, while standing over the skis, is the way to success both on the track and just in free skiing. Truly aggressive riding is the result of technique, not intentional aggression.
True, for many, this is all of course difficult, even in the discussions of technology on the forums there is a lot of aggression to see through, what can we say about skating.
In January of this year, at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Muscovite Ekaterina Tkachenko won bronze medal in slalom and performed confidently in other disciplines.
- Katya, how did it all start - how did you start skiing?
When I was two years old, my grandmother took me to a ski base near the house. And we lived in Krylatskoe. I liked riding right away, and that's how I still ride.
- What was the defining in your sports achievements- performance or talent?
I don't think I have much talent. So the key is performance.
You trained for many years in Moscow with coach Elena Vikhreva. What can you say about it? Where were the foundations of your technique laid, and what is the difference between working in technical terms in Russia and in Austria, because you have been studying at the Austrian boarding school Stams for the fourth season already?
I can say that it was Lena who laid the foundations of my technique. And then I was able to work further and improve my skating. And due to this - to increase speed and develop self-confidence. And regarding Austria and Russia, it seems to me like this: in Austria, skiers roll a lot from an early age, especially without focusing on technology. And only then the athletes who are technically ahead of others due to their talent or hard work become more noticeable. And already with these athletes, work is underway on the technique. That is, they work on technique at a later age, when the athlete has already shown himself. And since there is no such possibility in Russia - there are no long slopes, difficult routes, there are no a large number of trainees, then you need to immediately start working primarily on technique, as my coach Elena Vikhreva did.
You trained both in Russia and in Austria. What is missing in Russia for the development of skiing, unlike Austria?
In Russia, there are not enough conditions for many children to go skiing. In fact, this is the main thing at the initial stage. And if we talk about more experienced athletes, then there are not enough suitable tracks and they are not accessible to everyone. The Austrians have a slope in almost every village.
You won a bronze medal at the YOG in slalom. Then you had the first starting number. And when do you feel better - when you start first or when you know the results of your main rivals?
Better - when I know the results. But at this start, everything worked out very well for me, and I think I performed as well as I could.
- And how did you like the Olympics in general?
I liked it very much. This is the first Youth Olympic Games, everything was organized in an interesting way. We had the opportunity to visit many places and learn something new for ourselves. Everything was available to everyone..
- In the summer you had health problems, then you had to recover, but what are you doing now?
Now I feel good, I train in Stams. Literally in the next few days I will start training again with our national team “C”. Including in the snow. I will train for a week in Stams, a week with the national team.
- What are your plans for the upcoming season?
If everything goes well, then by the end of the season, I hope, I will already be competing at the FIS-starts.
- What would you like to improve in technology?
I want my technique to be more stable, that is, to have as many technically good turns as possible throughout the track, and then the speed will come with time, I will work on this.
Until I get up on skis, I won’t think!
Thank you very much for the interview and we wish you success in your studies and return to the competition tracks as soon as possible. And, of course, victories!
DATE OF BIRTH: 07.03.1995
DISCHARGE: MS
WHERE YOU BORN: Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe
HEIGHT: 163 cm
WEIGHT: 55 kg
FIRST SLIDE, FIRST TIME SKIING: Krylatsky hills, slope No. 2
FIRST SPORTS SCHOOL: IGFSO
FIRST COACH: Gavva Anton Alekseevich
FAVORITE FOOD: home and austrian cuisine
DRINK: fruit tea with orange juice
MUSIC: relaxing
COMPOSITION: Pink Floyd
WHAT HELPS YOU SET UP TO START: good dream
HOBBY: drawing
KIND OF SPORT: athletics, especially running
IDEAL ATHLETE: Marcel Mathis
MOTIVATION: overcoming oneself
HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT:"bronze" Youth Olympic Games - 2012
MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT: 6th place at the Trofeo Topolino competition in 2010, on my birthday
FAVORITE ROUTE: Krylatsky hills, slope number 4 - native hill
LOST FAVORITE ROUTE:"pipe" in Bottrop - it is very difficult to properly disperse the skis
COACHES: Russian national team coaches Gerhard Huttegger, Andreas Wieland, Michael Strobl (OFP) and Alexandra Namestnikova, Konrad Staudinger in Stams.
WHAT DOES NOT LIKE: irresponsibility
WHAT IS AFRAID: laziness
DREAM: achieve outstanding results - both in life and in sports
