Olympic cross-country ski champion Veronica Stepanova in a column on , she said that in all countries the majority of parents and coaches exert excessive pressure on young athletes, including organizing public reprimands that harm the child’s psyche.
Stepanova won gold at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing in the women’s relay.
— Elite sport imposes very great obligations. Constant pressure. It doesn’t matter if you are a Norwegian or Russian athlete. The typical career of a young athlete on the cusp of the junior national team looks like this: mom and / or dad played this sport themselves or a loved one (skiing, biathlon), and they see you as a continuation of their success. They want you to move forward, avoid their mistakes and, above all, “feed” on their experience. Such parents run with their child on the ski slope in the literal sense: they worry, push, control everything. As a rule, they send them to equally ambitious coaches.
How many “involved” parents and coaches have I seen, trashing their athlete during a regional competition between junior and intermediate girls or boys! “We didn’t buy mom a fur coat so we could buy you normal skis, but how are you going to run?!” Do you think such screams after the end are fantasies? Alas! Come to regional or zonal competitions and listen for yourself. This is what a 15-16 year old skier (biathlete) should feel after such a disguise, and even public?
The national team coaches have not yet written a message in capital letters to their colleagues who work with young talents: don’t force it! Let the kids go for walks, play outdoor games, and work on their technique. And then we, the students, come to the training camps in Malinovka or Tyumen and see how 12-13 year olds run there in circles like crazy, overtaking us to the joyful shouts of their coaches. I understand that children’s and junior coaches are also ambitious people and their work is evaluated in one way or another by the number of champions they have prepared. But it’s impossible ! Incessant pressure, the habit of shouting and even slightly humiliating children and adolescents will not bring anything good,” Stepanova wrote.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
