“At the first training I was afraid of Eteri Georgievna” – Kristina Zakharova on Tutberidze’s birthday

Kristina Zakharova, coach of the health group at school Eteri Tutberidze and the ex-skater, in a conversation with , said that during her first training session as an athlete she was afraid of the specialist.

On February 24, Tutberidze celebrates his 50th birthday. Her students include Alina Zagitova, Kamila Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Adelia Petrosyan, Alexandra Trusova and others.

“I saw Eteri Georgievna for the first time when I was eight years old. As a singles skater, I competed with Polina Shelepen and her other students. Little by little, I began to learn more about this promising coach. After a while she came to work in Khrustalny.

Then, when I teamed up with Nikita Bochkov, our coach, Sergei Vladimirovich Dobroskokov, asked Eteri Georgievna to help him with the jumps. The fact is that I switched to pair skating at the age of nine and my jump reserve was very small. Only doubles, even without doubles. Sergei Vladimirovich gave me separate training on vault and at the same time agreed with Eteri Georgievna, taking into account her experience in singles. For a year, I went to see her two or three times a week.

To be honest, at the first training session I was afraid of Eteri Georgievna. But we quickly found a common language and I started jumping a lot, a lot and adjusting my jumping technique. Finally, she jumped as planned.

In the summer of 2022, life brought us together again: I came to work at Tutberidze’s school. A mutual friend, Maria Shashina, knew that I was looking for an opportunity for self-realization. Yes, I already had experience with adult athletes: I organized training camps in different cities, staged programs, worked with Dobroskokov’s duets. But in this format, total involvement is required, there is a minimum of free time. And I have a small child. So I was looking for a part-time job. As a result, we met with Eteri Georgievna and the school management, discussed everything and agreed that I would head the health group.

Now I am happy to work in Tutberidze’s team. She herself sometimes comes to group training and gives advice to the children and to me personally on the topic of coaching. The main values ​​that I learned in this atmosphere: it is important to communicate with the parents of your students and instill in their children a love of figure skating. Yet most of them came to the ice under the influence of their parents, and they themselves do not yet have comprehensive life guidelines. That is, the little person is initially guided, and the task of the coach at this age is to help the student fall in love with ice so that he skates with pleasure.

I am very grateful to Eteri Georgievna for everything I learned from her at different stages of my life. I wish her happiness in everything,” Zakharova told .