Former head coach of the Russian national biathlon team Anatoly Khovantsev in an interview with explained why Alexei Nuzhdov more likely to win the next election of the head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), and also spoke of problems of subordination in the team led by Mikhail Prokhorov.
The election of the leader of the SBR will take place on June 23. Nuzhdov and the current president of the organization, Viktor Maigurov, are candidates for this position.
– There is a lot of talk about the fact that the authority of coaches is disappearing. Do you agree?
– It’s been going on for a long time. The depersonalization of coaches has been going on since the days of (Alexander) Tikhonov. As you remember, he constantly said that he did everything and decided everything. Started from there. And the peak was under Prokhorov. I think it’s not from Prokhorov, but from (Sergey) Kushchenko. Then the athletes turned the coach’s head around and solved some of their problems. Agree, when they solve domestic problems. But when the questions were about preparation, it had a negative impact on the work of the coaches.
Were under such a ceiling, which did not allow to demand from athletes. Sometimes you have to demand that he do a job. There are things that need to be repeated over and over to reach a higher level, and the problem isn’t solved by a practice session.
I can give an example. When I worked with the women’s team in 2010, we had a training camp in Otepää. Every day, not counting rest days, meetings were held, where there were analyzes of the past day, tasks for the next day and video viewings. One of the athletes, who at that time was among the top three in the team, asks the question: “Anatoly Nikolayevich, why do we hold meetings every day?” Explained the situation. The next day, an order comes from above: “Do not hold meetings. Although he had already worked with the teams of Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, the athletes were friendly everywhere. There has never been anything like it.
– Do you follow the situation around the elections of the President of the RBU?
– I watch. I will not say who I support. I think Nuzhdov’s chances are better. He has a connection with Gazprom. I don’t want that to sound like propaganda, but he’s still a manager. You don’t have to be a great athlete here. The tasks of the leader are broader. The president of the federation must seek sponsors. The financial component should fall to the head of the RRF, Khovantsev told .
Source : MatchTV
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