“The world will be better only if athletes realize their dreams.” Skobrev on the neutral Games and working in the US

Double Olympic medalist Ivan Skobrev After a career in sports skating, he showed himself in figure skating as an ice show artist and fitness trainer, worked in the KHL and now has a contract and works in the USA with hockey players of the Junior Rangers. We talked with him about moving, the sports life of his sons, the difference in approach, university sports and Roman Kostomarov.

— Vanya, my last place of work was the Academy of Evgeni Plushenko. After that, there was no news about your professional activities. What were you doing? Why did you give up figure skating?

“Everything was fine, Zhenya was happy, and I liked the whole process.” There I was able to gain new skills, communicate with new young creative figures of figure skating, but Ilya Averbukh wanted us to perform with Victoria Sinitsina, and I would not have been able to combine them. Then there was a tour. At the end of the season, I flew to the USA: my parents live there, whom I have not seen for three years. We spent a family vacation in nature, and upon our return, out of curiosity, we went to the sports facilities that are nearby. One of them is Chelsea Piers.

Through mutual friends, we met the head of the hockey department and they offered me to stay and try myself as a consultant at the Junior Rangers hockey academy. I decided to try myself abroad, to work with American and Canadian hockey players; by the way, there are guys from Europe here, as well as quite a few guys from Russia.

That’s how it all happened. There were other offers from the KHL, but I didn’t receive any that would allow me to be with the children all the time. And here is a very important opportunity for me: the whole family will be nearby, the children will train and study.

So now I am passing on my experience, gaining new knowledge in communication with American specialists, especially ice specialists.

— How old are you working with?

— Recruitment starts from 6 years old, and the highest age here is U-20.

— Do you have higher ambitions? To work with a pro for example?

— There is always ambition. But now we have to adapt to the work process. You have to bring your English to a new level – I speak English, but just speaking in everyday life is one thing, here you have to develop a new professional vocabulary. Plus many new tasks of communication with management and parents.

— Have you ever had a moment of denial – “I’ll never send my kids to play sports”?

– It didn’t happen. And they were born when I was an active athlete, they accompanied me to training camps. The question was what sport to send them to. They started skating very early and that’s how it happened. I wanted it to be a team sport, because simple races in a circle were enough for me (laughs). Yes, and I really like hockey.

“Now there will be a question that cannot help but be asked. “Why don’t children speed skate, Ivan?

“My father and mother ask me this question.” As soon as it gets colder, they go to Lake Placid to skate. Grandfather has a bicycle and an imitation board. We prepare for the skating season very seriously! And they also went to see matches here and saw what speeds are in hockey, what types of joints there are … “Well, why don’t they do rowing or skating!” It’s understandable that they are worried, but there are such emotions here! It so happened that when I was still running, Phil developed an interest in hockey and there was a Dynamo base nearby, in New Riga. They would also go well on skates, I’m sure. But now – hockey!

And it is important for me that they get a good education. I want them to consolidate their English better. And of course, they continue distance learning in Russian schools.

— Figure skating was not considered as an option?

– No. Although Philip wore Averbukh’s skates, he even skated with Victoria Sinitsina. In the summer, by the way, the guys go rowing. My mother works as a rowing coach. In warm weather next year we will try to go too, Phil is doing well, maybe he will compete in rowing. An interesting sport.

— Throughout your career, there were periodic rumors that you would leave to play for the United States. Did you consider this possibility?

“I was leaving, training with the junior team, and there were opportunities to stay. But I am Russian, I grew up in Russia and I started to achieve my first successes there. I studied, I had the support of my family, my godfather and godfathers. I knew the conditions at home better. The medals I won were the contribution of the people who were nearby, the contribution of the specialists I worked with.

— Did you watch the Olympics in Paris?

– Selectively. I don’t want to say anything bad, but there are still questions of opening and closing. It’s a matter of taste, but questions arise. As for competitions, I love sports, but when there are no Russian athletes, you get involved in the process somehow less, especially since I know a lot of guys. Somehow I watched athletics, I watched tennis, I watched swimming, but not to the point of looking forward to what would happen tomorrow in the competition program. But I will never miss the games of the KHL and NHL season, I hope there will be no need to explain why (laughs).

— Olya Fatkulina said that without international competitions, the results of Russian speed skating would suffer. Do you think you are right?

— Honestly, I worry about the guys, because there are sports that are able to maintain both the level of competition and earnings through national competitions. This includes figure skating and hockey. In speed skating, the situation has always been different. And we are not in the Netherlands, where speed skaters have the opportunity to earn money through sponsors and professional teams. Our story is different. Well, when you don’t see your opponent in person, it’s still like there’s a chasm between you.

— Pasha Kulizhnikov said that in the absence of international competition, it is difficult to motivate oneself by organizing contests for a certificate or sweets. We always consider such statements too mercantile.

– Who wants to work for free? I don’t understand why others are afraid to talk about it. Sports is not a profession that will offer you a golden parachute and a 100% secure retirement.

— Russian speed skating will definitely not give you such a parachute.

– Without a doubt. And Pashka achieved the best results. And it so happened that he was left without an Olympic medal. Therefore, such statements should be treated more as everyday statements. Everyone wants to be safer in this world. There must be decent cash prizes and good competition.

The current situation is a great disappointment for a whole generation of Russian athletes who worked hard throughout their childhood, their youth, and now can no longer achieve their potential. I am very sad to say this.

On the other hand, sport gives us the opportunity to meet new people and gives us the opportunity to develop in different directions. And who uses it and how – decides himself. This is one of the stages of self-realization in life.

There are very well-paid professional sports, they earn a lot. But in order for more athletes to feel somewhat protected, it is necessary to develop student sports so that the athlete is not excluded from society. And if he did not reach the top, he had a better chance of fulfilling himself in another field. This has been discussed a lot before; I would like to see a big step forward in student sports.

— There was a big discussion about the opportunity to perform in neutral status in Paris. If the conditions before Milan are the same, do you think it is worth going there?

“As a former athlete, I believe you should take advantage of every opportunity to compete at a high level. You have dedicated your whole life to sport. For what? Why did you spend so much work, sweat, effort? To prove that you are stronger. The situation is difficult, but I think we must support athletes in their desire to participate in the biggest competitions.

— Several guys have already joined other teams. Do you think there will be new personnel departures?

“I want our athletes to run and compete internationally, I want them to bring medals to their country, but if someone decides to leave, I can’t judge. How can you condemn a person for taking the opportunity to live their life the way they want, to realize what they have dedicated their best years to? I want the world to give athletes the opportunity to realize themselves, I want to give them a chance to make their dreams come true. And I am sure that such stories will help to overcome obstacles in other areas and the world will only become a better place.

— You worked with figure skaters. This sport has become perceived by many as too toxic. Did you feel it? And what are your general impressions about working with the “figure”?

— There is huge competition there. The way our figure skating works – few sports in Russia operate at this level. How much attention parents pay to their children! It’s hard to work! Like everywhere else, figure skating has its subtleties. It is not always easy to find your own language when communicating with athletes. Girls already have their own merits, they have their own vision of training. But I liked working in figure skating! Evgeni Plushenko has good discipline in his team. Yana Rudkovskaya does a lot for the academy, the organizational process is at a high level. I would like to hope that in the near future our skaters will have the opportunity to compete at the highest level.

— I can’t help but ask about Roman Kostomarov. Get back to your active life and get back on the ice! When was the first time you managed to communicate normally after that terrible period?

— We were in Shymbulak with our family, skiing. We followed the news, worried, wrote to Oksana (Domnina), tried in every way to support her … And then a call from him! Before that, only messages were exchanged with him. To tears. Then there was the certainty that everything would be fine. And when we watched his first interviews, the whole family cried. Just before our interview, we called each other. He says: “Can you imagine how I accelerated my car: it exploded, the wheels flew off, but it continues to drive.” It is hard to believe that we can now afford to joke about this topic. And this car, believe me, will continue to drive for a very, very long time.

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