https://rsport.ria.ru/interview/20180510/1136673188.html
New Orser interview (google translate)
I suppose the call from Russia is not the first for you?
- The second. I just spoke very briefly with Tatiana Tarasova, and I had a feeling that she internally supports Medvedeva's decision, although she did not say so directly. I really hope that this is indeed so. I would like to have the opportunity, at least occasionally, to ask Tarasova's advice. She is absolutely incredible and very wise specialist.
- I read your words about how much you were amazed at Medvedeva's request to take her to your group. How much time did it take to say "yes"?
- When I received a message from Zhenya asking him to find an opportunity to meet her in Korea, where she then went on a show, at the beginning of April, I replied that there was such a possibility, but I needed some time. This time it was necessary for me to talk first with Tracy Wilson, as we work in one team, and then with the rest of our team, including the choreographer David Wilson. It was necessary to understand very clearly how much really fit Medvedev into the team. That is, to see the whole picture: who continues to skate, who is going to leave, how busy this or that specialist is, whether I myself can give your athlete as much time as she needs, and so on. As soon as we all realized that the task was real, a decision was made.
- Could you tell us more about how the work is organized in your club? How many hours of ice, for example, is allocated to a skater of elite level, how long does the training day last?
- Our club is somewhat unique - in the sense that each skater works on a strictly individual training program, created specifically for him. If to generalize, it's about three hours of "clean" ice, and the rest of the work. Of course, it will take us some time to understand exactly how to deal with Medvedev, what to focus on to a greater extent. Perhaps these are not jumps, but some other things, such as work on sliding, and this always takes a lot longer than jumping. To speak more specifically, you need to wait until Zhenya arrives in Canada, will come to the rink, and I'll see her on the ice. The most important thing at this stage is to prepare the body. This means a large number of diverse special work outside the ice to eliminate the consequences of those injuries that are now, as well as problems with the back. To move forward, the athlete must be really strong.
- Have you already dealt with the consequences of stress fractures?
- Of course, although I can not say that such fractures are a common thing. When Juna Kim came to my group for the first time, she had a huge amount of various injuries. This mainly concerned joints and vertebral disks. Less serious were problems with the ankles and the upper part of the feet. For a long time we dealt exclusively with solving all these problems. Yuna went to the procedures, she was picked up by an individual complex of special exercises, thanks to which she recovered so well that the pain in riding completely gone. The last two years of her career, she did not have any serious injuries at all, but if you remember the first two years, it was a walking trauma - to such an extent, Yunu was troubled by pains in the back, legs and hips. So now I can hardly be surprised or frightened. Just for a while, we all have to be very, very patient. Fortunately, at our disposal there are enough specialists who can help skaters cope with problems of any complexity.
- Medvedeva won the world championships two years in a row. What exactly, in your opinion, can make it stronger, give an opportunity to take one more step forward?
"First of all, it's her body." The body is the main tool of any athlete. It must be strong and well prepared. Do you know what is important? That Zhenya is a very young sportswoman, she is only 18 years old. But this is the age when an athlete should have the right to his own opinion, he must understand that he is as full a member of the team as any of the specialists working with him. I know well the goal of Medvedev - to win the next Olympic Games. On the way to these Games we will have three world championships. Will she win all three - I do not know. I do not have a crystal ball. I only know that now Medvedeva is at a crossroads, and we with our team will do everything possible to help Zhenya successfully overcome this period.
She is perfectly well-versed in many things, especially in jumping. She has a magnificent head, in a sense it can be called a psychological "thick-skinned". Plus, Zhenya knows how and loves to compete. Such a rival is not a gift for the rest. In this respect, Medvedeva very much reminds me of Yunu Kim.
At the same time, I see quite a lot of space in order to make some of Zhenya's riding even more powerful. Yes, it will take time, strength, and brains, but it pleases that Zhenya herself is internally ready for such an adventure. She wants, but for the athlete, as you know, this is the most important thing.
The mentioned by you Tatyana Tarasova in the years of her active work somehow said that she never takes an athlete to her without having found out why he left the previous coach. Did you ask Medvedeva questions about this?
- No. Zhenya spoke very highly of her former coaching staff and immediately made it clear that she did not intend to give any negative assessment to the past work. This is logical, I think. If the skater twice becomes the strongest in the world, then his training in the global sense was correct, right? I do not think that I will be mistaken if I say that all the coaches of the world would like to understand how Eteri Tutberidze continues to supply more and more new sportswomen of this level. How does she manage it? What is she doing in her training?
Personally, I prefer adult skiing
- Nevertheless, you are not too optimistic about the current world champion among juniors Alexandra Trusova, calling her (and this with two or four leaps!) Is not too long-term project.
- It was not quite so. The conversation was about a possible increase in the age limit in women's skating. I talked about that girls and adult girls, such as Carolina Costner, Yuna Kim, are two completely different categories of figure skaters. I have nothing against thirteen-year-old female athletes, who jump quadruplets. Remember, you asked me at the World Championships in Milan, I would like the International Speed Skating Union (ISU) to raise the age limit, and I answered: "No"? I can only repeat it once more. I have a thirteen-year-old guy in the group who jumps quadruplets. And all the quadrants. Longevity in sports for every athlete is always an extremely individual matter. Some mature and develop later, some earlier. Personally I prefer adult skiing, but I'm not at all ready to say that quadruple jumps of 13 or 14 years, no matter if it's about boys or girls, it's something terrible. Another question is that we, coaches, should be careful with the body of the athlete when he grows, and the joints still continue to develop.
- The question is different: do you in principle consider quadruple jumps at the level of adult female skating? And is there any sense to strive for this?
"I have no answer to this question." And the crystal ball, as I said, also does not. Perhaps, fortunately. So we all have to wait and see in what way the further development of women's skating will go and whether it will repeat the trends that we see in the male. The only thing I can say with certainty is that the female body is still different from the male. Therefore, the complication is not so fast. Whether there is such purpose - too I can not answer unequivocally. With my coaching mission, I see, first of all, the development of women's skating. I think the best examples in this respect are the riding of Caitlin Osmond, Gaby Daleman, Carolina Costner, Kim Yun. These are the names that remain in history.
- Does Medvedeva's transition to you mean that David Wilson will now be engaged in staging all of its programs?
"We in Toronto have been fortunate enough to have several quite outstanding directors working in completely different styles at once. Surely there are masters of this level and class in Europe, Japan and Russia, which is not always easy to get from Canada, but it's not necessary: we have Wilson, there is Sha-Lynn Bourn, there is Lory Nikol, there is Jeffrey Battle. Yudzuru (Khanyu) works mostly with Sha-Lynn and Jeff, Xavi (Javier Fernandez) - only with David, as did Yuna Kim before him, and at this stage I would like to try to use in the work with Medvedev the same choreographic workings , that they were successfully tested with Kim.
- How does it usually look like - do you give any specific recommendations to an athlete, or are you waiting for the skater to decide which choreographer he wants to work with?
- In each case, it depends on the situation. When we first started working with Han, all of his productions were dealt with by David. It took some time for Yuzuru to understand that he wanted to try something new in the choreographic plan. So appeared the Sha-Lynn, and it worked - between them immediately appeared tremendous creative chemistry. Xavi has great chemistry with David Wilson - they always managed to find some really wonderful things. At the same time, I always actively participate in the process: I help with the choice of music, I am engaged in the design of costumes, I work with a choreographer, controlling the steps, ligaments, explaining the specifics of jumping. You can not put the program, not knowing what kind of approach allows you to better fit the axel or lutz into the program.
Zhanna Medvedeva - mother number one
- I apologize in advance if the question is incorrect, but could you explain how the financial side of the relationship is structured - is the figure skater paying you for the full range of services, or does he pay the work of each specialist separately?
"It's customary for us to charge a fee per hour in the club." It is, rather, not the Canadian, but the North American style adopted in the US. I have my own bet, Tracy has his own, just like David Wilson. Relatively speaking, everyone knows perfectly well how much it costs to put a short or arbitrary program. Exactly the same price is in Laurie (Nichol), in Geoffrey. In this case, the ice for the athletes of our club is unlimited - if necessary, the skater can ride at least eight hours a day. This is important because many children go to school and they need to be able to vary the time of training: someone prefers to skate early in the morning, someone in the afternoon, someone in the evening.
- Who creates costumes for the programs of your athletes?
- Good question. I do not know. I know that the same David has his contacts, and when he puts the programs, he himself can explain to the master how he represents the image. Some skaters have contracts with their designers, and it is not necessary that they are Canadian. The main thing is that everyone should feel comfortable. And first of all - the athlete himself.
- Have you already thought about which tournaments you would like to see in Medvedeva?
- I will not say that my ideas differ greatly from the generally accepted ones in this respect. The first thing you need to see is how we will have a summer, depending on which we will make a decision. I would like Zhenya to perform in the early autumn at one of the B series tournaments - maybe it will be Autumn Classic, Finlandia Open or something else. Then we plan two stages of the Grand Prix, and of course the Russian Championship, of course. In a word, everything, as it was in Medvedeva's case in previous years. The only difference is that I will stand by the side.
- Do you plan to travel with Zhenya to Russia?
- Of course. I understand that we do not live in an ideal world, because there are other figure skaters and their competitions can coincide in time, then Tracy and David will have to plan their own movements, but ideally, I would like to personally bring Medvedeva to the ice.
- I forgot to ask: does Zhenya's mom intend to come to Canada?
"I'm counting on it, I'll tell you honestly." It's important for me. As far as I could understand, Zhenya and my mother are very close, hardly anyone knows her better than Zhanna. She, as they say, is the number one mother. For the coach this is a huge help. It seems to me that we will succeed.
. I love that exhibition. It makes Zhenya more elegant and beautiful. And she skate with her favorite color of dress (black
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