Evgenia Medvedeva: “Is it harsh? Yes. Some might even say it’s cruel in our sports. But we have so many champions. In Canada, the system is softer.”
Evgenia Medvedeva about different approaches to training process in Russia and Canada.
original source: Ivan Abramov’s podcast
On the podcast, Evgenia Medvedeva spoke about different approaches to athletes in Russia and Canada. Here’s a translation of her comment.
“In Russia, the ‘golden sand’ works for some and not for others. There are lots of talented kids who are naturally gifted. She goes onto the ice, pushes off, raises her arm, and you just know she was born that way. And then there’s me, practicing in front of the mirror at two in the morning to make my arm look somewhat presentable because I was born with graceful lines, what can you do about it.
But sometimes such kids are so talented that everything just works out for them – it’s like they don’t have that grit because they don’t have to work very hard on everything. It’s just a part of who they are, which is normal.
It seems like we don’t try to find a specific approach for such people. If the general system doesn’t work for someone, they’re told, ‘please go away’. That’s how straightforward it is here.
But then, we have so many champions. Is it harsh? Yes. Some might even say it’s cruel in our sports. But we have so many champions.
I have experience with another system – in Canada. It’s softer there, but essentially, they also have a general system. Yes, they try to adapt a little here and there, but it’s fundamentally a universal system, just much softer.
In Russia, if you are accepted into a team, you are an athlete of a specific coaching staff; you work within that team, requirements are imposed on you, you better arrive on time, eat correctly, and if you’re injured – go to the doctors as instructed.
In Canada, on the other hand, you pay the money yourself, you decide where you want to go today – to a spinning coach or to choreography. It’s more conscious there. That’s why there are significantly fewer champions.
But when you do become a champion there, you’re usually an adult by the time you start winning in that system, and that’s impressive. ‘That’s Patrick Chan, wow!’ – and he was winning at 27 years old, 28 years old, past 30 – he was still skating.
And I retired at 22. There you decide yourself if you need to work or not, although it’s still a general system,” said Medvedeva.
Related topics: Evgenia Medvedeva
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