Rafael Arutyunyan: “Samodelkina certainly has many advantages. But there’s a problem: she hasn’t been raised to have a long career in sports. A complete reboot is necessary. Is she ready for this?”
Rafael Arutyunyan on further collaboration with Sofia Samodelkina
original source: Sports
Sofia Samodelkina who switched to the Kazakhstan team, went to the USA to train with Rafael Arutyunyan. In a conversation with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Arutynyan specified the conditions for further collaboration with the athlete. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Sofia indeed came for a consultation; she spent almost three weeks with us. We got acquainted, and I gave her some initial recommendations.
However, talking about long-term collaboration, it’s a very lengthy project – it will take more than a year. If her federation is ready to commit to this, then we are open for collaboration; our doors are not closed. But if they think that Arutyunyan will quickly work some kind of miracle, then it’s better not to engage in this at all.
A radical change in the approach to work will be required. It’s one thing to work with a little girl who jumps around, and quite another to guide an adult athlete whose mindset needs to be different.
She certainly has many advantages. She knows how to enter competitions, gather herself, and perform at her maximum. She’s simply a fighter, pulling off jumps that others wouldn’t save. She has unique qualities – otherwise, would she have made it to this day?
But there’s a problem: she hasn’t been raised to have a long career in sports. A complete reboot is necessary because her career was practically over and then suddenly, there was this new twist. Now it’s necessary to decide what to do next with her training and her body. Is she ready for this? Only she and her team know,” said Arutyunyan in a conversation with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva.
Related topics: Rafael Arutyunyan, Sofia Samodelkina
Rafael is just negotiating a long-term contract with the Kazakh federation;)
@Shazza Irrelevant. There are many things that various people have said to me privately that I would freak out about if they were said to the media.
@Daniel You make a good point, but then he is using Samodelkina, his student, to make his critique of Russian coaching. Leave the skater out of it. I don’t think hiring a coach should mean your coach’s opinion of you and your previous training should be shared with the world. Even if he is skating-famous, successful, etc.
Judith, I don’t think Arutyunyan has told the press here anything he hasn’t told the athlete herself first.
@Judith: Why? Its nothing against her, but against her past coaches. It’s good that everyone will see that in Russia young skaters are just consumer goods.
Mr Arutunian, why do you have to deliver this judgment in public? I’m sure this skater will see or hear about your remarks which can only increase the pressure on her. Why not keep such comments between the two of you or others she may need or want to involve? Leave the media out of it.