Sergei Dudakov: Eteri Georgievna is a very demanding person, first of all to herself

Interview with Sergei Dudakov. About work with Eteri Tutberidze and her group.

by Olga Ermolina for fsrussia.ru dd.24, February 2019.

Sergei Viktorovich, do you remember your first meeting with Tutberidze? What impression did Eteri Georgievna make then?

– The impression of a person with a powerful energy. This is felt immediately. Strong, strong-willed, fair. A great professional who has everything clear and precise. Eteri Georgievna is a very demanding person. First of all to herself. And you understand that you cannot and should not let her down, let your team down. You must meet these requirements.

You have been working with Tutberidze for years. Can we say that she helps both athletes and coaches to reveal their potential?

– Of course. This applies to all the coaches of our group – Daniel Gleikhengauz and Sergei Rozanov. As for me, I always say that I found myself in the profession thanks to Eteri Georgievna and I owe her a lot. I learned a lot from her, how to work with children, what can I say to this or that child.

Coach is a universal profession. The coach must be a psychologist, teacher, match the sports profile of training. Moreover, the coach must be a specialist of a wide profile, because we work with small athletes and we work with adults. And these are different things. At some moments we replace their parents, because children spend more time at the rink than at home. They come to the rink at 9am and leave at 8 pm. We spend the whole day together and also talk, explain what is good, what is bad. Of course, work with parents is also important. Some things we have to be smooth out. So we must be wise, far-sighted, be able to see what will happen next, and sometimes demand what needs to be done right now.

It seems to me that even according to the programs of your athletes, we can see how much Tutberidze and coaches of your group feel each skater.

– Eteri Georgievna is a creative person, and when there is a process of preparing new programs she knows exactly what will work for each skater. There are moments when she shares her ideas about future programs, but at the same time she can say “It is not the time yet, we need to wait, he isn’t ready for this program.”

Eteri Georgievna told that the program about the living Picasso’s painting “The Girl on the Ball” for Kamila Valieva was born spontaneously. One morning she woke up with a consistent picture Picasso – “The Girl on the Ball” – Camila …

– This proves that Eteri Georgievna feels her skaters nicely and deeply.

How do you think what makes Tutberidze work with such energy?

– She just works. She wants to be the best in her profession. I see it every day. Since 2011, from the moment I began working with this group Eteri Georgievna did not miss a single training session. She is always at work. She can come to the rink right from the airport with a suitcase. She’s dedicated to her work and to her children – athletes. And always fights for them.

Tutberidze off the ice, what is she like?

– A human. I would even say – Human. Generous. Fair. Honest. Reliable. She will come ho help at the first call. The call – and she will took off without any questions. And so do we for her.

Related topics: Eteri Tutberidze