Russian ice dancing in the turbulence zone. In a series of reshuffles and scandals, islands of stability are especially noticeable and valuable. One of these is the dance group of coaches Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer, whose students won the Russian junior championship. In an interview with Sport, Rubleva told how to set up the current generation for victories and why skaters do not skate well against the background of fear. Sometimes with excesses, sometimes deservedly. They say that there is a crisis, and it began not after Beijing, but much earlier. What is your view on this problem?
We can overcome it, it just takes time. Now there is an obvious generational change. The two leading couples, if they have not already completed their careers, simply do not perform (Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov and Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin). The failure that occurred in their absence cannot be overlooked. These couples have been in the elite for a long time, the rest are only striving to get there. Someone has been skating together recently, someone has just moved from juniors. We have promising couples, they just need time to grow. There is no lightning-fast result in dancing.- Usually, in order to avoid such a failure, along with two experienced pairs, the federation sought to bring out some kind of young third number. For the past few years, there seemed to be no certainty with the candidates for this role. Smolkin, who in the last season pulled themselves up to the elite and, according to the regularity, should have become one of the leading Russian couples after the leaders left. According to them, the question is open, what will happen next is not yet clear.
— Anna Shcherbakova and Yegor Goncharov became the winners of the Russian Championship among juniors. As a coach, what would you like to praise them for?
— The guys have been skating in pairs not so long ago, only the second season. But the ability to work, the desire to work and a clear understanding of what they want were immediately visible. This is a very big plus. I hope they don't lose it on the way.They have matured a lot. Egor made a particularly big leap. He believed in himself. For him, this is super important, because before Anna he had a difficult history. He then lost faith in himself a little. Working with the head, talking, positive stimulation, saying some kind of obvious, but life-affirming things — all this helped.
Anya was seriously ill with covid at the beginning of the season. We were recovering for a long time, we went to Sochi, holding our fists, because there was no perfect physical shape. Much depended on them — it was necessary to get together, to strain. They did everything. Fighters and fellows, it's a pleasure to work with such athletes.
— You say interesting things. Talking a lot with dance partners, I concluded that girls usually have problems with self-confidence. Because there seem to be few boys, they are on an invisible pedestal, the coaches “lick” them. So boys have problems too?
— It happens, it's just that boys rarely talk about it. And now I doubt whether I did the right thing by telling about the great work that Yegor did on himself in this direction. In any case, I want him to know how proud we are of his progress.
— What are the problems with self-esteem in boys? We are talking about a boy in a spherical vacuum, and not about someone specific.They also go through puberty. In girls, the body suffers; in boys, the head. They sometimes get lost along the way. «Will I look good in this? Am I good enough and strong enough?» Lots of self-doubt. Coaches should constantly remind him that he is good, handsome, strong, that there is no need to be pinched and shy, you need to walk with straight shoulders.
Working with teenagers is, in principle, an interesting layer for a psychologist — at least pick it up. I love it. I'm trying to figure it out, find some working levers. I like to delve into other people's heads — I don't know if it's good or bad (laughs). There is some kind of difficult child, and I immediately think: so, what would I come up with with you so that you start working well? And an amazing journey into someone else's head begins.
— You have already had the experience of parting with students, when the guys you brought up go to other coaches. Is it really as painful from the inside as we can imagine?
It's always hard, but with experience you can find some reasons to calm down. Plus it's different. Someone comes and speaks directly, someone does not speak and leaves. You yourself send the other one with a blessing, as we had with Masha Kazakova (now she plays for Georgia with Georgy Revia — Ed. note). We could not find a partner for her, and when Gosha appeared, I told her: of course, go and use your chance, you need to skate further.
David Narizhny skated with us for four or five years and also left when a very good Liza Shanaeva appeared in the Zhuk/Pork group. We said: David, go, we don't have a good girl for you right now. The situations are different, the actions are different, but you still put your soul into them. So it sometimes hurts.
«Modern children can «stick up» such things that you get lost»
— You and Ivan Schaefer together for almost 30 years. There are not many examples when a couple first performs together, and then trains in the same composition. What is your secret to a long fruitful relationship?- As a couple, as athletes, we really went through fire, water and copper pipes. We had different periods — both positive and, due to adolescence, not so much. For 15 years, a career somehow got used to it. It is also important that we moved quite early, in fact remaining the closest people to each other. At 16 without parents in a strange city, you need someone to lean on. Summing up, it's all years and experience. Plus, we matched in temperament — he is calm and reasonable, sometimes he slows me down when necessary. Vanya is just a good person, we have confidence. It's like a brother-sister relationship. And even when we finished, there was no thought that we would run away now. We immediately decided to train together. Now I can’t imagine myself without him, and he, I think, without me.
— Who is responsible for what in your team?
br>- Ivan Alexandrovich is very clear, precise and correct in this sense, nevertheless German roots make themselves felt (laughs). All organizational moments on it. He pays a lot of attention to technology, because he has endless patience. If I work with some athlete on an element for a long time, and we don’t succeed, I start to lose my temper, Ivan Alexandrovich takes the reins of power, realizing that now there will be victims. He can monotonously and for a long time finish off some element with the athletes, and this is his invaluable plus. I have more public relations, communication, communication with parents. Sergey Sergeevich (Plishkin — Ed.) is responsible for flight, creativity and inspiration. Selection of music, staging programs — everything is on it. The kids call him «creative director».
—To what extent this inner freedom, which often does not fit into any framework, is generally compatible with big-time sports that do not exist in out of the frame?
— It's hard, but there is a nuance. When such children get into the group, they look at the elders. They understand: yeah, the elders don’t allow themselves some things, which means, probably, we shouldn’t do them either. That is, passion and interest willy-nilly turn on in the working atmosphere, and they build these frameworks for themselves. And then these frameworks really work.
— I read that you were having a hard time missing out on the 2010 Olympics. Can you tell me more about this experience? Now I don't have any regrets anymore, the gestalt is closed.
strong>— How often do athletes return in their thoughts to some missed opportunities and mistakes that have become life-changing?
“I don’t have any mistakes left that I would return to, and with their presence in my memory they would prevent me from living. But if you think hypothetically and from the position of a coach, you definitely need to talk with an athlete who has survived a difficult situation. Not to reproach my former coaches, I sometimes wanted more feedback from them. Therefore, I now try to never deprive my children of this.
— As a figure skater, I especially remember you for what is also called radiance. This is also evident in personal communication. Is it natural charm or learning?
— I'm basically an attention-loving person. Competition for me is partly exciting, but first of all, the pleasure of being able to appear to the audience. Full stands, everyone is looking at me — this is a delight and super! We have had different periods in our careers when we knew that there are political games that we do not fall into — with obvious consequences for us. And for the last two seasons, we completely let it go and just went for a ride. Just because we love it so much. And I can say that stability came instantly. It is always important to shift the focus to creativity and process. The attitude: «You have to make these twizzles, and if you don't, we'll pull your legs out» — so-so motivation. I personally rode fear badly. And for the majority it is so.