Alexander Zhulin: "Humility adorns"

[quiqie]

Alexander Zhulin: "Humility adorns"

http://fsrussia.ru/news/517_aleksand...pozdravlyayut/

Alexander Zhulin, coach of the Worlds bronze medalists, speaks about his pupils' potential.

AZ: I'm very pleased with their skate. I'm happy that they skated clean here, at the World championships. It's important. I think they made a huge leap forward, made a great progress, but the most important thing is that there is an absolute trust in our team between the athletes and the experts who work with them. The athletes trust us completely. It's a very important moment. Hence the result.

- Did they skate to the third place finish or was it an advance for the future?

AZ: They definitely did. But I know that Fabian was injured. I know he missed almost a month and a half of practice time. It has played a negative role. Bourzat made mistakes. Had the French skated clean, I think, we might have been fourth.

- Will the bronze medal inspire your students?

AZ: Of course. Victories bring people together and gives them wings to fly.

- Where do Bobrova and Soloviev have a room for improvement, in your opinion?

AZ: Everywhere. I could teach them endlessly… and the most important thing is, they are willing to learn. They have a great potential, it needs to be fully realized now. I am sure Sochi won't be an end to their career. I think Bobrova and Soloiev will stay for the next quad.

- Where are you going to prepare for the next season?

AZ: I will do the choreography of all programs in May. Summer camp will start in mid-June in Latvia. We'll stay there until the first of August. It's very comfortable place. We train there four years in a row already.

- Do you agree with the opinion that the Americans and the Canadians will finish 1-2 at the Games in Sochi?

AZ: No. Olympics are such a thing. It's up to God, so to speak. Everything must come together. You remember how at the Olympics seven teams fell. Like an avalanche. Because it is Olympics. Who copes psychologically, who gets the programs right - everything matters. And everything can happen. Ice is slippery. But I will be honest. I would be happy with the podium finish.

- Do you think that at this championships, the placements of the American and the Canadian teams were fair?

AZ: I'm already tired of repeating that I always preferred the Canadians, because Virtue and Moir are some kind of refinement. Completely different way of presenting the dance. I don't belittle the merits of the American duo, but Davis and White are more of athletes, and Virtue and Moir are more of artists. I always prefer artists. I repeat once again, not to diminish anything, any key point, any second, Davis and White are an amazing, brilliant team, they do everything great and with ease, but Virtue and Moir are Virtue and Moir. I simply love them.

- The Canadians lose to the Americans not for the first time this season. Why?

AZ: I don't know. I am not a judge. It must mean that we don't see the full picture.

- What can you say about your former pupils, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov?

AZ: No comment.

- It's a principle?

AZ: Absolutely. I think, that if they had not done that stupid mistake two years ago, they would be challenging for the second place now. When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror, look what is wrong with you, and do something to fix it. It is my life's principle. When a person thinks he's a genius and unique, it is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it helps in life. But I think that humility adorns. It is better when people come to you and congratulate.

[Mayra]

Someone send Virtue and Moir to Zhulin! Only partially kidding...

Sadly I think he is right on the money re: I&K.

[kwanfan1818]

What was I/K's mistake?

[Mayra]

What was I/K's mistake?

Leaving him.

[love_skate2011]

- What can you say about your former pupils, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov?

AZ: No comment.

- In principle?

AZ: Absolutely. I think, that if they had not done that stupid mistake two years ago, they would be challenging for the second place now. When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror, look what is wrong with you, and do something to fix it. It is my life's principle. When a person thinks he's a genius and unique, it is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it helps in life. But I think that humility adorns. It is better when people come to you and congratulate.

[Asli]

Thanks for the translation, quiqie!

ITA with everything Zhulin says. It is really gracious of him to say that had P&B skated clean, his students would have been fourth and to attribute the mistakes to Fabian's injury.

about his replying "no comment" about I&K and then spilling the beans with the slightest of encouragements though! However, I couldn't agree more with him.

[hanca]

Leaving him.

I don't think he had enough time for them. He was participating in some shows... The fact that he takes a dig at them when they didn't deliver doesn't necessarily mean that he is right. I don't think I-K's performance at this worlds shows the accurate level they are at now. At Europeans they skated as a completely different couple; they were brilliant. I think they just let the pressure get to them at this worlds.

[morqet]

I don't think he had enough time for them. He was participating in some shows... The fact that he takes a dig at them when they didn't deliver doesn't necessarily mean that he is right. I don't think I-K's performance at this worlds shows the accurate level they are at now. At Europeans they skated as a completely different couple; they were brilliant. I think they just let the pressure get to them at this worlds.

Yes, in a way I think losing P/B and I/K as his students in the space of a couple of weeks was the kick up the backside Zhulin needed to get his coaching act together again.

[hanca]

Yes, in a way I think losing P/B and I/K as his students in the space of a couple of weeks was the kick up the backside Zhulin needed to get his coaching act together again.

I agree, but the fact remains that if both I-K and P-B stayed with him, things may not have changed at all. I am getting slightly fed up with him having digs at I-K at every opportunity. B-S delivered; that's great, but maybe he should have bought the mirror too, as per his advice to I-K.

I love his 'no comment, but.....' (and leaves plenty of comments). If one intends to do 'no comment', they should really refrain from commenting then.

[morqet]

I agree, but the fact remains that if both I-K and P-B stayed with him, things may not have changed at all. I am getting slightly fed up with him having digs at I-K at every opportunity. B-S delivered; that's great, but maybe he should have bought the mirror too, as per his advice to I-K.

I love his 'no comment, but.....' (and leaves plenty of comments). If one intends to do 'no comment', they should really refrain from commenting then.

Oh I totally agree with you. They've moved on, he needs to do so as well.

[Taso]

Oh I totally agree with you. They've moved on, he needs to do so as well.

He seems very focused on his own students' work, and he was asked the questions, he didn't bring them up himself. The press is what needs to move on

[hanca]

He was asked question. He answered no comment. He was asked whether it is a principle (not commenting on his past students). He could have answered yes or no, but he chose to have a dig. It is not the press fault; he just decided to be bitchy.

[elif]

He was asked question. He answered no comment. He was asked whether it is a principle (not commenting on his past students). He could have answered yes or no, but he chose to have a dig. It is not the press fault; he just decided to be bitchy.

He didn't say anything bad about I&K. And of course I could be wrong -english is not my first language- but I think he is talking about why he didn't want to talk about I&K.

When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror, look what is wrong with you, and do something to fix it. It is my life's principle. When a person thinks he's a genius and unique, it is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it helps in life. But I think that humility adorns. It is better when people come to you and congratulate.

[hanca]

- It's a principle?

AZ: Absolutely. I think, that if they had not done that stupid mistake two years ago, they would be challenging for the second place now. When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror, look what is wrong with you, and do something to fix it. It is my life's principle. When a person thinks he's a genius and unique, it is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it helps in life. But I think that humility adorns. It is better when people come to you and congratulate.

He didn't say anything bad about I&K. And of course I could be wrong -english is not my first language- but I think he is talking about why he didn't want to talk about I&K.

I don't know, but it seems to me that he is blaming them for the fact that it did not work out between them. "When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror...." I would translate this as saying that the problem was in them and not him. That was really not necessary. He should move on. Skaters and a coach, that's a business relationship. The coach is not there to be their friend or father. If the business relationship does not work for either side, the relationship ends and the parties move on. Skaters do change their coach, usually a few times within their career. Some more often than others. It is normal. So why keep coming back to it and putting a blame on them still 2 years later? He is so bitter!

[AYS]

He didn't say anything bad about I&K. And of course I could be wrong -english is not my first language- but I think he is talking about why he didn't want to talk about I&K.

I think maybe you did miss the meaning due to language. I think it's quite clear with this....:

AZ: Absolutely. I think, that if they had not done that stupid mistake two years ago, they would be challenging for the second place now. When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror, look what is wrong with you, and do something to fix it. It is my life's principle. When a person thinks he's a genius and unique, it is a dangerous way of thinking. Sometimes it helps in life. But I think that humility adorns. It is better when people come to you and congratulate.

...that he is at least implying that I/K have sought to blame external issues for their lack of success and that they have lacked humility and bought into the idea that their great natural talent has ordained them as future champions. I don't know any of these people or their day-to-day situations, but from what we've seen in the performances and the snippets of comments we've seen in the press over the years, it really does appear that it has hurt I/K to be hailed as the second coming from the time they first appeared on the scene. You get the impression that the Russian Federation has handled them as the diva stars all along, while letting a team like B/S plod along, working hard, improving, and surprising everyone with their improvement and success. If you cultivate that way of thinking, it can interfere with the sense that you have to work your tail off to achieve the top, even if you are the most talented to start with.

Hard work trumps talent, hard work + talent (+ a little luck along the way) trumps all.

[Domshabfan]

I have no problem with his answers since we all love how sincere Russian coaches and athletes are when giving the answers during the interview. We don't want then to give PR answers do we

[Tak]

I don't know, but it seems to me that he is blaming them for the fact that it did not work out between them. "When you seek a cause of your problems in others, it is a beginning of an end. Buy yourself a mirror...." I would translate this as saying that the problem was in them and not him. That was really not necessary. He should move on. Skaters and a coach, that's a business relationship. The coach is not there to be their friend or father. If the business relationship does not work for either side, the relationship ends and the parties move on. Skaters do change their coach, usually a few times within their career. Some more often than others. It is normal. So why keep coming back to it and putting a blame on them still 2 years later? He is so bitter!

But maybe there's a reason for that - after they left him didnt they say bad things about him, his teaching techniques and his training regime? I remember a lot of ugly comments made. If he was in NA, he probably could/would have sued them. Those kinds of comments certainly impact his reputation as a coach, and could affect his livelihood in future. I think if it were me, I might be bitter too.

[morqet]

But maybe there's a reason for that - after they left him didnt they say bad things about him, his teaching techniques and his training regime? I remember a lot of ugly comments made. If he was in NA, he probably could/would have sued them. Those kinds of comments certainly impact his reputation as a coach, and could affect his livelihood in future. I think if it were me, I might be bitter too.

There were a lot of comments on both sides, and not just from I/K, but also Tarasova & Piseev. Everyone else now seems to have moved on though, apart from Zhulin himself.

[AYS]

There were a lot of comments on both sides, and not just from I/K, but also Tarasova & Piseev. Everyone else now seems to have moved on though, apart from Zhulin himself.

In fairness to Zhulin, he was explicitly asked about I/K in the context of what was a pretty abysmal Worlds. It's not like he just went out and randomly started spewing stuff in the off season or something.

[hanca]

To be fair, I don't think the Russian Federation was handling them as diva stars. They did win junior worlds, but to be successful at junior level in dance it is something 'normal' for Russian juniors, something to be expected. It didn't make them anything special.

junior worlds results:
2009 - 3rd Ekaterina Riazanova / Jonathan Guerreiro
2010 - 1st Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov, 3rd Ksenia Monko / Kirill Khaliavin
2011 - 1st Ksenia Monko / Kirill Khaliavin, 2nd Ekaterina Pushkash / Jonathan Guerreiro
2012 - 1st Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin, 2nd Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin
2013 - 1st Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin

I think the difference between I-K and the other young dance couples that are coming through now is in expectations that have been placed at I-K. They got into seniors at the time when Dominina/Shabalin and Khokhlova/Novitsky just retired. On one side it was a huge opportunity for them, on the other hand they were suddenly expected to get great results in seniors based on their results in juniors, which can cause a huge pressure for the skaters. They were hyped because Russian dancers have traditionally had success, so the success was expected, but it is not easy to skate under such expectations when you re a young and relatively inexperienced (at senior level inexperienced) skater.