All in Attitude!
Neshka Robeva:
The school doesn’t develop skills, which the sport must complete
There are many invaluable lessons of Neshka Robeva, that young coaches and athletes can learn from. The advice shared in ‘We will meet at the top’ Episode 2 related to the contestant's education and intelligence is among them.
Mrs. Robeva needs no introduction, but we still will make a short business card for our young viewers. Her name is associated with the greatest successes of national rhythmic gymnastics and "golden girls" - Iliana Raeva, Anelia Ralenkova, Lili Ignatova, Dilyana Georgieva, Maria Petrova…, as well as the development of her sport in the last 25 years of the 20th century on a global scale . She herself is a medalist of planetary championships.
An exceptional workaholic and creator, Neshka Robeva fills the halls, and as a choreographer she is creating folk dance performances. She is a socialite with an extremely apparent sense of justice.
"The Intellect is of special importance for the athlete. He may be competent or outstanding in some areas, but he has this intelligence that helps him in his kind of sport.
Developing certain qualities, attention, peripheral vision, split attention, dexterity - these are all qualities that require a developed intellect.
I have noticed in recent years that our education does not develop certain qualities in children. I find it difficult to explain to a child how to analyze a movement, to dismember that movement.
I tell the kids that I would be proud of myself if I could teach them to learn! Do not repeat! If he learns an exercise, if he knows it, he will be able to control himself during a competition so that he does not make mistakes.
And today's children can’t even come to this concept of analysis. They don't have that mindset. They don't know how to allocate their attention. Equipment is flying… I trained with my eyes closed. My girls, they were throwing and catching clubs.
Modern children are used to the ready-made. Uncle Google lays ready. And who cares about children's intelligence now? I read a lot as a child, but not the literature that was forced upon me.
Helping my granddaughter with online literature studies, I realize how little children know. How wrongly they teach them and burden them with things that will not do their job. But school doesn't develop skills that sport needs to complete.
And so sport falls to this responsible task. But not one as to get a medal and decorate the walls. And to prepare the child to first have a goal, to strive for this goal. Not to the mirage medal.
The first goal is to learn to make successful moves. To learn a combination of exercises and so the medal comes by itself. Every day to overcome, learn a combination of exercises. To achieve a result and the medal comes by itself.
Children do not understand the process. It should be clear to the coaches. And parents should trust the coaches. Our parents give a lot of wisdom. Because, as they used to say that in Bulgaria everyone understands football and medicine, now they say that everyone understands sports and medicine."
"It's good for kids to have more skills to keep them interested and developing. They cannot be like hooded horses. This is my experience. Great achievements happen where there is a richer common culture. I included in the classes ballet, folk dances, modern dances. I went back to athletics, swimming."
"An athlete's motivation is related to character. If a competitor is motivated by his parents and a parent talks him medals, medals. Sports is not that. Otherwise brought up in sports. I tried to educate. Sports should prepare you for life. To fight mostly with yourself. Then you will conquer the whole world. The hardest thing is to overcome yourself.
You can take something from each competitor or athlete. As long as you search for it.
"The coach must know his athletes extremely well. I have never allowed anyone else to announce the draw, management or offers to exchange. I always said it was their own luck. For Anelia Ralenkova 1984, I was the coach, I can handle both good and bad luck. And with this first number, she became the first.
I have not allowed anyone else to stand by my athletes in difficult moments.
I wanted them to know that I shared their failure. With three equally prepared competitors, each ready to be a champion, I was always next to the one who lost. Everyone is with the one who won. And I stick to the loser."
I was fortunate enough to work with the right people, at the right time, in the right place. I had the conditions to develop myself professionally. I also had the confidence, as I didn't depend on how many parents would come to the events or what fee will they charge.
Coaching is a terribly hard profession. It is such an ungrateful one. However, she is Fate. The coach must be able to overcome all difficulties, to live with the sport. Sport requires professionalism, especially in rhythmic gymnastics, but also knowledge in other areas - music, dance, art, drama, acting. In swimming, there are other components that must be studied.
For the coach, he should not think about where to go with this coaching salary? Will they close the hall tomorrow? There is no state policy in sports. It all falls on the coach.
After all, a coach must be born for coaching. To endure absolutely all adversity until the time comes, and it may not come when he will be big.
"Now the children take them to the hall at the age of 3. I ask the parents: "Are you wearing diapers?". Why is that? Our young coaches introduced such requirements for 8-year-olds, in order to do them, they must have started at 6 years of age. You can achieve it at 8, but is it in accordance with the anatomy, the psyche. In sports, there is no medical supervision, as it should. We cannot place burdens, the athlete must live his childhood.
One of the most valuable tips as a coach she receives from Ivan Abadjiyata. She considers the Pope of bars as his teacher. And the most valuable advice is to protect her graduates from stardom. He gave it to her after the European Championships in 1980, when our gymnasts won everything.
Abadjiev's valuable advice for Robeva is this: "Neshka, every time you go to a big competition, come up with something new to surprise them. If you can't, come up with a new tricot and costumes."
Robeva is adamant that the coach should never be complacent, that he cannot be reached, especially in this day and age, where everything is instantly available on the Internet. It can be viewed from different angles and analyzed.
"There is luck in sports, but it is one percent. However, there is no "today I have a day, tomorrow I don't" in training. You have to carry out your plan every day. It doesn't matter if you do it in 3 hours or 6 hours, you just overcome and move forward," the famous trainer is categorical
There is no way if being in a studio led by swimming coaches, you will not ask Mrs. Robeva a question related to the blue sport. She reveals that the only exam for which they interceded in VIF (now NSA) was the practical one in swimming. She had left it for last.
“I started in this corner of the pool and ended up in that one. I'm like an iron, laughs Robeva. - I choked. I was brave, I learned to swim in the Danube. But once it dragged… After the first drowning I gave up.”
The educational show "We'll meet at the top" is being broadcasted twice a month (one week apart) on Wednesday evening at 20:00, live on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
All shows in the series ‘We will meet at the top’ (see here).
