All in Attitude!
Swimming is the first sport for one of the most popular and successful Bulgarian volleyball players, Vladimir Nikolov. It is curious that the Co-President of VC Levski trains in CSKA, showing promising talent. Nikolov made a confession in the educational studio of NSK Olimp "We will meet at the top", which has already filmed 9 episodes.
The Volleyball Ace Vladimir Nikolov: The athlete must train his strengths
The former captain of the national volleyball team shares why there is no shortcut to the top, how important the details are in training. He advises athletes to train their strengths and not waste time on their weaknesses.
Nikolov is a five-time champion of Bulgaria, of France and of Italy. He won the Champions League. He has played in five championships. With the national team, he was a bronze medalist from Japan in 2006 and fourth at the Olympic Games in London in 2012, when he was the captain of the team.
After his resignation, he became a coach at VC Levski for a short time. He is now co-president of The Club. Vlado Nikolov's school is a leading one. It started as a school for anyone who wanted to play volleyball, regardless of age, but then he also formed teams for teenagers who compete in the championships. Born on October 3, 1977 in Sofia, the father of four children is a member of the Directors Board of the National Federation and the main manager of all national teams.
"My parents believed that every child should know how to swim, which I strongly agree with. The first year I was doing basic level. Until IV grade, I trained professionally at CSKA under the late Rumen Yotsov. And I was doing pretty well on my back.
"Volleyball is a complex sport from a coordination point of view. Most important actions are performed in an unsupported position. Any child you put in the pool after the age of 5 will soon acquire swimming skills in time. In volleyball, even if he starts at 15-18, he will need at least 3 years to become good.
In volleyball, whatever you do, your victory is not dependent on you. The rare moments of genius that football or basketball players make, on the basis of merit, and manage to tilt the scales and the result in favor of their team, is difficult scenario in the sport of volleyball. You have two touches of the ball and that is if someone else has played during that time. Both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant scored 40-50-60 points and practically beat the opponent by themselves. Let's remember Maradona's raid against England at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. That can't happen in volleyball."
There is no direct way to the top, except only in the lottery. The way to the top is prose - work, work, more of the same, years of the same. Possibly 5-10 years to get somewhere.
"I'm generally stubborn by nature. I don’t give up. I define myself as analytical. I try to analyze what things work for me, which situation to improve and turn things in my favor next time.
If we're on the same team, I can't change you. I can change myself. Coaches know how to change technique or habits, but not characters and the desire to play sports and win. A person can change in a day’s notice. However, change always starts with us, and with how I can support my team at any moment - to be able to do things better, at any time."
"The higher the level, the more even the forces are when we talk about elite sports. In the Top 20 or Top 30, everyone is trained, everyone has trained properly, everyone is prepared physically, all are prepared for the competition. The difference is made by the detail.
The detail can be proper nutrition. The detail may be the rest. The detail is who will be more calm and confident, who will believe that he can achieve the results. The detail can be small non-essential concentration techniques - meditation, for example. And he will acquire 0.1 percent more than the opponent. In volleyball training, hundreds, thousands of repetitions of the same movement are practiced with the same idea - to score more points. Whoever believes that this point is the most important to him, after a certain number of years he manages to reach the top."
"In order to progress into a given field, a person must know what his possibilities are. If an athlete does not succeed, no matter how much he practices what he has no talent for, he will only somewhat improve. An elite athlete must train the inherent strengths he has and make sure that the weaknesses do not hinder his development.''
"Greats like Messi, LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton also have their problems. Their problems are simply of a different nature, though. Some athletes have problems of a sports-technical nature, others physical, and others - mental. Sometimes these are external factors. Those athletes who manage to adapt and accept problems are good. It's the right mindset that helps athletes develop."
“Practice doesn't make you perfect. Only perfect practice makes you play perfectly!" I saw this sign in the dressing room of a rugby team in France. It made a strong impression on me.
Many volleyball players do not understand how important each practice session is. Volleyball players do 200-250 training sessions a year, and if they manage to build upon at every single training session, in the end the training amount accumulated will make the difference. When you've been giving your best in a competition for years, there is nothing to fear. You got through the hard part. All that remains is pleasure. When you know you've given your maximum, you're confident and calm. Then you give your best. That confidence comes on the basis of the completed work, and that you are committed to the idea more than the opponent is.”
"In our club, we have decided that the main part of the budget goes to the young athletes. It brings us satisfaction when we achieve results in this way. For the other clubs, the immediate and quick result is important, just as the development of men's volleyball. It is the same everywhere in the world..
ABOUT THE WE WILL MEET AT THE TOP SHOW
The educational program "We will meet at the top" is being broadcasted twice a month (one week apart) on Wednesday evenings at 20:00, live on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
All shows in the series ‘We will meet at the top’ (see here)
