 |
 |
 |
|
| hard at work.. |
 |
| supporting Riva. |
| Previous Athletes of the Year |
| Roberto Riva |
| Previous Features: |
| Luca D'Alisera |
| Roberto Riva |
| Tammy Bryant |
| Tanja Romano |
| More interviews here: |
|
||||
|
||||
| Q1: Can you tell us a little about your background in roller sports as a skater, prior to becoming a professional coach? | ||||
|
I
started skating at the age of
5. I showed some potential when I was very young and I
won some Italian competitions. But when I was teenager, I did
not skate very hard because I was also very interested in
tennis and football. Moreover, in that period, there were some
very good athletes I competed against, such as Mr.Guerra
(Sandro) and Kokorovec (Samo)…..! I
have also skated with a partner for 5 years, obtaining good
national results but, on my way,
I had to meet with “Patrick Venerucci”…..
I stopped skating at the age of 16 because I had some physical
problems, but nobody cried!!! |
||||
| Q2: What is your greatest strength? Figures / Freestyle / Choreography? | ||||
| My greatest strength are figures following by freestyle and choreography. | ||||
| Q3: Of the three disciplines mentioned, which is your favorite? | ||||
| I have not a favorite discipline: I like very much to teach figures, freestyle and choreography respectively. | ||||
| Q4: As a coach, do you find that mentally you are exhausted when at a National, or world championship? Do you find coaching a stressful job? | ||||
|
I think that sometimes a national championship is mentally more exhausting (such as in 1999 with Sabrina Pizzi and in 2000 with Pietro Mazzetti); instead with Roberto Riva I find it more exhausting at the world championships. This year however, I think it will not be the same!! (Jayson: Does this mean it will be even more stressful as he approaches one of the greatest battles we've seen in decades? Roberto vs Luca) Coaching is sometimes very stressful, especially for those like me who has another job (I have a firm with my parents), but for me skating is a passion and gives me a lot of satisfactions: the efforts are very often repaid! |
||||
| Q5: How important is the 'off skate' work for an artistic skater? | ||||
| “Off skate” is very important for all skaters since they are very young for the coordination and for the older skaters “off skate” is very useful to increase strength. | ||||
| Q6: Are there any basic 'off skate' exercises you would recommend for a skater? | ||||
| I recommend to jump a lot without roller-skates. | ||||
| Q7: At what age do you think a skater should compete at world level, regardless of ability? | ||||
| I think that a skater should compete at word level from the age of eighteen years old for the women, and from nineteen years old for men. (Jayson: This leaves a big question in my mind regarding Junior World meets) | ||||
| Q8: How do you think roller sports can sell itself to the world? | ||||
| Well, I think that roller sports should try to have more visibility in mass media in order to find some sponsors interested to invest in them. | ||||
| Q9: What inspires you as a coach when working with skaters each year when it comes time to make choreography? | ||||
| I try to find always something different, possibly the opposite as to I made the year before. | ||||
| Q10: What would be the ultimate highlight for you as a coach? | ||||
| I would like to win a senior world championship. | ||||
| Q11: Is Roberto always so good? Does he ever fall in training? We never seem to see him make a mistake!! | ||||
| Roberto is a very good and serious skater, and during the training he falls very frequently, fortunately near the competitions he falls much less… | ||||
| Q12: What is your personal message to skaters and coaches around the world? | ||||
|
Personal
message from Michele: "I recommend to all coaches not to stress a lot their skaters: we need them!!." |
||||
|
Michele's
message could interpreted in two ways: (jokes) 1) Coaches - Don't stress your kids out! 2) Coaches - Don't work your kids too hard!! I think most skaters will agree with No.1 :) |
||||
|
Special thanks to Michele Terruzzi for participating in this interview. |
MICHELE
TERRUZZI - Top Italian Coach. 