“Short track is a contact sport, so a lot can happen in one race, so it’s hard to predict. For example, in Dordrecht, the Dutch and South Koreans were not in the top three women’s relay in the finals, which made our task easier. However It helped the girls self-confidence that they won second place on their own, because there were no falls or disqualifications in the final,” Gooch told MTI about the best Hungarian result of the championship season. He noted that the change in the relay order is bearing fruit, which is also important because perhaps in the future the competitors will not be afraid or will be less afraid of trying something out of the ordinary. He stressed that “such results are necessary to believe in the work done.”
In the Dutch city, the fastest player of the Hungarian team, Petra Yaszabty, was not a finalist. Gooch justified this by saying that the permanent arrangement makes things easier for the opponent on the one hand tactically, and on the other hand, he paired a competitor who will find the fastest player from the Netherlands in the semi-final and the Canadian in the final, because the competitors there take turns destroying other substitutions. Jászapáti, on the other hand, managed to maintain this pace, thus putting her teammates in a better position, and Zsófia Kónya took advantage of this to get through the final, which eventually resulted in a silver medal.
“However, it would be very difficult for Petra to bring in the damage and then get over,” said Gooch, who discussed the change with his students.
Gooch emphasized that an important part of his coaching philosophy is to ask the competitors’ opinions and treat them as partners.
“Skaters are not just competitors, they are also people. My goal is to help them and give them space for their off-court activities. I strengthen their virtue in them, because this is the source of self-confidence, which is essential in order to compete. For me, this is a dialogue that competitors want to achieve their goals. Of course The final decision is mine, because it will never be a good thing for everyone,” said Gooch, who took the job as he knew the members of the Hungarian women’s team well. He served as captain of the British team when Sándor Liu Shaolin’s partner was Elise Christie, so short track speed skaters from the two countries trained a lot together in Budapest.
As a competitor, the three-time European champion and Olympic bronze medal coach revealed that in his first year he focused on developing mentally and tactically. Technically, only a few small changes were necessary, thanks to Lina Csang Csing’s decade-long work with the Hungarian national team, Competitors are highly qualified in this field.
“There are talented peers on the team who have great potential for success. I tell them often that they shouldn’t be afraid of mistakes and falls. If something doesn’t work in one race, you can think about what could be done differently next time. But if they don’t try, they won’t learn.” “That’s why I’m not mad at them if they make mistakes. I give them the freedom on the track to try. Every great competitor has had mental preparation,” Gooch said.
The 50-year-old pro added that he also had to get to know the girls better, who likes the type of training and competition tactics, and what their physique looks like.
“It doesn’t work out as if the training program is here and that is it. Competitors with different physiques react differently to different training sessions. I also had to figure out what works best for whom. Next year, knowing that, we will also try to progress physically,” she summarized. The plans of Gooch, who says that in the long term, the most important thing will be to increase the current number from five people to at least six, since it is impossible for Petra Jászapáti to participate in every race.
Last year’s Olympic bronze medalist in the mixed relay and this year’s European bronze medalist in the 1000m He thought he could compete physically with the best, Technically at top speed He has a slight problem with the leading position, which he’s working on Now the two weeks left until the World Cup in Seoul.
“In Petra’s case too, the focus is on mental preparation, so that she believes in herself, that she can get the best, not just the final B, which is really frustrating for her. She’s not always able to perform at the same level in competition as in training. , where you’re usually faster. That can be a mental hurdle, but he’s getting better at this one too, as evidenced by his national peak in the 500m semi-final in Dordrecht,” Gooch noted. The 24-year-old Jászapáti has covered 47k His previous record was with a time of 42.645 seconds. “Now you can see that he is capable of it. But he has to set the best time in the quarter-finals in order to be on a good track in the semi-finals, because it is very difficult to get to the final from the starting fourth place where he started in Dordrecht.”
With regard to the World Cup, which will conclude its first season and be held between March 10 and 12, he said that the fifth place in the World Cup as a whole is currently realistic for the relay team, because the Dutch, South Korean and Canadian national teams. The trio is faster than them, but if they miss, a medal is possible. Individually, he is hopeful that Jászapáti can reach the final.
Gooch described: “Although the World Cup is still behind us, overall it’s been a good start. It would be nice to become a regular in the Final Four next year, but the ultimate goal is to win a medal at the 2026 Olympics.” Planned development curve.
(MTI)
