05. Oktober 2007  
Cologne / Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

FIG Coach Academy Level 3 in Cologne

Valeri LIUKIN (USA),
one of the lector in Cologne

This week  ended the course of the FIG Coach Academy Level 3 which was held at the German Sports University in Cologne from 25th September to 2nd October. This is the highest level of coach education in the Academy Program of the International Federation: Only eight Academies were held worldwide at this level until now.
21 coaches took part at this course, representing from nine nations, from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.
Former Soviet star and at the current times coach in USA, Valeri LIUKIN, was one of the prominent lectors ...

Participants of the F.I.G. Coach Academy Course 2007 in Cologne, Germany

Working atmosphere ...

F.I.G. Coach Academy Level 3 in Cologne
- Cologne, Germany, September 25 - October 02 -

The other F.I.G. experts who taught in Cologne, were:
- Prof. Dr. Gerd-Peter Brüggemann (Biomechanics),
- Dr. Keith Russel (medical)
- Dr. Jörg Fetzer (training theory)
- Dr. Thomas Heinen (psychology)
- Edouard Yarov (Men's artistic gymnastics)
- Dr. Zsuzsanna Kalmár (women's artistic gymnastics) and just
- Valery Liukin (women's artistic gymnastics) .

Valeri LIUKIN and his former coach Eduard YAROV

It was the first time ever that Valeri Liukin - one of the currently most successful coaches in the world - and Eduard Yarov , who was the coach of Valery to former Soviet times and helped him to do some of the most exciting skills in Gymnastics like the triple back somersault on floor,  taught together.
(The world premiere of the triple back on floor was 20 years ago, at the XVII. European Championships in Moscow, 1987, May 23rd..)

Even if they hadn’t spoken about techniques during the last 15 years, as Valeri said, it was pretty clear for the participants that both of them have almost the same concepts of modern gymnastics techniques.

Eduard YAROV, docent in Cologne....

During the closing ceremony Hardy Fink (CAN), the Director of the F.I.G. Coach Academy, stated “... in all the Academies at all levels the best participant was always a women… until now”.
Niklas Heckscher from Sweden (women's coach) could break this “tradition” and got the highest mark of all participants.

All the eleven participants ran for the coach brevet of the FIG and 8 of them could achieve it, so that right now a little bit more than 70 coaches have this brevet all over the world (33 MAG and 41 WAG).

Dr. Flavio Bessi, the member of the German Technical Committee who is in charge of coach education, thanked the F.I.G. Experts in the name of German hosts.
Most of the coaches are totally satisfied and are flying home with new knowledge and a big portion of motivation for their work. It is quiet probably that they will be seen in the next years by World, European and Pan-American Championships.
* GYMmedia;
* Photos by Pedro Roque (POR)