The upcoming season means a sea-change for Czech coach Vladimir Smid. For ten long years, he has assisted the respective head coaches, from Libor Foltman to Bohuslav Razl, Ludek Sablatura and Ladislav Rygl. From the next winter on, he stands on his own as the head coach of the Czech team.

„I take it as a challenge“, the 37-year-old says in an interview with the Czech Ski Federation. „I have worked with the team for so long, so I have experience to build on. The biggest challenge I see is the lack of athletes. At the moment, we have only two who can compete on the World Cup, Miroslav Dvorak and Tomas Portyk. This must change“, Smid says. Besides his two stars, he is also responsible for Peter Kutal and Martin Zeeman on the national team.

In this light, Smid opted for a joint preparation with the junior group which is coached by Marek Sablatura. „We believe that our system connecting the national team with the boys born 98/99 will work and we will be able to create a bigger team in two year’s time“, the head coach explains with special reference to the World Championships in 2017 and the next Olympics in 2018. The joint training will take place until October when the teams split into the different groups, attending the World and Continental Cup.

Next to the small number of athletes, Smid has to face a second big challenge in his new job: his own health problems with outgrowth on the vertebrae and herniated discs. „Lifting athletes during practice and long car journeys certainly did not help“, Smid pointed out. He had to undergo a cervical spine surgery to fix the issues. „I hope it will heal quickly. Over the summer, I have to take it easy but in the autumn, I will hopefully be fully fit. But I must say, I felt better leaving the hospital then when I got there.“

With the hope that the same fate will not happen to Marek Sablatura who will have to do all jumping imitations in the trainings now, Smid lists the upcoming training camps: a 14-day jumping camp in Ramsau am Dachstein, Lomice and Poland, Livigno in early July, summer national championships in Liberec on July 18.

Under Smid’s guidance, the training will not change significantly. „I will try to develop something that is already working. I certainly do not want to completely reinvent everything. I have been a coach for this team for 10 years and I know which styles of training work.“ As a former athlete and long-time coach, Smid is also not afraid about his authority. „I am not the one who will yell at them. It’s all about the right kind of communication and explaining what you want. It’s important to set rules, yes, but the athletes themselves must know what they want and where they want to go. Without that, you can’t be successful.“  

Source: fis-ski.com