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„Alessandro can be Pitbull again!“
Italy’s new head coach Paolo Bernardi had a turbulent season, with big highlights such as Samuel Costa’s record jump in Val di Fiemme but also challenges like the difficult situation for Italian team leader Alessandro Pittin. For TUESDAY TALK, Bernardi looked back on the past season, talked about his passion for Nordic Combined and give a glimpse into the work behind the scenes before the new season.
As a former Nordic Combined athlete, how did it feel to return to the discipline as a coach?
Paolo Bernardi: It felt great, I belong to Nordic Combined. I'm always thrilled to see how an athlete can perform in two so different „arts“!
However, the first season as the Italian head coach was not an easy one for you. What would you say was the biggest challenge you had to face?
Bernardi: My biggest challenge was to build a relationship with all the guys. We had to face a late season start and you need some time to build something stable. You need time to gain the trust of the athletes. The season was clearly full of ups and downs but at the end I was satisfied. Now the road is one and the same for everybody and the staff and the athletes are driving in the same direction.
Italian team leader Alessandro Pittin had a horrible good season last year. What is the plan for him over the summer now?
Bernardi: Alessandro is focussing on making his jumping part more stable right now. He needs to be happy again on top of the jump and then he will be Pittbull again!
The development of Samuel Costa surely was a ray of light on the horizon. How satisfied are you with him and what kind of potential does he have for future seasons?
Bernardi: Samuel was the light of my season for sure! He's a great jumper and the work he did with his past coaches was already good. When you have a jumper like him, it is much easier to fix some details that can change the level of performance. For him, it is important to keep this level and of course even increase it in the jumping part. The plan is to keep him healthy and to help him to close the gap in the cross-country part without affecting the jumping side.
Can you tell us a bit about what kind of camps are planned for the team in the next weeks and months?
Bernardi: This year we will change a bit the training plan, with less camps than last year. We will try to train in more venues than last year, so we will have months with 2 camps and months with just one but for a longer duration. We will use Predazzo for the training in between the camps.
Source: fis-ski.com
As a former Nordic Combined athlete, how did it feel to return to the discipline as a coach?
Paolo Bernardi: It felt great, I belong to Nordic Combined. I'm always thrilled to see how an athlete can perform in two so different „arts“!
However, the first season as the Italian head coach was not an easy one for you. What would you say was the biggest challenge you had to face?
Bernardi: My biggest challenge was to build a relationship with all the guys. We had to face a late season start and you need some time to build something stable. You need time to gain the trust of the athletes. The season was clearly full of ups and downs but at the end I was satisfied. Now the road is one and the same for everybody and the staff and the athletes are driving in the same direction.
Italian team leader Alessandro Pittin had a horrible good season last year. What is the plan for him over the summer now?
Bernardi: Alessandro is focussing on making his jumping part more stable right now. He needs to be happy again on top of the jump and then he will be Pittbull again!
The development of Samuel Costa surely was a ray of light on the horizon. How satisfied are you with him and what kind of potential does he have for future seasons?
Bernardi: Samuel was the light of my season for sure! He's a great jumper and the work he did with his past coaches was already good. When you have a jumper like him, it is much easier to fix some details that can change the level of performance. For him, it is important to keep this level and of course even increase it in the jumping part. The plan is to keep him healthy and to help him to close the gap in the cross-country part without affecting the jumping side.
Can you tell us a bit about what kind of camps are planned for the team in the next weeks and months?
Bernardi: This year we will change a bit the training plan, with less camps than last year. We will try to train in more venues than last year, so we will have months with 2 camps and months with just one but for a longer duration. We will use Predazzo for the training in between the camps.
Source: fis-ski.com
