okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Halden's new trainer
Halden SK hired a new club trainer and I came across an interview with him in a Finnish newspaper (Swedish language, so I could read it!). Halden SK hired Kari Arponen, who has some experience as an O' trainer, but is known as a skier. He has run only six O' races. Here are a few translated bits of the interview:
"Orienteering feels like more of a challenge than skiing. You have to combine thinking, technique and physical strength. Anything can happen. And it is still an amateur sport, there is a lot that can be developed."
"They [Halden SK] are already the best in the work, but you can't stand still and forget to develop. 'Tyytvyvaesyys pysaeyttaeae kehityksen' as they say in Finnish."
"...Most of what I've learned has been through hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of discussions with athletes, leaders and trainers."
One strength of Halden is the good training terrain and that almost all of the runners live in the town. That makes things easier for the club's trainer. That the club in a town of 27,000 has bought its way to the top...Arponen denies.
"We don't have money. It is about quality, good organization and activities. The will to become better, the heart and the love of the sport is what drives...."
posted by Michael |
1:23 PM
