YURI MELNYCHUK: "FROM THIS ROOM SOMEONE CAN GET TO THE TEAM"

Gazprom-Ugra left the cycle of general physical pre-season training and started working with balls. Very soon - from the ship to the ball - the team will land in Minsk, where he will play at the traditional tournament in memory of Lev Chaylytko (Honored Builder of Belarus), after which he will go to St. Petersburg, at the Vyacheslav Platonov Memorial. It is in these friendly games that the renewed Surgut team will look for its new face, preparing for the start of the official season. On the eve of these events, we spoke with the senior coach of the Gazprom-Yugra VC Yuri Melnichuk - about, How are preparations going for the season?, how does the team live?, what are the prospects like.

– Yuri Vladimirovich, let's go back a little, by the time the team is formed. Everything is very similar to a full-fledged reboot - seventy percent of the composition has changed. This is a consequence of a number of situational decisions or the implementation of some strategy?

– After the season, Rafael Talgatovich and I discussed the further development of the club. The team spent two years in the same composition, with minor changes, – and didn’t make it to the playoffs. Were close, but nonetheless. Decided, that we need to give people the opportunity, who played here for a long time and who had interesting offers, express yourself in different conditions. There were older players, for whom it was not easy to stay in Surgut. So to speak: a set of situational solutions fit into the update strategy.

– What is this strategy??

– We needed guys with ambitions, who have something to prove. We don't have any star names right now, except, may be, Mateya Mouzaia, yes he too, by and large, still young and in growth stage. The first criterion is that the players have arrived, to help ourselves. And through this - help the team. Many have not been implemented to date, but everyone has prospects for development. Guys hungry for success, they want and can achieve it.

– How did the first stage of preparation for the season go??

– Now we have just left the stage of general physical training, it took three weeks to lay the foundation. Prepared here, Surgut. Very lucky with the weather: there was practically no rain. So we completed the entire program, and they worked hard at the stadium, and ran through the forest. There is a very difficult segment ahead: starting from 25 October, and by the end of November we have to play 11 matches, eight in the championship and three in the semi-finals of the Russian Cup. This is a very big load, and you need to be prepared for it, first of all, physically.

– During the preparation process, libero Artem Zelenkov left the team. Who will play in this position?

– We have Grigory Dragunov, our local guy, there is Nikita Kozlov, We are also preparing Alexey Karpenko for this position. There is competition, there is someone to play, Don't worry.

– There is also a free legionnaire seat. We keep it in reserve or the team does not need reinforcement?

– Time will show. I would like, of course, so that our guys grow up and rise up. It's more interesting. G, by the way, If we talk about our guys, I can introduce you to a new coach, my assistant Anton Malyshev. Last season he played for us as a libero., has now moved to a new status. I think, he should succeed.

- Let's get back to preparation. Known, that Rafael Talgatovich pays great attention to the physiological state of the players. And now there is no one on the team weighing more than a hundred kilograms...

– Yes, this summer many made a great effort on themselves, to meet the requirements. The players understand perfectly well, that this is being done for their own benefit, for their health. When an athlete weighs 120-130 a kilogram rises into the air 150-200 once per game - this is potentially dangerous for the knees, and for the back. But a sports career is only part of life, everyone wants to stay healthy after it ends, so this is work, aimed at improving the quality of life in general.

I’ll say more - many guys purposefully went to Surgut, to Rafael Talgatovich, knowing, how he deals with the players, what effect does this give?. I can give an example of Alexey Pluzhnikov, who lost weight by more than twenty kilograms over the summer. The rest also return to normal according to their body mass index.. Weight is just one indicator, the overall situation is changing, internal organs function better, blood supply improves, brain function and so on.

– Why do such changes occur??

– First of all - nutrition. This is the cornerstone. What a way of life, gentle loads on the same joints, yoga. The latter is optional, but many people come to the hall at seven in the morning, because they see the effect and understand, that they need it.

– Last question: what kind of volleyball will the updated Gazprom-Yugra play??

– The game is always under construction, based on the capabilities of specific players. We don't have Musersky on the team, no big central ones, all players are of fairly average height by volleyball standards. Therefore, we will practice speed volleyball, play more defensively, from the reception, we will try to create pressure on the supply. Emphasis on team play, Today in volleyball one person does not win, team wins.

Now it’s too early to talk about any tactical schemes, we just started working with the ball. We will try to get into good shape through a large number of upcoming friendly games. At this stage it is important to see, how will the guys interact with each other?, what you need to work on next.

Overall I think, that we have a good team, ambitious, and we must please the Surgut fans this year. Surgut deserves it, there are good traditions here, many players wore their national team jersey here. I think, that from this composition someone may well make this journey.