Interview with Nikolay Karpol part. 2

In the book you said that the biggest reserves in methodology of training are in psychology. Since then passed twelve years. What has changed, where is psychology in sports now? Are reserves you talked about exhausted or maybe they haven’t been even introduced?
- We have already seen the big things. But, probably they haven’t been even cut into. Do you know what’s the point? Not just to understand the head but to get through to human heart. That is base, backbone, foundation of the motivation. In that sense, psychology is almost untouched.

What have you done to get through to human heart?
- Lot of things. It’s not for the public. But, I can tell you that it should be done every day. With people you need to work in a way to wake up conscience in them. That is pedagogue. That is psychology.

How much is conscience an advantage and how much a disadvantage in the sports today?
- Nevertheless, it’s advantage.

After all simulating penalties, playing with hand and other cheatings, you still say that conscience is advantage?
- The thing is that coach cannot exchange conscience for money. Today, many want to solve all the questions with money. No. Conscience needs to be roused, waken up. You need to get person to be interested in something, to do whatever he or she does because he or she loves it, to be responsible in front of people and in front of him or herself. Conscience.

All these years, how much have you succeeded to help players to bear the pressure? Responsibility in front of audience can be scary, tremendous pressure. Have you found cure for that or that is just incurable?
- Every player knows what is his responsibility as a professional and what as a man, person. As a professional, player is responsible to himself, team, trainer, and as a person to fans, people, audience.

How much have fans changed since you became trainer till today, or in the last ten years?
- Today, fans go to the game like on the show. Many don’t know volleyball, don’t understand volleyball. It’s not the same that 15 or 20 percent of people go to see volleyball like they’re going on the show and don’t know how many times is allowed to play the ball.

And, what do you think is better, that they are on the volleyball even they don’t know basic rules or not at all?
- It’s better that they are here. They’ll learn.

As factories fight for customers, sports fight for fans, which are actually customers. Are you satisfied with what volleyball on global level is doing to win those fans?
- White collars are doing it wrong. Many people who work in federations are not professionals and that’s the reason for poor effort in attracting fans. The best in that were Japanese. Today, Brazil is doing good work as well as China, Russia is not bed, Japan is still good. And the best is Poland. Phenomenal! They have tradition and they saved it. On European championship in 2009, on games of inferior, uninteresting teams, in gym that can take 12.000 people were 6.000 spectators. That is great accomplishment. Before, in Japan was like that, but it’s not any more. Interest declined because the quality of teams and players decreased. People that are not professionals are not capable to keep the interest of fans for volleyball.

How much it meant to you to be accepted in Hall of Fame? Was it just another plaquettes?
- That is official recognition for what I have done in volleyball. I think that, of 100 percent of people that deserved to be in Hall of Fame, 99 percent are there. Because they did something for volleyball. To be there is big honor for me. Big honor.

What Doug Beal and the rest say, why volleyball in America never outgrew faculties and became professional sport like basketball and football?
- And why would volleyball at all be professional sport? Why, if on students championship competes several thousand teams? What an occupation for young! Why would you need a league with few teams? American people live volleyball. That’s good for national health. Don’t forget how much costs that every faculty has a team.

Why did you in two finals in Olympics lead 2-0 and lost 3-2? Could you do something to win or it is objectively 3-2 for rivals and there was nothing that could be done?
- (sigh) In Sydney was hard to do anything. And in Greece, leadership of FIVB worked against us.

Do you agree, after time has passed, with critics who were saying that your volleyball is too slow? Could your volleyball be faster, such as the one Kirillova wanted?
- Critics don’t stand. The way Kirillova and Smirnova played, could play only Japanese. It all starts with people. What kind of team I had and what were their possibilities resulted in what kind of game we had to play. I couldn’t command them to play what they couldn’t have played. Girls wanted to play something else but I had to organize the game in the way that our chances to win raised. When Kirillova just started to play, she wasn’t allowed to do a lot of stuff. But, as she progressed, according to her possibilities, I let her improvise.

Did Kirillova exceed ballerina Pliseckaya, your ideal of love towards job and professionalism? Was Kirillova in volleyball better that Pliseckaya in ballet?
- Noooo. Pliseckaya is so much better, that’s not for comparison. Pliseckaya worked until she was 70 years old. She danced when she was 70! Intimidating. In comparison with volleyball players, Kirillova is the best of all times, but nobody can compare to Pliseckaya. She is ideal of dedication to what you work.

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