The man with the plan: Q & A with Valeri Liukin

Few have deeper ties to the sport, either. Liukin is an Olympic Champion twice over (high bar and with the Soviet team in 1988). He has a move named after him in the code of points (a full-twisting layout Tkatchev on high bar) and is well known for pioneering a second one (the triple back, which he was the first to perform in a major competition). 

 

Liukin's daughter is the reigning Olympic all-around champion, and Martha Karolyi has endorsed him to be her successor when she steps down as women's National Team Coordinator after the 2012 Olympics,

 

When Rebecca Bross talked to the media about him at the 2010 Worlds, she described him as a man with a plan, a coach who knows what's ahead for his athletes before they do.

 

In honor of this weekend's WOGA Classic and WOGA Elite qualifier, which begins today in Frisco, Texas, I transcribed some notes from a handful of mini-interviews done with Liukin at gymnastics meets during the past year. 

 

In them, Liukin talked about when his gymnasts make mistakes in competition ("it will happen to anybody"), his feelings about age rule ("absolutely disagree"), and prospects for young Katelyn Ohashi, who will be one of the favorites at this weekend's Classic ("no limits"). Enjoy!

 

Q: What were the feelings of the U.S. team after winning silver at the World Championships?

 

Valeri Liukin: "Everybody's fired up. We were a little disappointed, but you can't dispute Russia was pretty strong this time. This is one of the years we are down but next year's going to be next year."

 

Q: And on Rebecca Bross's performance?

 

Liukin: "Obviously she did well, but...we didn't ever practice floor or vault. So everything went well...of course there's going to be a lot of changes. We just struggled to get back onto the podium. We definitely have a plan for Rebecca. It's definitely going to be different...we're not giving up, that's for sure."

 

Q: On the first day of the U.S. Championships, we saw several errors from the WOGA juniors...

 

Liukin: "We don't consider it trouble. That was just a mistake that happens. Guess what? It will happen again. It will happen to anybody. It happened to Nastia Liukin. It happened to Carly Patterson, and it happened to Rebecca. You can't really think this way. This is how we raise them. They don't think that way. You turn the page and move on. If you're going to carry that in your head, you're never going to uncork the champagne, I'll tell you this much. You have to learn how to forget and move on."

 

Q: Is that what you told them?

 

Liukin: "Absolutely! After every event, that's what I told them. Not about champagne, but...[laughs] and you can see this, on the top, Katelyn is second with 2.5 falls. And I told them, don't worry. This is the beginning of the year basically for them. The skills are hard. We're trying. Juniors are juniors. She [Ohashi] has got two more years before she's at Rebecca's level."

 

Q: Do you worry with a gymnast like Ohashi about pushing too much too soon? Those are some awfully big skills she's doing...

 

Liukin: "But if you look at the competition at the [2010 CoverGirl] Classics she did everything as a piece of cake. And she's actually capable of doing a lot more skills. So...that girl doesn't have a limit in gymnastics, I tell you this much. She's a super talent, and there is no limits for Ohashi in gymnastics, I tell you this much."

 

Q: What's the difference between Bross in 2009 and 2010?

 

Liukin: "She's grown up. She's definitely grown up. She's not the same. Like I said before, my little dude, she's becoming a young lady and definitely things have to be changed. Not easy. Not as easy, I would say, as what happened with Nastia. I raised one before Nastia and that helps me to understand women's gymnastics now. It's not girls gymnastics with her anymore, so I have to consider a lot of facts."

 

Q: You've been on the other side of coaching as an athlete. What's the difference between coaching men and coaching women?

 

Liukin: "[Laughs] My goodness...day and night difference. With the men it's just totally different. First of all, men are more mature. They are men when they start competing. They are real men, they are very strong minded, they are very strong. And the girls are totally different. They're kids when they perform.

 

"And that's why we always complain -- not complain, I don't want to say that -- but that's what we're saying about [the] Chinese. They cheated -- the little kid over there. They don't worry about anything. They don't have a second thought. They're not women. And that's why it's so tough. They're not women. And that's why it's so quick, you know? That's why it's a totally different ballgame with the girls. Men, it's the other way around. When they become older, they're more mature. No boy can compete with a man, because they're mature -- they have a man's strength, man power. Boys don't have that."

 

Q: The age rule in gymnastics...

 

Liukin: "Totally disagree with that. Absolutely disagree with that. We don't have a real Olympic champion right now. And we'll never [know]. It's an age group. This is ridiculous. And we'll never, never support that. And you never know what's worse -- the little kid that doesn't weigh anything, they bounce around, or Nastia when she was a young lady competing, and her routines were very difficult...it's a lot harder for women to do those kinds of skills than Rebecca Bross or Katelyn Ohashi. They're little kids. They just bounce around. It's a lot better."

 

Q: Have you advised Nastia about whether or not to come back to elite gymnastics?

 

Liukin: "This is not up to me. I've always done what she's wanted. I hope [she will], but I'm not going to make the decision. She's a grown up young lady and has to find her way in life."