INTERNATIONAL: Aspiring Russian youngsters are training hard to pursue their dream of becoming professional ice hockey players and win glory for their country in the international arena. Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Russia. Many children start learning to play ice hockey from the age of four to five and are already semi-professional hockey players by the age of 14 to 15.
With their passion for ice hockey, those youngsters have already decided on their future career at an early age, which is to become excellent professional players and win honor for their country. Radik Gizatullin, the coach of the junior ice hockey team in Russia's Volga Federal District, recently trained the team players in the Sochi ice hockey arena. He sees professional ice hockey as a natural choice for his players.
He says that it’s usually a natural selection process and when those players are young, they may not fully understand the intense rivalries in ice hockey. But when they grow up, they would simply leave if they don't like it. The coach said this batch of players were all born in 2007. Most of them have been coached by him since they were kids, and this is their ninth year playing ice hockey.
The team is composed of 14-year-old players, who are in their first year of playing in the Russian Federation Junior Hockey League. Young as they are, those aspiring players are already very clear about their career goals.
One of the players Aidar Vildanovm says, "Every time our national anthem is played, I would think of my country, Russia. I understand the heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and I hope that one day I could get selected for the national team where I can use my skills and compete for the honor of Russia."
Semyon Frolov, aged 14, is already 1.95 meters tall. He said he chose to be a goalkeeper because it is an important position, and a good goalkeeper is worth half a team. But being tall is not enough, he said, adding that he still needs to work hard for swifter reflexes.
He says, "I want to be an excellent goalkeeper and my dream is to play in the Russian Superleague. I think reflexes are key. It is often said that a genius goalkeeper is 10 percent talent and 90 percent hard work. So quicker reflexes require extra efforts and training."
Every year the Russian Ice Hockey Federation will organize a league of federal district teams comprising most outstanding players aged from 14 to 16. During the one-year tournament, those players will not only go through training sessions and competitions, but also improve themselves through physical fitness training and theoretical classes.
Sirius Education Center Dmitry Savin says, "During the year-long tournament, experts from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation would come to coach the young players, conduct sports science tests and select the players with the most potential to play for the national team. The selection process lasts a whole year."
The mission of the Sirius Education Center in Russia is to discover bright young talents in sports. And for those up-and-coming youngsters, their dream is to become professional ice hockey players and win glory for their country in the future.
