Duotone Diversity Magazine No.02 2020

Interview Bernd Zerelles Photos Toby Bromwich, Svetlana Romantsova Fabio, what Duotone athletes do you work with? The athletes that I work with on a regular basis are Mikaili Sol, Gianmaria Coccoluto and now Valentin Rodriguez. I’ve spent several training periods with Mikaili and Gianmaria over the course of the year and Valentin joined us for a training camp on Bonaire last year. These are the three that I am with during all of their competitions for the year. However, my work with the entire Duotone freestyle team is very important to me. In the competition, I’m always trying to be available for any of the team riders when they need me. How is your coaching structured? Before the first competition, we plan several weeks of kiting in order to be ready technically and physically. It is important for us to get together to set up their goals for the upcoming season and for me to give them extra motivation. Therefore, I structure the training camp with a routine that includes warmup, mental coaching and meditation, Pilates based stretching, and of course kite training sessions. During our kite sessions, I shoot video to have the possibility to see and point out the good and bad for improving the next session. Once the competition season is on, the goal is to stay focused and motivated while keeping to the training routine. After the season, it is important to recharge the batteries for a few weeks by doing some other sports and having fun while still training in the gym to keep the body ready for the upcoming season. Which training areas do you value the most? Fitness, agility, lots of time on the water, video analysis, mental training with meditation, Yoga? The most important thing in every sport is to have fun in what you are doing. While every rider is different and needs to be guided individually, in the end, it is the time spent on the water that counts and having a strong love for your sport will keep you training longer and will bring you positive results easier. In addition to this, it is very important to have discipline with your fitness routine to strengthen the weak points of your body while maintaining agility and flexibility. Depending on the rider, they might need support with mental coaching, yoga for flexibility or other things. Video analysis is also a very important component in getting a good result. Without this, it is hard for the athlete to understand what is going wrong as they only have their own feeling to judge but no overview! What do you see as the most important attribute for an athlete? On our team, we have all of the examples: from the pure talent to the extra hard worker. But every one of them has the same ambition and for me, this is the most important characteristic. After that, a rider needs to have the talent to reach the potential of their ambition which needs to be combined with a steady focus on their training. To compete at the world class level, a rider really needs to have everything: technique, execution, talent, ambition, physical fitness and the mental strength to hold the pressure when you compete. During the competitions, you are always on the beach supporting the riders. How are you coaching them during their heats and what kind of advice do you offer? I make sure they are in a good mood and that the gear is ready and everything is double checked. Then once the heat starts, I know all of the tricks that they can do in the conditions we have. I also know the scoring system very well and with that, I can build a strategy during the heat with the rider. Sometimes during the final heats, when the level is very high and calculating scores will no longer help, I just have to find the right words and keep calm. Do you create a personal heat plan with each athlete before the contest? I know my athletes very well so I have in mind what options we have during the heat and depending on who is the opponent, how we can adapt the trick order. Valentin is 17 years old, Mika just 15. Why is it just the young riders, who have such tremendous success? First of all, they are two amazing talents and love kiteboarding passionately. I also think that in all freestyle sports, once you start to think too much like an experienced person, you automatically start to slow down your progression and you need more time to execute the next step. That’s why it is even harder to get to the top as an older athlete. Can one say: The younger you start coaching an athlete, the stronger of a competitor they will be? I think a coach is a guide, who is there to show you the right options in sports life or in life in general. The younger you get a coach, the more you will have the right options in front of you. With a coach, the key to your success is bigger if you keep in mind your passion and do what you love. It seems that you are the only successful kiteboarding coach over the last several years. What is your secret? To be honest: I love everything that I am doing. I enjoy spending time day after day training with the athletes and I even get “goose bumps” watching their tricks during the competitions. Seeing my riders pushing their limits and of course when one of them wins an event, it makes me incredibly happy. I also share everything: part of the success but also when we lose. We are one. What advice can you give to normal recreational riders, when they want to learn a new trick? Set up a personal goal and focus on it. Then check the trick on the Duotone Academy App and learn it from there. If you want to progress faster you can hire a coach too (laughs). Everybody can learn new tricks. When you are progressing, you are never bored doing your activity. Fabio Ingrosso – the 47-year-old former six-time Snowkite World Champion from Geneva / Switzerland – is the successful coach of the champions league in kite sports. Connected to Boards & More for almost 20 years and formerly a long-time tester of the Duotone kites Evo, Dice, and Vegas, he is supervising the Duotone Freestyle team in competitions and has led the two GKAWorld Champions Mikaili Sol and Valentin Rodriguez to their titles. T H E COACH YOURSELF 37 P E O P L E P E O P L E 36 C O M P E T I T I O N D O W N L O A D T H E D U O T O N E A C A D E M Y A P P A N D F I N D 1 6 0 + T R I C K S F O R Y O U R P E R S O N A L P R O G R E S S . Y O LF