Boginskaya: Oksana always strives to be better than she already is

Svetlana Boginskaya talked to Match TV about her work, her busy schedule, and the differences between Soviet and US gymnastics.

Q: You came to the World Championships just as Oksana Chusovitina’s manager or you have other goals as well?

A: Let’s call things by their names. Oksana and I are old friends, we’ve been competing together since 1991. First of all, I came here as a friend and only then as a manager.

Q: What does your work with Oksana include?

A: During the training process, we consult each other, discuss things, try elements, vaults, combinations. We choose what fits her better. Sometimes I have to stop her, say “enough”. At her age, it’s important not to overload the muscles and the body. She gives her 100% or even 120% in practices every day. It’s a unique person who always strives to be better than she already is. I get letters and calls from all around the world. Oksana gets invited to competitions, shows, and coaching clinics from different places in the world. In America, private lessons with her are especially popular. There, kids like to get individual attention. At the beginning of the year, we take the calendar and choose all the competitions she will participate in. Only after that my work as her manager starts – to figure out where and when Oksana can fly for paid appearances.

Q: Is Oksana a big star in the US?

A: She’s popular around the world. She’s most famous in China. When we walk on the street there, people point at her, call her name, and ask to take a photo with her. And they start touching my hair, since I’m a blonde and for them blondes are something unique.

Q: Are you waiting for Oksana in America after she retires?

A: Let’s wait until she retires. Then, she’ll decide for herself.

Q: How needed are gymnasts from the ex-USSR in the US now?

A: Gymnasts and coaches from USSR have always been and will always be needed and not only in America. We are all professionals, we put our soul in our work, we are responsible and do a great job. Americans and not just Americans see it right away. So, if you look at gymnastics around the world, almost every country has our former athletes or coaches who advanced the sport there.

Q: Are the approaches of the US coaches and the coaches from FSU countries very different?

A: Yes, very much so. American coaches use a positive system, letting the young generation fall in love with gymnastics. About 90% of American gyms work with the US national team gymnasts for not that many hours – on average, 4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.

Q: What were you most surprised by in artistic gymnastics in the US when you just moved there?

A: The fact that any child of any height and age can do gymnastics here. All the classes require tuition. Even if you’re on the national team, you still pay to your club for the training. The average cost is $650 a month. That doesn’t include trips to competitions for which parents also pay. And they pay not only for their daughter but for the coach as well – plane tickets, hotel rooms, food. Only the trips to the World Championships and Olympics are paid for by the federation.

Q: Why do gymnastics competitions in the US almost always fill the arena?

A: Because a large number of kids do this sport. Mom, dad, brother, sister, and grandparents of the gymnast come to every competition. The family support in America is what a child requires the most.

Q: Why is the US women’s team more successful than the men’s team?

A: Yes, women’s gymnastics is the priority. Each mom and dad see their daughter as a princess, a ballerina, and a gymnast, and their son as a knight and a football player.

Q: Is gymnastics a profitable business in America?

A: Both yes and no. As any private business, it requires to work a lot of hours, especially from the business owners. If you’re not afraid of work – and sometimes you have to work 12 hours a day or more – then, the business is likely to be profitable.

Q: How did you start your business?

A: I have several businesses, not just one: the Svetlana Boginskaya Invitational competition and gymnastics camps. One has been running for 15 years, the other – for 23 years. The hardest thing was the beginning. I just needed to take the first step. I doubted myself and my command of English language, I didn’t know about computers or office work. I had always been an employee. I wanted to create something of my own. I had an idea to organize summer camps with two practices a day, according to the system in which I had trained. For that, I needed to invest in advertising, computer skills, English skills in order to communicate with clients via phone and many other things. I really believed in my idea but I needed all those skills in order to accomplish it. At 23, I signed up for computer and English classes. It really helped me, it gave me confidence to take the first step in opening my business. I don’t know for sure what mistakes I made at the beginning but I’m sure I made quite a few. That’s normal. The most important thing is to learn from them and not to repeat them again.

Q: Did your name and your athletic achievements helped you in the business in some way?

A: Yes. An American once told me something I’ve remembered since then: “There are no ex-Olympic champions. They will always stay Olympic champions.”

Q: Are your camps strict?

A: No. I have a positive approach to every gymnast. I believe that you can achieve the same result with positive methods as with negative ones.

Q: How much was your business affected by the Larry Nassar scandal?

A: It hasn’t affected my business or that of gymnastics clubs at all. On the contrary, the business has grown in the past two years.

Q: You used to work with Bela and Marta Karolyi, who, in turn, used to work with Nassar. Have you ever met him?

A: I knew about him but I’ve never worked or met him.

Q: Why, do you think, Nassar’s sexual abuse of gymnasts have continued for so long?

A: This is the question that I keep asking myself and everyone else but I can’t find an answer. It’s a terrible tragedy.

Q: Can you describe your schedule for a whole year?

A: I build my schedule at the beginning of the year. Actually, I start building it in November-December. By February, my schedule is practically full for the whole year. People keep writing to me, wanting me to come. I get invitations to consult or conduct master classes. I go to different clubs as an independent consultant. I have my rates. I get invited for a day, or two-three days. In January-February, I leave home practically every week, from Thursday to Sunday. I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday home, then go on another work trip. January and February are the competition season in America. I get invited as a special guest. I award cups and medals to kids at competitions, hold autograph sessions. I do this until the middle of March. April and May are my relatively relaxed months. I prepare for the summer camps. That’s the most crucial period – phone calls, the registration for the camps takes place. This year, 500 kids registered for my camps. In April and May, I try not to travel a lot because I deal with office work. At the end of May, I go to summer camps. For eight weeks in a row, I go to different cities of the US. Each week is a new city. I work at a camp from Monday to Friday, move to another city on Saturday, and Sunday is my day off. On Monday, we start again. I don’t accept more than 80-100 kids a week. My limit is usually 75 people. If a gym is bigger, I accept more kids, if it’s smaller, I accept 50 kids. In addition to organizing my own camps, I get invited to the largest camps in America where 400-500 kids train. This summer, I worked for other companies for two weeks. I left home on 25-26 of May and came back on 25th of August. I was working for three months non-stop. Those are the busiest months. At my own camps, not only I deal with the organization, I also coach kids as they come because of my name. They want me to spend time with them. I spent September resting and recovering after the three months of work trips. And I start preparing for my competition. It usually happens at the end of February or beginning of March but the advertisements should start in September. In October, I have a few more trips as a consultant. November is the start of the competition season. In December, there’s usually a lot of work as well, I don’t know why. So, I spent the whole year, except for September, April, and half of May, on work trips.

Q: What needs to be done in order to organize a gymnastics camp in the US?

A: You need to find a suitable gym with a foam pit. You need to write a lease that would be beneficial for everyone. You need to choose the dates of the camp. Then you need to contact World and Olympic champions so that they could come and work with the young generation. Nastia Liukin, Lilia Podkopayeva, Oksana Chusovitina, Olga Bicherova, and, of course, American gymnasts worked at my camps. It’s important for the young generation not just to see their idols but to work with them, to gain experience. The next thing is to hire coaches. We have one coach per eight kids. So, if there are 80 kids, I hire 10 coaches. And, of course, there are a couple of reserve coaches. To buy plane tickets and book hotels. To register kids via phone or online. Then, to write down a training plan for the week. The plan changes depending on the age and the level of a gymnast. To create and spread advertising booklets. I’ve listed far from everything.

Q: How much does it cost to attend your camp?

A: $450

Q: How popular are you in the US?

A: You know, I hadn’t thought about it until the moment someone stopped me at an airport and asked for an autograph. Then it happened at a restaurant, then at a grocery store. I always think they mixed me with someone. But when they say my name, I realize that’s not the case.

Q: Would you want to become a national team coach in some country in the future?

A: For now, I don’t want this. The US team made me such an offer three times. I declined three times. I also spent a year working with the Uzbekistan’s team. I love my business and my freedom, I love growing my business and helping people.

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