Aliya Mustafina commented on the announcement that she has been appointed the acting head coach of the Russian junior national WAG team. In the past, she said multiple times that she did not want to coach but, as many Russian gymnasts, she got a degree in coaching and helped coaches in her club and at the training center from time to time. It seems that she eventually changed her mind and feels that she can bring a lot to the national team as a coach. She wrote on Instagram:
“Yes, I’m now the acting head coach of the junior [women’s] artistic gymnastics [national] team. It’s a very cool step for me; I was very scared but only for the first week! Then I got used to it and started understanding what was going on! I can’t promise anything except that I will give this work my all and in this moment, [I’ll give] all of myself, all my knowledge to these kids, I’ll share my skills and thoughts! And I want to say that I agreed to this job not because I dreamed of it and craved it but because I realized that I want the best for GYMNASTICS and hope that I can give it. For me, to become a coach is not about getting a salary, it’s much more important for me to contribute to the development of gymnastics and it’s especially important because it concerns children. When you do something because of a big goal and not for your own gain, I guess it has to lead to success, don’t you agree?”
