Strong words. Uncomfortable truths. Questions that can no longer be postponed.
Where are Bulgaria’s talents being lost? Who is responsible for preparing future champions? And why do we so often expect miracles from athletes without asking ourselves what path they have travelled to reach the big arena?
The president of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Ms Iliana Raeva, openly raises painful questions about the state of Bulgarian sport, the qualifications of coaching staff, the responsibility of clubs and federations, and the future of elite sport in our country.
We are publishing her position in full:
“Elite sport in times when it is denigrated in Bulgaria
Across sport, in absolutely every discipline, without exception, the problem lies in working with children. In this country, we are overflowing with mass sport in clubs that should also be working towards elite sport. Of course, it is better for children to do sport, to be in our gyms and on our playing fields—even if it is only for their health—than to be glued to their phones, smoking, taking drugs, prostituting themselves, becoming chalga-obsessed… to have little bellies and not even be able to run in a coordinated manner… But amid all this proliferation of sports clubs that mainly promote mass participation, in absolutely every sport, talented children “sink” and disappear. The main problem, THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM, is THE COACHING STAFF and their qualifications. Sport is a SCIENCE! The process of developing elite athletes requires exceptional competence from coaches. Children are joining the national teams without the necessary physical and mental preparation! When they join the national teams, they cannot cope either physically or mentally. They suffer injuries due to the lack of the mandatory general physical preparation specific to each sport. They have not been taught how to recover… There is a lack of up-to-date, modern and cutting-edge medical support in the training process. There is a lack of mental preparation regarding the history, important details and necessary goals that require the respective coach to be educated and well-informed. There is a lack of an absolutely precise methodology and consistency in applying it throughout the process. There is a lack of psychological preparedness, and I want to make it clear that this is not done with a PSYCHOLOGIST! This is the coach’s job. A psychologist is used in specific circumstances and for specific problems! Working with young athletes is an entire Art and Science! You must be an excellently prepared coach with outstanding knowledge of the methodology of the respective sport! You must be an excellent educator, because only a good educator can make a young competitor understand exactly and VERY SPECIFICALLY what they are required to do, and last but not least, you must be an excellent psychologist, so that at every moment you understand what is happening in the mind and soul of the young athlete and can immediately give them the best “medicine” if they have fallen into a difficult psychological situation.
Create clubs, fill them with children, collect the fees and, in the absence of even the most basic facilities, amid all this mass participation, the lack of the necessary coaching competence and all the qualities and requirements I have listed, separate talent from the masses and prepare it to become a champion…. Well, it cannot happen, and no one should expect miracles. The federations’ supervisory role is very limited because the Sports Act allows anyone who has gained even a little experience over the years to set up a club and conduct sports activities. There is nothing wrong with that if it is within the law. However, federations must help themselves here by introducing their own rules and criteria that clubs must comply with, so that these same federations can exercise important oversight. They must classify the clubs in order not to allow our talents to be neglected amid this exponentially growing mass participation. The subject is deep and serious.
So, everything that is happening in Bulgarian sport is закономерно. The athletes who have failed are the least to blame, yet society expects miracles from them. Stop pouring your malice and aggression onto them. Poor results are a reflection of the coaches, the way clubs and federations are managed.
The lack of state funding and facilities are the other very important issues that are also the Main Culprits, but they are not the ones I am addressing today.
My subject is the lack of responsibility and properly trained coaching staff in all the areas required of them in order to develop elite sport that can supply the national teams.
Of course, against the backdrop of this entire absurdity, there are some rays of hope. We have our wonderful champions, but there could be many more, because Bulgaria has been a country with Olympic champions in more than 14 sports. There can be more.
May those who set an example today and succeed despite everything live long and stay healthy!”, Iliana Raeva concluded.