A sports specialist who has trained high-class players worked at the Norilsk sports school №1 for almost 40 years. He became the first honored Russian basketball coach in Norilsk. Yury Yurchenko died in 2008.
According to the memoirs of the famous coach’s friends, he had many talents, and his lifework was basketball. Yury Georgievich was repeatedly invited to Moscow, for example, to CSKA as a coach of the youth team. But he refused such offers, remaining devoted to the Norilsk sport. He simply explained to his pupils: “I will not leave you”.
During his coaching career, Yury Yurchenko trained many strong players, including European champion in 1975 and master of sports of international class Alexander Meleshkin, medalist of the European Championship (1993) Vladimir Gritsyuk, European champion (2000) and medalist of the World Championship (2001) Svetlana Maksimenko, players of the highest league of the USSR – Andrey Gorin, Maxim Kropachev, Konstantin Gritsyuk and others. In addition, under the leadership of Yury Georgievich, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and the Governor of the Altai region Viktor Tomenko once played basketball.
Yury Yurchenko passed away at the age of 63. A commemorative plaque in memory of the honored coach will be placed on the facade of the House of Physical Culture at 6b Octyabrskaya street. The grand opening is scheduled for this Saturday, October 17.
Text: Mikhail Tuaev
