#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Starship troops of Russian hockey players flew to Norilsk to play a charity game that has been held in the city since 2017 at the initiative of Nornickel president Vladimir Potanin.
Before the match, eminent sportsmen joined the campaign Give a Like to Ayka by leaving autographs on a special wall in the form of a polar bear in the Ayka sports center. Not so long ago, famous football players who came to celebrate the sports hall’s anniversary put their signatures there.
Then hockey stars Andrey Kovalenko, Alexey Zhamnov, Alexander Yakushev and Sergey Makarov talked to the fans.
Novice hockey players asked the record holder for goals scored among Soviet and Russian hockey players, honored master of sports of the USSR Sergey Makarov, how to achieve success in hockey.
“First of all, you should love your job”, he replied. “I never thought that I would play in the Night Hockey League, I just liked doing it, and I devoted all my free time to hockey. Until now, athletes who are already well over 70 years old take to the ice, because they love this sport with all their hearts”.
Maxim Chernetsky, a pupil of the Arctica sports school, asked the head coach of the Russian national team Alexey Zhamnov which country is currently the world leader in hockey.
“The answer is obvious: we have traditions, we have winners. I was lucky in my career to go through three generations of hockey players: the older one, mine, and young guys. I can say with confidence that the traditions of our hockey are serious”.
The meeting participants also mentioned the development of children’s sports.
“The development of children’s hockey is possible in every region. The main thing is not to make a mistake which is to demand results from children at an early age, and forget to teach them. It is necessary that the guys first learn how to play hockey, and then get good results. With this approach, we will have a new generation of stars”, shared Zhamnov.
Honored master of sports of the USSR Andrey Kovalenko addressed the novice hockey players with parting words:
“To achieve results in any sport, you need to set an intermediate goal. For example, first we set the goal of winning a match – and we win it, then – to win the championship, and we also achieve it. With this approach, you will certainly succeed”.
At the end of the conversation, the famous hockey players held an autograph session for the fans.
As a reminder, voluntary donations are being collected as part of a charity match with the players of the Night Hockey League and the Hockey Legends. Nornickel has tripled the amount raised this year.
The funds will be used to purchase sports equipment, simulators as well as to pay for the costs of participation in hockey competitions.
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Text: Ekaterina Elkanova, Photo: Marina Peshkova
