“I believe that we can build on the success of the previous generation!”
Oct 01, 2019·Nordic Combined
Czech Republic’s Martin Zeman ended his career in 2018 but he did not leave his sport - on the contrary: After the end of the last winter season, Martin Zeman became the coach of the Czech junior team. At the age of only twenty-six, he accepted the challenge of bringing up the successors to the stellar generation of Portyk, Pazout, Vytrval and Danek.
Martin, which competitors are you currently responsible for?
Martin Zeman: The team includes Petr Šablatura, Lukáš Kohlberger, Jan Simek, Radim Sudek, Matej Fadrhons and Pavel Bernat. The extended team also includes František Janata and Jiří Konvalinka.
How did the summer preparation work - were you satisfied with its course and conditions?
Zeman: I think the preparation was good, we fulfilled the planned training volumes. This year, we spent a lot of time in Harrachov in the summer - especially for physical training. We used to go to Lomnice nad Popelkou or Liberec. We also traveled abroad to the ski jumping camps in Szczyrk (POL) or to the German resorts just across the border.
Do you also cooperate with the senior team during the training?
Zeman: We have an above-standard relationship with Marek Šablatura and other members of the A team. Since I am a new coach, I consult with them on certain things. The trio Šablatura, Kohlberger and Šimek also attended some summer camps with the “A” team.
What did the first results from the summer Nordic combined races tell you?
Zeman: We had already planned in advance that we would give the athletes a little rest before the two September events of the Alpen Cup in Winterberg and Predazzo.
However, they did not perform badly in Winterberg, especially Petr Šablatura's fourth place is very good. The guys are well prepared but in the first race they did not jump. Petr Šablatura had been eighth and twice sixth in the practice but in a competition start he started on the track as 35th, Lukáš Kohlberger was 32th. Both showed that the cross-country skiing part is going well and have moved significantly forward.
The next day, Peter corrected everything, eleventh place on the hill confirmed that he can jump and in the race practically to the finish fought for podium. Lukáš Kohlberger started after an illness but paradoxically, it did not affect his race but his coordination in the ski jumping part. Sixteen-year-old Jan Šimek, who is a good skier but still needs tactics, also performed well - he won his first points in the Alpen Cup. I evaluate the previous performance quite positively, but the performance in the winter season will be decisive.
One of the top event for juniors will be the FIS Nordic Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal early next year - do your athletes have the potential to at least partially replace the previous strong generation?
Zeman: Personally, I believe yes. This is the main goal of my work. Our team is still very young. Petr Šablatura can take part in two more Junior World Championships, Lukáš Kohlberger in three and other athletes even in four. They have enough time to mature and build on their predecessors.
However, in the winter season we have another peak, the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lausanne. This may be attended by the athletes born in 2002–2004, so the start will concern Kohlberger, Šimek or Konvalinka. For Petr Šablatura, who is a bit older, however, the Junior World Championship is the main goal.
Until last season you were an active athlete. How difficult was it to move practically from the jumping hill and the cross-country track to the coaching position?
Zeman: Even while I was still competing, my team members made fun of me that I would be a coach one day. The truth is, I was slowly preparing for this role. When we were at the World Cup and I was not racing, the coaches used me as a helper and also at the last Junior World Championships, I helped with the ski service and was the second assistant. I do not have a problem with the actual content of the training, but rather it sometimes surprises me that this job involves other activities - organisational and managerial.
Are you trying to bring some new methods into the preparation or are you betting on what has worked out during your career?
Zeman: Of course I have seen and watched a lot of things during my career. What I find interesting or good, I also use. For five years I was a member of the senior team and I knew that adult and junior sports sometimes require a little different approach.
Juniors need to be even more focused in general and may not be able to work with the heavy weights yet. That is why I try to bring as much natural movement into the training as possible to develop their general movement skills.
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