Apollonius Tajner “With Adam, we are a recognized brand”
Apoloniusz Tajner is optimistic about the upcoming season. The team coach talks about the expectations and development of ski jumping in Poland.
His ward has already won the World Cup three times in a row, and Adam Małysz has a chance this season, to match the achievement with Matti Nykänen, who in the career, as the only, won the World Cup four times. The prognosis doesn't look bad. “I am satisfied with my work so far”, says coach Taylor, and accentuates: “It wasn't just preparations for the new season, but also to the Olympic Games in the year 2006. First of all, we accomplished more: more strength and conditioning training, more needle jumps.
It all worked out”.
Adam Małysz and Robert Mateja left the Summer-Grand-Prix, and others participated only partially (w Hinterzarten, Predazzo and Innsbruck). For the 49-year-old coach, it didn't matter much. “We were there, to compare with others, nothing more and nothing less.” Wojciech Skupień, the best of the Poles in the Summer-Grand-Prix, will not start in Kuusamo. The Zakopane native trains in the B team under the supervision of Heinz Kuttin, getting ready for the Continental Cup competition.
His goal is to finish in the top five, so that he could go to the Four Hills Tournament.
A propos Kuttina. AUSTRIAN, which has not only Aggregations, but also Wojciech Tajner, coach's cousin's son, and five juniors under his care, implements a different program with the second group than the first coach of team A.
“We are all curious about the results”, says Apollonius Tajner. However, Kuttin has one more task. It helps, especially Malysz, in search of the optimal equipment, and supports the Polish Ski Association incl, what was and is used in Austria: use of computers, collecting (as well as Tanner) information, dynamic organization.
Summary: Working with juniors in Poland will get better and better. Everything is illustrated by numbers. Ten years ago it was 15 players, who could jump on the K120 hill, before there were five of them 35, and now it's over 100. “The end is unpredictable”, Says the satisfied Tajner.
“Junior competition in Zakopane, involving four years, lasts four hours. It starts 200, 250 kids. And the relationship, the government supports sports. There is more and more money for skis and equipment. Our problem is not the lack of juniors, but rather coaches...”
“I believe, that every compatriot knows our faces”, says. Television broadcasts of ski jumping are extremely popular in our country. Inaugural competitions in Kuusamo in the year 2002 eight million Poles watched, per hundred turned on TV sets, 64 received the Program 1 Polish Television. The second series of Saturday competitions in Zakopane (18.01.03) watched 12,2 million people, of which 5,3 million were women. The world championships in Val di Fiemme were watched by over ten million compatriots (1,5 million children between the ages of four and fifteen), and the final in Planica nine million.
31 competitions means approx 50 hours spent in the season in front of the TV. Record: the number of all fans is 234 millions. If you put them all on top of each other, the resulting chain could go around the equator ten times, or it would easily reach the moon. All these people would create a string of length 398 700 kilometers.
This is also his success, however, Apoloniusz Tajner is reserved about it, is calm. “I work from 24 years in sports, not just as a coach. This allowed me to gain experience. My creed says, to make it possible to implement, and act in faith, to do the best”. Tajner worked after graduation from 1980 do 1990 as a Nordic combined trainer, He was in charge of the Olympic team for seven years.
In times of political breakthrough, he led from 1990 do 1994 year with his wife, Aleksandra, a sporting goods store, a do 1998 worked as a member of a ski club or the Polish Ski Association.
“Distance, which I achieved over time thanks to the work of the trainer, doing well. I can use more experience in my work, and I have the necessary reserve for some things”.
Since the success of Adam Małysz, Tajner's life has turned around 180 degrees, albeit unlike the world champion, can still move freely to some extent. However, it often happens, that the fans want to talk for a moment, congratulate. Often the conversation started goes like this: “Super, that Małysz has already won the World Cup three times. The fourth time it will work or not, it doesn't matter. It's just brilliant, what he did. Congratulations.
Is it probable, to do it a fourth time?
The secretary must respond to such voices with a smile.
He remembers the hard times very well. A year ago, he had to endure accusations in the Polish press, why didn't he do that instead, why doesn't it do that, such as Austrians and Germans.
“We had journalists, who skinned us, who put everything in question. I didn't react, I was just trying to stay calm and go on my way. It paid off”.
He refrains from commenting this year – After three successful years, Tajner can afford it. “We are a recognized brand”, says Tanner, not with pride, not presumptuous, but just like that.
Adam Małysz's triumph in the World Cup classification is also a topic for him, but it's not a priority for him. “Adam is in this situation, that he will be among the best again”, says the keeper, which 17. April will end 50 lat.
“But he doesn't think about the result. It is not important, to want to win. It is important to, to jump well”.
Praise this season, Bachleda, Mateja and his son Tomisław should regularly take places in the first 30.
“Always have extra, next to Malysz, two, three contestants in the final, this is our goal”. Will it work?, The secretary doesn't know. This will only be revealed during the World Cup competitions. It is planned, that Adam Małysz will visit all continents, where competitions are held, also Asia and North America. “This is the way taken. But if something needs to change, we will do it”. Last year, the Polish team left the competition in Willingen, and a dozen or so days later Adam Małysz won two world champion titles and secured the triumph in the World Cup classification.
To year 2006 The secretary wants to stay in office: “This is also the goal, But in sports you never know for sure, what will happen”.
After a year's break, the coach from Wisła will consider what to do in his later life. “Which I definitely won't do: I will not work abroad”.
Tajner is also a realist: the brand is recognized primarily in the homeland, and not somewhere else.