Sergey arefiev, head coach of the ddhl: “I know for sure: my guys are a real team. Sergey arefiev, head coach of the ddhl: “I know for sure: my guys are a real team - Children communicate with each other outside of training

Alexander Arefiev, a young hockey player from Tynda, travels on the top shelf of the Tynda - Moscow train - it's cheaper this way. He travels at his own expense, sometimes for the last money. For this he, reigning champion In Europe, in addition to the main work, he also works as a loader, since the prostheses on the legs are of high quality.

Fans in shock

Sanka Arefiev's childhood began in the trailer where his young parents, the builders of BAM, lived. The boy grew up troubled, nimble. When he was nine years old, he and the boys came up with a game: to cling to the carriage of a towed train - and who will go further. Once Sanya fell off and fell under a carriage.

A steel wheel cut off his leg below the knee, and on the other leg, a wheeled "razor" cut off half of his foot.

When he regained consciousness after the hospital anesthesia, the child did not have any tears, hysterics and other mental weaknesses. The postoperative stump was not yet fully formed, and Sanka, against the advice of doctors, began to try on a prosthesis. I really wanted to walk and run. Children are cruel people, some of their peers tried to tease and laugh at him.

Always gave change. My father taught me that offenders must always be given a worthy rebuff, - Alexander admits.

Once with friends, he came to the city skating rink, to sign up for the hockey section. For the first four months of training, no one even knew that the boy was disabled. Once a coach noticed Sashka's trouble when young hockey player changed skates. But he pretended not to see anything special.

I could deny him further training and would be formally right, but you should have seen the eyes of a child, ”coach Alexander Goman coughs in embarrassment.

In the top five

After leaving school, Alexander Arefiev worked for several years as a trainer in the city sports school, then he was cut - the diligent and talented guy did not have a special education.

I found on the Internet that in St. Petersburg a men's hockey team is formed from those with amputated limbs. I wrote there a letter more out of despair than hope, - recalls Alexander.

He was invited to St. Petersburg as a player of the Russian national team in the so-called vertical hockey, which is played by athletes with prostheses instead of legs. Sasha in the team was immediately dubbed Tundra - they were surprised how a guy from such a distance got to them. From the first weeks in the Russian national team, he became a full-fledged player of the top five.

I realized that in many respects I am in no way inferior to those who trained in Moscow or St. Petersburg, that is, in more comfortable conditions, - he basslines.

Two and a half years of playing for the Russian national team is the best period of his life. Training, games, communication with equals. Their team went to a weekly training camp in Finland, they flew to the USA for the World Cup. And they took the "bronze". He remembers that match in Boston and today almost minute by minute. They fought, as they say, to the death. But the Canadians won.

They have such a school and such a material base - you can't even imagine, - Alexander sighs.

In 2009, at the European Championship in Riga, the Russian vertical hockey team won. The game was very tense, the opponents were not inferior in strength and skill. They took it only by the strength of the spirit.

Work for sports

After that game, when they became European champions, for the first time in his life, Sani was paid to travel home by plane.

Gave new form, it was so nice, - he recalls.

He flew home as a winner. Mother did not hide tears of joy, father coughed with emotion.

But at the end of 2009, the players of the "vertical" team were told that there was no money to finance the team, and they were told to go home. It was possible to rent an apartment in St. Petersburg and continue training, but everything came down to money. Alexander returned to his native Tynda. But he does not part with hockey even for a day.

My dream is to play at the upcoming Paralympic Games in 2014 for the Russian national team. I think that the dream is quite real, there are about twelve of us, such athletes in the country, - says Alexander.

To his dream, he still travels in a reserved seat carriage. To play several training games in St. Petersburg, Alexander has been saving up money for several months, overcoming his awkwardness, going to sponsors and, looking down at the floor, asks for material support.

It happens that his coach Alexander Goman takes out bills from his pocket for Sania's training.

You see, Arefiev is a unique guy. With incredible performance. There is a spark of God in him, he is sure.

Sanya is also a coach of Tynda boys-hockey players. His wards will soon take to the ice outside the city in the regional tournament with the loud name "Cupid's Tigers". He believes that he will play at the Paralympics in Sochi. And that the Russian national team will definitely win in hockey.

Direct speech

Evgeny Lobanov, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Amur Region:

We know Alexander Arefiev. When there are official invitations to the games, we pay him travel expenses. The trouble is that not all training games have such invitations. It is also bad that we do not have an official document confirming that he is a member of the Russian Paralympic ice hockey team.

At the end of December last year, twelve children's teams met in Yaroslavl to compete in a hockey tournament in felt boots. On January 6, 2017, near Penza, ice hockey competitions were held among six courtyard teams. Our city does not lag behind the current direction children's sports: non-professional hockey of Chelyabinsk is now represented at the Second Tournament of the Children's Yard hockey league, it runs from January 16 to February 20. Why is this type of hockey attractive for young Chelyabinsk citizens, what is the city section in common with NHL stars and what is the prospect of the current tournament - we talked about this with head coach of the DDHL Sergey Arefiev.

“It used to be the norm to start playing hockey at the age of twelve”

- "Let's return hockey to the courtyards!" - this is the main idea of the Children's Yard Hockey League. Sergey, this sport has disappeared from the Chelyabinsk courtyards somewhere, since you decided to return it?

- This is true. Thirty years ago, every district of the city could boast of at least five or six working boxes in the yards, and everywhere there were their own teams. There were no tablets, the TV showed two channels, children's programs were broadcast minimally. What did the schoolchildren do in winter free time? That's right: they took skates, a hockey stick and went outside to play hockey. There were no closed stadiums, and the guys even got into professional teams from the street. The coaches attended physical education classes in schools and invited the boys to classes. Coming to hockey at the age of eleven or twelve was a common situation. Closer to the 2000s, the boxes began to disappear: somewhere they fell apart from old age, somewhere in their place new buildings grew. At the same time, professional sports schools began to be created, indoor stadiums began to operate, in the end, computers appeared ... Needs entered an incomprehensible balance with opportunities, the game with the puck imperceptibly left the Chelyabinsk courtyards. In Traktorozavodsky district, where I live, probably only on Bazhova street the box was in working order in those years. Near my house, on Shumenskaya, the ice didn’t flood, I don’t even know how many years. And this winter it is acting, one of the teams participating in our tournament trains and plays on it.

- As far as I know, DDHL invites children to study in several open areas of the city.

- Yes, there is ice on Tchaikovsky Street, Pobedy Avenue and in the village of Krasnoe Pole, on Beyvel Street. But more boxes are needed, we plan to expand to eight or ten, so that in each district of Chelyabinsk there is at least one. So that the children take a uniform, a club, go out into the yard and work out with a coach.

- Your section is an alternative to sports schools Olympic reserve?

- In a sense, yes. Not all children can go to sports schools, and the reasons for this may be different. Someone has a problem in finances, someone is not as strong as their peers, but they want to play hockey. You know, children here are unpredictable. Today the child is ten years old and he is the leader in his team in terms of points and in play. And the next September it may happen that the rest will grow a head taller and turn out to be many times stronger. The situation can change at any moment.

- You mean you don't have criteria for selecting children for classes?

- Why not? We accept everyone and study for free, but only with children from 7 to 16 years old and only with a health certificate. Today we have over one hundred and fifty people registered.

- Who monitors the condition of the ice at your sites? Free training certainly does not cancel out the cost of water and light.

- We cooperate with management companies who own the boxes. Employees of such organizations fill and clean the court on Chaikovskogo Street and Pobedy Avenue, make markings, prepare the ice for training. Moreover, according to by and large there is no shortage of sites. Many parents from different areas call and say that they have an equipped ice court in their yard - come and use it. But due to financial constraints, we cannot take everything at once. If we find a sponsor for this address or management companies take on some of the responsibility for the box - light, water - we are ready to conduct classes. There are other problems in site maintenance. For example, just now we cannot find a person who will fill the ice at the 129th school in the northwest. Its leadership provides a locker room, pays for electricity, water, meets halfway in everything - but there is no one who would prepare the site for classes. Although, of course, attracting sponsors is primary.

- Your sponsors are well-known in Russian hockey athletes.

- Yes, our constant sponsor is the defender of the St. Petersburg SKA Anton Belov. This year Zhenya Kuznetsov (star of the NHL club "Washington Capitals" - Ed.) plans to add another hockey rink to us.

We are supported by Egor Dugin and Maxim Karpov (HC Dynamo, Moscow), Andrey Konev (HC Admiral, Vladivostok), Evgeny Dadonov and Vyacheslav Voinov (HC SKA).

“There is no talent in hockey. There is hard work in hockey "

- Sergei, you can determine at a glance: will the beginner be good at your classes, will he be the leader of the team or is it useless to waste your time here?

- Those who come to our classes do not have to become a team leader. The main thing is for the child to have fun. So that his self-esteem rises and he believes in himself, he understands that he will cope with difficulties. Some come to DDHL without the goal of becoming a professional in sports, they just want to spend time with benefit. We have different guys: some have never played, some have sports schools of the Olympic reserve behind them. In spite of everything, they perfectly find a common language with each other, they are one team.

– And yet, in the yard teams there are talented children gifted with hockey abilities?

- There is no talent in hockey. There is hard work in hockey. Perseverance. Purposefulness. Discipline.

– Are your children disciplined? Do you make sure they don't miss classes?

- We have a non-professional hockey school. We do not tell children that they owe something to someone. To attend or not to attend training is everyone's personal business. Mostly they walk deliberately. They understand that they need to prepare for the competition, that the result of the game and the performance of the team depend on any player.

- Do children communicate with each other outside of training?

- Yes. I know for sure: they become friends.

– Does it make you happy?

- Of course. It's nice to watch when the team has formed, when everyone stands up for each other. I can't keep track of all the boxes, but at least on Tchaikovsky 15-year-olds are always tolerant of seven-year-olds, ready to support the little ones at any time. Everyone is busy with a common cause, I try to convey this to everyone.

– Sergei, who are you for your hockey players: friend, teacher, judge, god?

- I think, friend. Although the guys call me by name and patronymic, there is no such thing that I put pressure on them, not interested in the reaction, no. I'm just trying to help, hint, hint ... As a friend, as a person who has gone through a professional hockey school who has player experience major league... My career in this sense does not end, I will still play in the team. In the meantime, I share with the boys what I can do myself. You know, I worked under the supervision of many coaches, and I felt myself: working with a mentor can be truly fruitful and bring a lot of positive emotions from the fact that you work with him and become part of his team. In this case, the result of working with children will be expressed not only in numbers, but also in the development of the child's personality.

"We did not have a one-off tournament, but a full-fledged championship."

– Now it's a hot time on your sites: the second DDHL tournament is underway in Chelyabinsk. You are generating new tradition in our city?

- Hope. The first tournament took place last winter. The guys played without uniform and with a ball, seven teams took part in it. This year, all participants are equipped, there is refereeing, on the ice - a puck, not a ball. The number of participants has grown, their geography has expanded. We were joined not only by new Chelyabinsk teams, but also by hockey fans from Ozersk and Miassky. We can say we tried again this year and we succeeded. It was not just a one-off tournament that came out, but a real championship. On next year you need to transfer it to the category of regular.

– How many teams took part in the current tournament?

- Now the competition involves a total of ten teams in the junior and senior categories. If we talk about us, the DDHL proceeded from how many people were equipped. They tried to complete the squad exactly so that it would not be like this: the first five are the strongest, the second is a little weaker and the third is the closest in strength. Two full-fledged teams play from us, like the rest of the participants. The exception is the Miass group, which plays both there and there with practically the same composition.

– That is, old enough children play with first graders?

- Why not? Our rules of the game are adapted to this situation, they balance the age run. In particular, we have completely ruled out hard power tricks, removed some deletions, forwarding. Although, of course, we let the guys "wrestle", wrestle - what is hockey without this?

– In the tournament only children who are not currently related to sports schools participate?

- The children's and youth sports school of the village of Miasskoye takes part in our competitions, vocational schools the Olympic reserve does not participate. Although we do not close the road to competition for those children who studied at sports schools. These are former pupils of the SDYUSSHOR who have never been declared as players in professional competitions.

– Does the competition end in February?

- Yes, and if the ice is still standing, there is an idea to hold a separate tournament with a trip to Miass or Red Pole. There are suitable conditions for matches: there are warm changing rooms and showers. The duration of such competitions is sufficient from one to three days for our children to finish the 2017 season with dignity. The more guys play, the better.

– What will you do when the sun melts the ice?

- In the past years, they studied on the ground - physical fitness, football. Plus we agreed on training sessions on the ice at the Traktor School and at the Uralskaya Lightning Palace. In the city and beyond, for example, in the same Kremenkul, there are many indoor ice courts. As a rule, their owners meet us halfway, because the development of our segment of children's sports has proven its effectiveness in the last century. Our goal is simply to bring hockey back into the courtyards.

Photo by Igor Zolotov and Olga Panova

The European champion in vertical hockey has to take five days for each training session

Alexander Arefiev, a young hockey player from Tynda, travels on the top shelf of the Tynda - Moscow train - it's cheaper this way. He travels at his own expense, sometimes for the last money. For this, he, the reigning European champion, in addition to his main job, also works as a loader, since the prostheses on the legs are of high quality.

Fans in shock

A steel wheel cut off his leg below the knee, and on the other leg, a wheeled "razor" cut off half of his foot.

Always gave change. My father taught me that offenders must always be given a worthy rebuff, - Alexander admits.

Once with friends, he came to the city skating rink, to sign up for the hockey section. For the first four months of training, no one even knew that the boy was disabled. Once the coach noticed Sashka's trouble when a young hockey player changed his skates. But he pretended not to see anything special.

I could deny him further training and would be formally right, but you should have seen the eyes of a child, ”coach Alexander Goman coughs in embarrassment.

In the top five

After leaving school, Alexander Arefiev worked for several years as a coach at a city sports school, then he was laid off - the diligent and talented guy did not have a special education.

I found on the Internet that in St. Petersburg a men's hockey team is formed from those with amputated limbs. I wrote there a letter more out of despair than hope, - recalls Alexander.

I realized that in many respects I am in no way inferior to those who trained in Moscow or St. Petersburg, that is, in more comfortable conditions, - he basslines.

They have such a school and such a material base - you can't even imagine, - Alexander sighs.

Work for sports

After that game, when they became European champions, for the first time in his life, Sani was paid to travel home by plane.

They gave me a new uniform, it was so nice, - he recalls.

He flew home as a winner. Mother did not hide tears of joy, father coughed with emotion.

It happens that his coach Alexander Goman takes out bills from his pocket for Sania's training.

You see, Arefiev is a unique guy. With incredible performance. There is a spark of God in him, he is sure.

Direct speech

Evgeny Lobanov, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Amur Region:

Alexander Yaroshenko

A young hockey player from the capital of BAM each time overcomes more than 7 thousand kilometers to get to training camps... Rides on the top bunk of a reserved seat carriage of the Neryungri - Moscow train - that way is cheaper. He travels at his own expense, sometimes for the last money. For this, he, the reigning European champion, in addition to his main job, also works as a loader. Fortunately, the prostheses on the legs are of high quality, and the strength of mind and character of a real hockey player is brought up with each entry to the ice rink ...

Wheelset for childhood

Sanka Arefiev's childhood began in the trailer where his young parents, the builders of the BAM, lived. The boy grew up poor, nimble as mercury. When he was nine years old, he and the boys came up with a game - to cling to the carriage of a towed train, and who will go further.
Once Sanya fell off and fell under a carriage. A steel wheel cut off his leg below the knee, and on the other leg, a wheel "razor" cut off half of his foot.
When he came to after a hospital anesthesia, the child did not have any tears, tantrums and other mental weaknesses. The postoperative stump was not yet fully formed, and Sanka, against the advice of doctors, began to try on a prosthesis. I really wanted to walk and run. Children are cruel people, some of their peers tried to tease and laugh at him.

- I always gave change. My father taught me that offenders should always be given a worthy answer, - Alexander admits.

Once with his friends, he came to the city skating rink, to enroll in the hockey section. During the first four months of training, no one even knew that the boy was disabled. Once the coach noticed Sashka's trouble when a young hockey player changed his skates. But he pretended not to see anything special. I could deny him further training and would be formally right, but you should have seen the eyes of a child ... - Alexander Goman coughs in embarrassment. Hockey Sasha just got sick. Four workouts a week from call to call, the most severe sports discipline. The first results came, the boy did equally well in attack and defense.

Shocked stadium

Once his ice squad went to a competition in the city of Raichikhinsk. During the game, the opposing team's hockey player used a forceful technique. Sanya fell, the prosthesis treacherously unfastened. The stands stopped breathing ...
It was unbearably painful. The soul was bleeding for several days. But overcame. After graduating from school, Alexander Arefiev worked for several years as a coach at a city sports school, then he was laid off - the diligent and talented guy did not have a special education.

- I read on the Internet that a male hockey team from among those who have amputated limbs. I wrote there a letter more out of despair than hope, - recalls Alexander.

He was invited to St. Petersburg as a player of the Russian national team in the so-called vertical hockey, which is played by athletes with prostheses instead of legs.
The team immediately dubbed him "Tundra" and wondered how a guy from such a distance got to them. By the way, he was traveling in a really difficult way - in a reserved seat carriage of the Tynda-Moscow train. But a person who, since childhood, is accustomed to overcome difficult obstacles, cannot be frightened by a long and tiring journey. Sanya from the first weeks in the Russian national team became a full-fledged player of the top five.

- I realized that in many respects I am in no way inferior to those who trained in Moscow or St. Petersburg, that is, in more comfortable conditions, - he basslines.

Two and a half years of playing in the Russian national vertical hockey team. It was the best period in thirty years of his life! Training, games, communication with equals.
Their team went to a weekly training camp in Finland, they flew to the USA for the World Cup. And they took "bronze" there. He remembers that match in Boston and today almost minute by minute. They fought what is called to the death. But the Canadians won.

- They have such a school and such a material base, you can't even imagine, - Alexander sighs.

In 2009, at the European Championship, which was held in Riga, the Russian national vertical hockey team won. That game was very tense, the opponents were not inferior in strength and skill. They took it only in spirit.
Then there was a night without sleep. The stump, broken into blood, ached unbearably.

“It often hurts at night, but when you play, you don’t think about it, everything is subordinated to only one thing - to win,” the hockey player says.

Work for sports

After that game, when they became European champions, for the first time in their life, Sane paid his way home by plane.

“They gave me a new uniform, it was so nice,” he recalls with a smile.

He flew home as a winner. Mother did not hide tears of joy, father coughed with emotion. But soon the players of the "vertical" team were told that there was no money to finance the team, and they were told to go home.
It was possible to rent an apartment in St. Petersburg, continue training, but everything came down to money. Alexander returned to his native Tynda, got a job as a freight forwarder. But he does not part with hockey even for a day.

- My dream is to play at the upcoming Paralympic Games in 2014 for the Russian national team. I think that the dream is quite real. There are twelve of us, such athletes, in the country, - says Alexander.

To his dream, he still travels on the reserved seat of the Tynda-Moscow passenger train. To play several training games in St. Petersburg, Alexander has been saving up money for several months, overcoming his awkwardness, going to sponsors and, looking down, asks for material support.

- My first coach Alexander Petrovich Goman always helps me, his word means a lot to me, - says Alexander.

It happens that the trainer even takes out bills for Sania's training from his pocket.

- You see, Arefiev is a unique guy. With tremendous fortitude and incredible efficiency. There is a divine spark in him, - Alexander Goman is sure.

The reigning European champion earns for his dream in one of the private companies in the city of Tynda. When necessary, Sanya also works for a loader. His dentures are now imported and strong. They can withstand the load ...

Money is needed for further training and sport equipment... Only one professional club pulls on his average monthly salary. To go to St. Petersburg for a training camp, he needs to work for at least a month. He also trains Tynda boys to play hockey. His wards will soon go out on the ice to fight out of town in the regional tournament with the loud name "Cupid's Tigers". In the evenings, Alexander trains hard at home and believes that he will play at the Sochi Paralympics. And that the Russian national team will definitely win in hockey.

Direct speech

Evgeny Lobanov, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Amur Region:

- We know Alexander Arefiev. When there are official invitations to the games, we pay him travel expenses. The trouble is that not all training games have official invitations. It is also bad that we do not have an official document confirming that he is a member of the Russian Paralympic ice hockey team.

P.S. Simply put, the regional sports officials of the Amur region have no reason to help a disabled athlete fight for his right to sport, for his possible victories. For his hockey, which, as you know, a coward does not play. Therefore, while Alexander Arefiev, the reigning European champion, earns himself for training for the games for Russia. Turns the steering wheel and drags boxes. Striving for his dream - without official invitations.