Taras Pavlyukevich: “The coaching profession is a wall of bricks needs to completed”

— How long have you been in women's football?

— I ended up in women’s football, one might say, by accident. It was four years ago when I was studying for my goalkeeper's license. I needed practice in a professional team, and it was also interesting to see how women's football works.

At that time, Sergei Nikolaevich Lavrentyev (head coach of the Dynamo Sports Club – Note of the press service) and Vitaly Sergeevich Shadrin (coach of the Dynamo Sports Club and the Russian national team for working with goalkeepers – Note of the press service) worked in the women's Chertanovo . They allowed me to attend training, which was useful in my studies. In June 2021, their entire headquarters was invited to the CSKA Sports Club. So I went to work as a goalkeeper coach at Chertanovo.

— What happened before Chertanovo?

— My family and I moved to Moscow in 2020; before that I worked at FC Tyumen.

— How did you end up at Dynamo?

— Sergei Nikolaevich invited me to join the Dynamo Sports Club in 2022. He offered to become an assistant coach. This was a new challenge for me, my wife supported me, and I agreed. The first time was not easy, the coaching staff helped and advised. And then I got involved.

— How do you like working with Sergei Lavrentiev and his coaching staff?

— I have known about how Sergei Nikolaevich and his staff work since the days of Chertanovo. We always kept in touch, so when I first came to Dynamo, I already knew what the head coach and his assistants wanted. We have a good mutual understanding, but there are times when someone disagrees with someone else. As they say, truth is born in discussion. And so everything is fine with us, we are working.

— Tell us how your work works, who is responsible for what? What is your main task?

— As the head coach, Sergei Nikolaevich is essentially responsible for everything. He gives direction on what to work on, and then we get involved in the work. Previously, he watched and approved, but now it has reached the point where we understand each other perfectly: he trusts and sees what is happening on the field.

Yulia Andreevna Gordeeva is responsible for the physical training of the players, Vitaly Sergeevich Shadrin is responsible for standard provisions and theory, I am responsible for technical and tactical work with field players. It turns out that we all complement each other - everyone does their own important work, which makes up the result. I haven’t told you about all the guys yet.

There is a doctor Dmitriy Mirolevich, a very important and responsible member of the team, as well as our massage therapist Dmitriy Nikonov, who is involved in the rehabilitation of football players. Yuri Krysov is the head of the team, who solves a lot of different issues, administrator Denis Khisamiev helps the coaching staff and the girls in everything, videographer Andrei Vladimirovich Pervoykin shoots videos of training and matches.

— What do you do at matches?

— At games I keep statistics of players. In essence, this is a small analytical work. At the same time, based on this data, we make adjustments during the game: for example, how activity manifests itself when one team improves. In a match this is not very noticeable, but when you see the statistics, everything becomes clear.

— Let’s go back to the time when you played football. Why did you stop so early, by the way?

— It was a matter of chance. I was an active football player and at the same time coached kids. Somehow I realized that the time had come. I still love football, now my dream has come true — I play striker in the LFL.

— Tell us how you got into football, when was it?

— I also came to football by chance, to a large extent. I tagged along with the guys, asked them to take me to the football section. The coach looked at me and immediately sent me to goal.

You know, before it was like this: not the most technical players were put in goal. Don’t get in the way, stand in the “frame”, and I went to the goal. Everyone wants to play in the field, score goals, but at the same time, you need a goalkeeper.

My first coach was Andrey Mikhailovich Gulakov. When I became a coach myself, I remembered his training sessions, began to understand how difficult it is to convey to young players how to play football, and how much patience, emotions are needed to cope with everything. My goalkeeping coach Yuri Leonidovich Murygin also played an important role in my development, for which I am very grateful to him. If it weren’t for his persistence and unrealistic training, I wouldn’t be in football. He’s my second father.

It turned out that there were five training sessions a day. At six in the morning — with the goalkeeping coach, at 10:00 — the first training session with the team, at 3:00 p.m. — the second with the team, at 5:00 p.m. — again with the goalkeeping coach, and late in the evening at 22:00 I ran mini-football with the men.

— And how did you survive in such a rhythm?

— I don’t know, somehow I managed. They laughed at me, said that I would die from the loads, but, as you see, everything is fine.

— Didn’t your studies suffer?

— What about the help books?

— So you just cheated?

— That’s the thing, no. Before, if I missed a topic, we boys were embarrassed to approach the teacher and ask something. Missed and missed. I took the help book, watched how the solution was built and then solved it myself. I needed to understand the principle itself. As a result, I began to understand mathematics well and even took an exam in geometry additionally.

— What happened next?

— After graduation, I received an offer to go for a tryout at FC Ural youth team. The tryout went well, so I got into the club academy.

— In what teams else did you manage to play?

— After Ural, there were FC KAMAZ (Naberezhnye Chelny), FC Tom (Tomsk), Tobol (Kurgan) and Tobol (Tobolsk).

I’ll tell you more about FC Tobol from Kurgan. The team played in the Second League, I was the only visitor there, everyone else was local. I really liked the city. Our team was interesting. Before, it used to be that a player finished his career in his hometown, and footballers who played in Nizhny Novgorod Lokomotiv, Moscow Spartak, strong teams of the First League returned to Tobol. That is, it literally was a fusion of youth and experience.

— Which team do you consider the main one in your football career?

— All the teams were the main ones for me, or rather, the teams with whom I played. There was a time of youth, a time of formation, a time of strength and a time when you realize that you will soon end your career, then you begin to enjoy the last moments. In short, I was seizing the moment.

— Surely, each team has some personal stories associated with it. What is your most vivid memory?

— The most vivid memories are associated with trips, when you travel by bus for 12 or 16 hours somewhere, and you have sunrises or sunsets, stars on the highway. And you go, watch and listen to the memories and funny stories of your elders. Or play bridge with them. There were times when you were on a plane for eight hours, when you were young, it was all fun. Honestly, I was very lucky with the people who came my way.

— What education do you have? How did you manage to combine it with work?

— I have a higher education, graduated from the Ural State University of Physical Culture, majoring in “Theory and Methods of Football.” As soon as I moved to Yekaterinburg and transferred to Ural, I immediately entered the university. For two years I went to all classes, fortunately the training was in the evening.

After moving to KAMAZ, it became more difficult, but I remained on good terms with the teachers, and I began taking assignments for independent study. During the breaks I came and played for the university, which also helped me. So he completed his studies, passing the state exam and defending his diploma with excellent marks.

— Have there been any internships?

— Yes, I went on an internship at Ajax Amsterdam when I was already working in Tobolsk. The trip lasted only a week, but was memorable for a lifetime. I was very impressed and helped me understand a lot.

How do I imagine the coaching profession? There is a wall that consists of bricks, and there are always some bricks missing. I had a lot of gaps at the base of this wall. It’s clear that there are books, but I always wanted to go on an internship. You watch what others are doing - communicate, then apply it to your team, something works, something needs to be changed - it’s all a very interesting process that never stops.

In the Netherlands, the work with children, as well as with the main team, is very interesting in terms of organizing training sessions. The training itself, the attitude towards the players, the approaches to recovery. And an interesting structure. I think the most important thing in our football is the children’s coach.

— How and why did you decide to become a coach?

— Honestly, I don’t know, it came naturally. I wanted to help children. I think it all comes from childhood. My mother is a master of sports in biathlon, my father was an international master of cycling, and coach of the youth team. I remember how, as a child, they took me to training. Apparently, all this gave impetus.

— What, in your opinion, is the main thing in the coaching profession?

— Don’t stop and constantly develop. There is a good phrase attributed to the philosopher Socrates: “I know that I know nothing.” I always keep this phrase in my head, because every time some new nuances appear. You yourself grow, your view of exercise changes, you always need to look for something new.

— What principles do you follow in your work?

— The most important thing that I try to convey to the players is that order beats class. You need to stay hungry for football, give your best on the field, no matter how hard it is. Be brazen, with a cool head, but with a burning heart. This is probably some kind of football maximalism - to give yourself in the game, to play tackles, to show sports anger, arrogance, to fight. But everything we do in training shows in the game.

— Coaches are probably responsible for the atmosphere in the team. How is this very atmosphere created?

— Trust, communication, understanding, honesty. I think that's the only way. We must understand that we will not be good for everyone, we need to tell the truth. When something doesn't work out, you need to talk about it. Today you are offended, tomorrow you make up, you should always show emotions.

You don't have to be friends on the team, but you have to be a team on the field!

— During training, you can see that the atmosphere in the team is good. Are there misunderstandings?

— Of course, this always happens and will always happen. There is a discussion of some game moments, but it is impossible to play without emotions. Even more so in women's football. Women's football is a delicate matter, there are a lot of nuances.

— What are your future professional plans? Any thoughts of becoming a head coach someday?

— The bad soldier is the one who doesn’t dream of becoming a general.” There are always thoughts, you just need to complete this wall of bricks.

I am currently studying for a UEFA A license. We started studying not long ago, a very interesting group has gathered, the RFU does cool and high-quality classes. Everything has become much more accessible and understandable. In the process, I write down my ideas, understanding gradually comes, but I am still learning. If there are options, of course, I will think about it. But for now I’m at Dynamo, where there is a lot to learn.

Of course, someday I would like to become a head coach, but I won’t make any plans for now. I am interested in learning the coaching profession gradually. But when the opportunity presents itself, I must be ready for this opportunity. That is why I study, engage in self-education and self-development. I come across a lot of interesting people with whom I communicate and learn something new from them.