Miguel Garcia, world championships medallist from the 1994 himself, works now with great names of canoeing - Olympic Games, European and World Championships medallists, such as Saul Craviotto, Marcus Cooper Walz, Cristian Toro and Rodrigo Germade.
Q: What do you think about the congress and its part in progress of the sport?
MG: I think it is a very important window for all knowledge related to our sport. It is known internationally, and of course, for national coaches it is a unique opportunity to share experiences with technicians from around the world.
Q: You are one of the speakers at the congress. What are the key points of your presentation?
MG: It is nothing more than sharing an experience, the path we choose, to face the change of Olympic distances. It was the first time in our sport that the speed test was included, and that generated some doubts, a change of work strategies. We do not intend to go further, just tell our experience in this regard.
Q: You were an athlete before becoming a coach. Is it very important that the coach has experience as a sportsman at the level of Olympic Games or World and European championships?
MG: It is not essential, but it helps a lot. There are many difficult moments that athletes go through in a year of work, tensions, fatigue, family problems... Let's say we are reflected in the same mirror.
Q: You are a coach of Olympic, European and World champions. Is it different to work with athletes with such great successes in comparison to paddlers who are on their way of finding a place among the best?
MG: Yes, there are different situations, neither better nor worse, but different. I speak mostly at the level of mental and emotional work. The load levels are different, and the orientations are different, but psychological level varies a lot.
Q: Sprint is growing like other sports with every year. Do you look for ideas and influences in other sports to prepare training programs?
MG: As there is very little literature on our sport, you have to look for information outside of it. With swimming there is some parallelism, especially at the level of sensations and touch. We must both adapt to a medium that is not ours, evidently in this case to a greater degree. In the work of strength there are several disciplines that publish more than us, although mainly weightlifting.
More information: http://www.congresocatoira.es/index.php/en/
Register here: http://www.congresocatoira.es/index.php/en/registration-form
Event bulletin (PDF)
http://www.congresocatoira.es/images/descargas/2018/triptico_eng.pdf
Workshops bulletin (PDF)
http://www.congresocatoira.es/images/descargas/2018/diptico_eng.pdf
Poster (PDF)
http://www.congresocatoira.es/images/descargas/2018/cartel_2018_eng.pdf
Photo: Royal Spanish Canoe Federation
20.10.2018
