Antti Kuisma, who is looking for the head coach, would like to bring the Finn back to the top: “There is no culture of winning”

Petter Kukkonen to end his ten-year career as a combined head coach for this season and as a professional coach at the Vuokatti Olympic Training Center Antti Kuisma has expressed interest in becoming a new national team leader. Kuisma, who won bronze in the team competition at the Turin Olympics, would like to intensify the cooperation between the combined and hill jumping and bring the sport back to the international top.

– We only need to talk about things related to jumping. The pace of skiing is enough for both young people and adults. That’s the job we know. In the same way, we need to create our own Finnish line for hill jumping, and not just line up what others are doing. Punching and uncertainty about whether we can, away. Finnish line and ideology, simple and unpretentious, Kuisma analyzes.

– Such a situation can be reached by the fact that the top sports community in our sports would be one big community where the best athletes would train in the best conditions, in the best possible coaching, in domestic coaching. Seamless cooperation for hill jumping and combined at all levels.

Young athletes face a tough test right at the beginning of their top sports careers as they seek competitive experience in adult competitions. There are very few competitions for young people in their own age group. Finland did a great job at the World Championships for young people in early March, when the team competition won gold and Perttu Reponen received silver on a personal trip.

– We deliberately looked for tough Continental Cup races underneath. Through them, the self-confidence of athletes rose. The athletes returned to the faith to do, and they knew how to take advantage of it. Without a pressured atmosphere, they made top performers in their underdog position, Kuisma commented on the success of their defenders.

More was expected of the national team from the Beijing Olympics than was received. Finished sixth in the Normal Hill race, Kuisma’s former coach Ilkka Herola got close, but the medals were not hung around the necks of the Finns this time either. After years of waiting, the result was disappointing.

– When it is clear that it is not possible to fight for podium placements all the time and there is no routine in jumping, there will be too much expectation and pressure in tougher competitions. Through it, relaxation and ease disappear, one begins to jump forcibly and avoid mistakes. Let’s think too much. The culture of winning is missing, it is still being learned, Kuisma said.

Kuisma, 43, has been working in the combined field for more than ten years after her own active career. He would be more than ready to step into the big boots of the head coach. In addition to vision and experience, Kuisma calls for cooperation and a willingness to innovate. The road to the top must be consistent and clear from the start.

– If the system is not strong enough, then there will be confrontations between the personal trainer, the home coaching and the national team coaching. There will be cup-splitting and disagreement as well as the transfer of responsibility. There are long personal coaching relationships in Finland that should be valued and drawn in both directions. The level of requirements must be high enough, Kuisma estimates.

– We should be more prepared at the basic level. Athletes should come to the national teams more mentally and physically prepared. Through close cooperation, this is possible.

The combined World Cup from Schonach can be watched this weekend on TV2 and Areena. Saturday’s men’s section will start at TV2 at 11.55 and the ski section at 15.10. The women’s section starts at Areena at 10.55 and the ski section at 14.25. On Sunday, the women’s section starts at Areena at 10.55 and TV2’s at 11.50 and the ski section at 14.30. The men’s section will start at TV2 at 12.25 and the ski section at 15.30.