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The Huron Expositor, 1975-07-24, Page 17included about 25 American hockey coaches and hockey trainers, and the general study group. There were two distinct programs with each group having an hour by hour daily plan. He said the members of their group played in a gym where top athletes worked out, yet the floor had loose boards, and the ball wouldn't bounce all the way back. Not to Chance Whereas Canadian coaches rely heavily on hunches and the past performance of players, Russian coaches leave nothing to they only have 9. When he was going to university to be a physical education teacher, Mr.WSiber said, the class was given a very general knowledge of the human anatomy and how it worked. In Russia, students are taught in detail how each muscle performs and how and why they move in a certain way for each sport. Whereas over here a person is left to apply his general knowledge himself, in Russia they are already cross applying this in the classroom. • .%14750:W'ta, 1..?",,'"U'VA*Oggi 4 ow,0044..;:ag, IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME- Bill Weber of Egmondville is showing his son, Brent, how to take apart one of the toys he brought back from his trip to Russia. These toys, he said, are generally thought as typically Russian and because they pull apart they take less space. Mr. Weber said he took a course in Russian history at University and has always been interested in the culfure. About his trip, he said, "I never thought it could happen to me." — (Staff photo) Story and photo by Nancy Andrews Want to remember..... Seaforth's Centennial? Additional copies of both of the Expositor's 1975 Centennial issues are available $1.00 for the two by mail While they last A few copies of the Huron Expositor's 1968 Centennial issue are still available at 50c each or 75c by mail et Aura exvosibut +1 • • 11•10•114•• • • • SECOND SECTION PAGES 'IA OA THE HURON EXPOSITOR, JULY 24, 1915 Phys ed teacher finds In Russia they take care of their athletes N' to, chance, the phys ed teacher said. Surrounding top gyms, there is an array ,of scientific equipment. The equipment, that impressed Mr. Webber most, was a machine in the weightlifting room. This machine traced the pattern in which an athlete lifts weights. The easiest way is to lift them in a straight motion and the machine traces any curve or deviation. In this way, an athlete can watch his improvement, Mr. Weber said. t really helps in performance and makes it easier for the athlete and coaches to see where the athlete is gIng wrong. Besides the mechanical apparatus, ' all top level teams have a psychologist who gives players tests to see which ones are psychologically prepared to play a match that day. Mr. Weber said Russia has a lot of good athletes, and a lot of world champion calibre. He said ' a team psychologist would determine which athletes are high risk athletes. "While perhaps Canada coaches come to the same conclusion by using instinct, the Russians go to the trouble of devising tests to measure it." Going Stale Mr. Weber said they even try objectivity tests if a player is going stale. Here athletes have many problems trying to earn a living, and getting an education but in Russia if you have the ability and the desire, the cost is not a factor. Over in Russia the government is free to establish priorities without fear of opposition from. the electorate, he said. This happens to favor athletics. An example of the government's power can be seen in the way it handles traffic congestion. In Moscow, a city of eight million, when traffic becomes a problem they close the gas stations, Mr. Weber said. At one time, they had 16 but now "Perhaps they come out with a more intense knowledge of each sport." • It was difficult to biing anything specific back because of the language barrier, since it was "a real barrier" to deal in ideas in spite of the interpreters. Some people were really friendly whereas "others treated us like sports spies but you can get that in , any country," "Mr. Weber said. Canada through the hockey series with Russia in 1972 and 1974 had an impact on the Russian people. Everywhere you went, someone would notice your maple leaves and say words like "Esposito" or "hockey", At first, the group noticed a lot of tension when dealing with the Russian teachers because they felt they were• amateurs and the Russians more professional. After awhile they dropped contentious issues and this feeling disappeared, he said. • Some have said Canada damaged her image in playing against the Russians because of bad sportsmanship. Mr. Weber said he never heard any comment on this but then maybe it wouldn't be something they'd mention. The only comment was made by a pyschologist who said Esposito definitely has some personal problems. Another made the comment that England had lost the world soccer tournament in the 1960's because they tailed to experiment in new ways to play the game and they hadn't recaptured the title yet. Mr. Weber said there was a feeling they felt in the same way Canada was being dogmatic in its approach to hockey. One reason it was hard to apply certain things to our system was the fact that their school system goes from 3 to 17, with the age groups from 3 to 7 as non- compulsory. He said he thought the 3 to 7 The only way to travel in Russia is as guest of the government, Bill Weber. says. Mr. Weber, 31, a physical education teacher at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton has just returned to his Egmondville home after three weeks in Russia. Mr. Weber was one of a group of 110 who left Canada May 26 to study at the Central Institute in Moscow. He left with other physical educators including elementary teacher, Ron McKay of Hensall and coaches including Gary Young of the St. Louis Blues who wanted to come home after the first week, he laughed. The purpose of the trip which was being organized at the end of the 60's and was finally sanctioned in 1972 with a Canada at• -USSR general exchange agreement, was to give educators an overview of the Russian physical education system and for a comparative study. He said he went on the trip with the view that he would learn something that could be directly useful in teaching kids here. "I think it was a mistake on my part to look for something specific," he said. The' desire to bring something concrete back ,.he said, was not only so it could be helpful to his students but to give the Board of Education which sent him and paid about $1,000 toward the trip, their money's worth. The trip was organized through Concordia University on the Loyola Campus in Montral and director Dr. Ed. Enos. This was the second trip, the first trip went to Russia last year. The re were more than 350 applicants and everyone was screened before being accepted, He said the trip must have been worth 53,00 and no one would get the opportunity to see what they had, without a lot of red tape. He supplied his own spending money but felt the Russian " government must subsidize these trips. Enjoyed Ballet Besides the morning and sometimes afternoon lectures on sports, going to actual schools and sports clubs, they also took in cultural events like the Moscow circus, Bolshoi Ballet which he found to his amazement he enjoyed, and an international soccer game between Italy and Russia. He said there were two distinct groups with about 40 in the hockey specialist group that age• group 'would become compulsory but right now there was a shortage of buildings. Similar to the Canada Fitness Plan which is a system of awards for kids from ages 7 to 17 for sports achievement such as so many push-ups in a• minute, the Russians have a program for kids from age 7 to 60. Although it exists Mr. Weber wasn't sure it was anymore successful than ours in getting people to participate. The philosophy of physical education which is comparable to our Participaction is, "to be fit for labor or defense''. He said one of the members on the trip will be sending him a copy of their program which is being translated, and hopefully he'll be able to see how Canadian students measure un. He said the course had been decided about eleven months prior to the trip, yet they up altd started changing it the day before. In spite of daily plans, the hockey group didn't know what they would be doing fromd ay to day. He was told this was typically Russian, this unpredictability. Yet the great degree of specialization could cause problems in organizing a course of study like this, he said. Mr.Weber said there is a myth in Canada that Russians are much more athletic than Canadians. He said from looking at the secondary 'school program, the ave rage Russian kids get less time for physical education. The whole program is aimed at siphoning off the best athletes. He said he felt Russian athletes are a means of propaganda_.. Sports clubs would have better facilities than our universities which probably house the best sports facilities in our country . These clubs ask the• phys ed. teachers at these schools about their outstanding athletes who are then invited to join the club. Three to one At these clubs, there may be three to four athletes to one highly qualified, coach. Most topnotch athletes would like to train in Russia where' th'ere are no distractions such as money problems or the need to get a university education. Athletes get awards for winning titles. It looks as though the Russian system takes care of their , athletes so when their playing days are over, they are given coaching jobs. So coaches become better prepared, many take degrees in physical education(or physical culture which implies much more) he said. High quality coaches in Russia are paid more than Russian doctors., The two characteristics that typiphy Russian sport is specialization and the scientific approach. Whereas over here, athletes get a general knowledge of many sports, Tillie carrying an academic load, in Russia athletes are encouraged to specialize in one or two sports. They take minors in other sport areas. Less money is spent on each gym but then there are more of them with one or two gyms for each sport. The gyms are dark and dingy with little spent on frills, yet everything is functional. In spite of everything he'd learned, Mr. .Weber said he's "never been so glad to get 'ack, you appreciate things more". The. tone of the trip was somehow set by a member from the Canadian External Affairs department who told them about the secret police, during a lecture before their flight left for Copenhagen and then Russia. Mr. Weber said: "I don't know how _factually true it was, but maybe it was a big scare." This, however, established discipline from the beginning. He said one of his roommates got lost and Ire nearly took a heart attack. They were told not to wo rry about their room being bugged, it will be. Also they were told the secret police, ICCB, is all over the world, but Russia was their ball park. Mr. Weber said the external affairs official said you ' would never know when the KGB wanted to make an , example of someone, so don't deal in the black market. Mr Weber said they were 'told a pair of denim blue jeans could sell from $70 to $100 on the black market. Whether the KGB was as prevalent as people believe, he said he wasn't sure, but the secret police are' a "powerful force in the lives of the people," A taxi driver pointed out the KGB office and said they had killed over 200,Q00 during the' revolution. The Canadian official said the Russian government probably had a dossier on everyone, arid would be watching them. 'If a Russian talked to them, there would be a ninety percent chance he worked for the goyernment, otherwise, he wouldn't be so curious, Mr. Weber said he heard a story that while the Canadian- Russian games were on, Esposito returned to his room to look for a planted, bug. Cashman helped him and someone brought in a screwdriver when they found a round metallic object under the carpet. After they started to unscrew the object, they heard a crash below., They had unscrewed the chandelier . in the apartment below. Cold Weather It didn't help matters when they stepped off the plane in Moscow to cold weather, and descended to a dingy and dark airport where the customs officer stared them out. A Jewish lady had gotten off another flight and a customs officer was taking all her books of 'religion, and she was screaming and hollering which didn't help matters. Stepping off the plane, there is a real culture shock. People don't smile, although they seem happy, Mr. Weber said. After the first week, some were ready to head back because it was hard for some used to more lux try to share a room 20 by 12 with three others. Also the food was different and quite a few had stomach problems since you couldn'tdrink the water and nearly everyone was constipated at some time, he said. Total emersion is exhausting and demanding, he said, but you can't help be affected by the culture and ask questions a bout the things you see. At a neighboring apartment, people would play different sports about seven in the morning in a barren dirt fenced field. He said they • were told these people were taking part in supervised sports arranged by sports directors in each apartment. He wasn't sure if this ,was true, or even if was common practice since this would be similar to our industrial leagues but he admitted with chagrin that they were good. What was unusual was the barren field since most'of Moscow is very green. Not like our green 'landscaped cities, but everything seems to be growing wild. He said it was so green, it was like walking through a wooded forest. The grass was chest high. The people in the apartment were supposed to take turns cutting the grass, but' like most arrangements of this sort, Mr. Weber said, nobody did it. The only cut grass, he saw, was in the public parks. Sweep Streets In Moscow the streets are so clean, that a person feels co gir4ous dropping a gum wrapper and at night old ladies hunched over with age would sweep the streets. He said you couldn't go anywhere without seeing posters of Lenin. In a city of eight million, there were only two churches. the only churches in Russia. H is group saw indications of poverty where old ladies were rummaging through the lu nch bags they had thrown away. Someone took a pict ure of that, but those are the pictures "we weren't supposed to take". Therewere contractions in the things they heard and saw. For example, not long ago, a boy was sent to Russia for an operation, which was thought by Canadian doct ors as impossible to cure. The boy walks again thanks to Russian doctors, yet Canadian embassy officials said they wouldn't trust the Russian doctors to treat them. Some people found it depressing, because you couldn't go anywhere without seeing military people, and it bothers some people. He understood how this happened because "once a people had been invaded and attacked I don't think you ever let down your defences." Still it was disquieting to see military progragis and workrooms in secondary schools, he said., Posters hung on the wall instructing students how to shoot to kill , how to salute and about the use of grenades. Model Town In the military room, they have a model town which is electronically operated, and a player learns what happens when a bomb goes off and military strategy, Mr. Weber said, as he shook his head, in a way almost to reaffirm his surroundings. The Russian's expectations about acquiring material things in their lifetime, is very low. Russians don't own houses but live in apartment buildings, and although certain buildings were said to be new, they looked 30 years old, .Mr. We ber said. The buildings didn't look like they were well maintained, but maybe it's because it's easier to tear down and build again, be said. Clothing was rather drab, and the suits he saw on-a'' rack in a _shop wer all of blacks and greys, although a few colors were being added. • Mainly the people stuck together in their groups. Mr. Weber said when he showed a 'taxi driver the name of the place where he wanted to go, on a piece of paper, written in Russian, he laughed. He said he didn't know if he was laughing at a mistake in one of the Russian letters or what. In spire of the many differences, people are much the same. The sports boarding school program is .not,very successful because, as in Canada, parents don't like to be separated from their children at an early age, he said. Mr. Weber said if you were good at charades, you could communicate with the people. He was talking with a fellow Russian teacher who also found that the workload was heavy and his wife complained of never seeing him. wherever they went a flock of children would come out and want to trade pins for sticks of gum, which wasn't sold in Russia or for a Canadian pin. Mr. Weber who had about 30 pins said one man had 350, so when he returned he had to wear them on his coat, or he Would have been over the 44 pounds allowed. He said many of the group were over the required number of pounds, because on the way there they didn't weigh the portable handbag and on the way back, they said they were going to. That problem was solved by giving the customs official the remaining gum and a box of pins. Mr. Weber said he was told, that their passports said members of his group were guests of the government, and they had not ' been or had been a smaller group, officials could have held them up for several days. He said he would never travel in Russia- -in a small group, --but-- would like to return perhaps in the 1980's. Although the standard of living is lower, everyone talks about the improvement, in comparison to what it was like before. Hesaid he would like to return. to see the improvements. • When he left Russia, it was just like a weight being lifted off his shoulders and other members of the groups said the same thing. Mr. Weber returned to his Egm.ondville home and his wife, Nancy and two boys, June 16. On the way home, he had a weekend in Paris. "What a contrast!" Not trying to explain how he felt, he said with amazement that he liked Paris. even though it was much dirtier than Moscow. Mr. Weber said he thought Concordia University was rather new, but he heard they are planning atrip to Red China in the future. Mr. Weber said the last week seemed long for many of the members on the trip, and although he was glad he had the opportunity to visit Russia in this way, he , was even happier to return.