Abiout Deruigins' School

About Deruigins' School

One wise person said : "A great way of a sportsman starts from a great coach". But unfortunately very often this phrase is being forgotten. When a sportsman reaches success, everybody says he/she is well done, but very few people would remember that after such success stands a huge work of coaches. But if a sportsman loses all the bombs are falling on the head of the coach. And sport consists not only of victories. And it's good if troubles doesn't break the ones who are really cheering the sportsman to the victory by standing near the football field, ice hockey rink, basketball or handball ground, gymnastics carpet...Who under no circumstances try to safe the psychiatry of winner and finds strength to grow new and new stars.

The new of Albina Nikolayevna Deruigina is really deserved written with golden letters in the chronology book of rhythmic gymnastics. 40 years ago an unknown young coach decided to put her life for this wonderful, fast, plastic kind of sport and reached such top which weren't reached by any coach in rhythmic gymnastics. Albina Nikolayevna grew 7 foreman masters of sport, over 150 masters of sport of international class. Her pupils not once were on the Olimpic podiums, won Championships and Cups of the former USSR and independent Ukraine, Europe and World, competitions of Intervision and Grand-Prix. It's interesting that coaching carrier of Albina Deruigina could have stopped not even have begun :
"When I came to start working after finishing Kyiv institute of Physical Education, - remembers Albina Nikolayevna, - the head of sports organization "Spartak" asked me to sit at the table and said : "You must do this, this and this. But that you shouldn't do". I was listening to him for long and than I asked : "How do you know what I can do and what I can't. Give me time to work in my way, than you'll see my work and tell your opinion". He insisted on his own thought. In the end I couldn't stand it any more : "Excuse me, I can't work here, I leave"

It's good that head of "Spartak" had enough brain to change his mind and gave Albina Nikolayevna to work in her own style. On the first steps of her work Albina Deruigina had to be coach, choreograph, acrobat, administrator, but her hard work soon gave first results. Zoya Rozinko became the first pupil of Albina Deruigina who was invited to the national team of the USSR in the beginning of 70s. And soon on the gymnastics carpet of our planet started to shine the stars of world champions in group event Zhanna Vasura, Olga Plohova, Olga Schegoleva and Viktoria Serikh. Inthe second half of the 70s gymnastics world was shaded by the talent and masterpiece of Irina Deruigina - twice all-round world champion (than it was the highest title in rhythmic gymnastics), multiply winner of other international competitions, among them she won 4 times Intervision Cup, which collected then all the strongest gymnasts of the world.

"I loved gymnastics from the childhood, remembers Irina Ivanovna, who soon after retiring became a helper of her mom. I could sit in the gym for hours and was happy when my mom paid attention on me. I was really very happy when mom put me in one row with her other pupils. It was unforgettable feeling. Everything I have in life is thank to her!" And this words of thanks were told to Albina Nikolayevna by many other her pupils soon after.

Change of the gymnasts if very difficult process, to prepare new stars at least some years should pass. In the beginning of the 80s Albina Nikolayevna was preparing new graces of rhythmic gymnastics. The Bulgarians took the rhythmic throne and their reign lasted many years. But in kyiv school burst out new generation of wonderful gymnasts. Talented Bogdana Tarasova and Elina Khozlu ended the victories of Bulgarian gymnasts. And than Albina Deruigina showed the world unbeatable Alexandra Timoshenko and Oksana Skaldina, who collected from 1988 to 1992 all the gold medals of world championships. On Olimpic Games 1992 in Barcelona Alexandra became a champion and Skaldina received a bronze medal. Timoshenko is now in Guiness Book of records, because she is the only gymnast who could won 2 medals on 2 Olimpic (In Seul-88 Sasha was 3rd)

The next queen of the gymnastics carpet could be Yulia Sinitsina, but her life was tragically ended in the auto catastrophe. Very early ended her sports carreir and easy-going Viktoria Yani. But their victories proved that Albina Deruigina's opinions, tendetions are right. It helped a new wave in developing of rhythmic gymnastics come. And as a result - Ekaterina Serebrianskaya and Elena Vitrichenko who were the best for 3 years.

"Did I have the thought to leave everything? - Albina Deruigina is thinking. - Of course, there were bad situations, loses. And how can be without them? But, perhaps, by the God it was created that I must work, work and work. A long time ago head coach of the USSR team Valentina Grigoriyevna Batayev noticed that if I do well, then it's my work for many years. And I worked without tireness. In the day of my 50 anniversary I received a call from "Spartak" :"Albina Nikolayevna, come to visit us today. We want to celebrate your anniversary!" And I really forgot how old I was. I didn't feel the physical tireness. I didn't feel it being 60 too. But 4 years of "war" in Ukraine when we had to safe our rhythmic gymnastics, gave their results, really gave. Than I must say I thought for the first time to quit. But I knew that people who were saying we are criminals were on the wrong way. If they reached their target, rhythmic gymnastics of our country could gave been on the border of disappearing. But all of us were sure of our rights and innocence. We believed that everything will be great. And that's why we didn't look on anything and worked, worked..."

And everything got all right. Albina Nikolayevna showed that she can find new stars as anybody else, that she can grow them patiently with masterpiece and with charme. Who nowadays doesn't know the leaders of rhythmic gymnastics in Ukraine Tamara Yerofeeva and Anna Bessonova? Last year they became the winners of Grand Prix serie. On the Universiade Tamara Yerofeeva was the queen of the competition having won 4 gold and 1 silver medals. And on world championships in Madrid Tamara took the bronze, but when it turned out that champion and silver medallist Alina Kabaeva and Irina Tschaschina used doping, their results were annulated and gold medal recieved Toma and bronze got Bessonova. And perhaprs it was right decision, with all respect to talented russians, Erofeeva and Bessonova are equal to them. And if in Madrid judges were absolutely objective, than anybody would call Alina Irina the favorites, But, let's take the judging away.

In the end of 40 years of her coaching Albina deruigina is preparing to show the world new stars. Not just her daughter and devoted helper Irina Deruigina tries to help her, but other coaches, who try to teach young graces traditional victory souls of kyiv centre of rhythmic gymnastics. They are Lidia Yavorskaya, world champion Galina Beloglazova, masters pf sport of international class Viktoria Bessonova and Elina Khozlu, masters of sport Ludmila Kuzmichiova, Valeria Zaetz, Marina Kardash and Irina Glushak and also the woman who is working with the smallest Zoya Tolsteneva. And many kind words should be told to our choreographer Boris Borisov, beloved by all gymnasts