Ab dieser Saison wird Jarkko Urpalainen, 48 Jahre alt und aus Finnland, als neuer Trainer für das Ski-O-Team fungieren. Damit die Orientierungs-Community die Chance bekommt, ihn kennenzulernen, stellt er sich hiermit vor und beantwortet noch ein paar Fragen im Hinblick auf die kommende Saison.
Über Jarkko:
Our family is sport focused and naturally it’s also part of my life. I grew up in a small village. Usually we spent days outside. I started goal oriented training quite late. That is maybe the reason why I was able to improve my performance when I was over 25 years old. I was part of the Finnish ski-orienteering national team for ten years. Maybe the best results from my career are 5 positions in total at the World Cup, 2008.
After my sports career I was an assistantcoach and then in the beginning of 2015 the headcoach of the Finnish ski-orienteering team. After EUSOC 2020 in Russia I quit the job. It wasn’t an easy decision but my philosopy is that the coach most important task is to help the athletes to get to their best. So it was time to get new ideas and also maybe better results.
After that I have been at some training camps with Finnish team and also coaching our young athletes in cross country skiing and athletics.
One highligt of the year is camp in October at Ramsau am Dachstein. Easy to choose, it’s such a beautiful place.
When I got the information that ÖFOL is looking for new coach, I started to discuss this opportunity with my family. The green light from family were so strong that it was easy to make the decision to apply. After some mails and meetings we found good solutions to handle this.
Ein paar weitere Fragen zu ihm als Trainer, der bevorstehenden Saison und dem Team:
What are you most excited for as the new head coach this season?
Jarkko: Getting to know better your culture and people inside the sport. Of course there is the WSOC home competitions coming.
What challenges does the team face?
Jarkko: Half a year is a short period of time to make big things, such a demand sport. The athletes are at slightly different stages of their career.
How do you prepare the team for those challenges?
Jarkko: We focus on basic elements of skiorienteering. We also have to remember that we have potential success in the team. I dont want to change too much in one time.
What goals do you have? For the team and for your occupation as the new head coach?
Jarkko: If you want good results your basic performance level must be high enough. Only you can affect your own results. Im here to help the athletes and Im sure that I can also progress as a person.
Is there anything else you would like to let our orienteering-community know?
Jarkko: I have to thank Lukas already. Such a great job with what he has done for me.
