On July 19, Ukraine officially celebrates a professional holiday – Coach’s Day, in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 263/2021 dated 06.24.2021 “On Coach’s Day”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the document, which established July 19 as Coach’s Day. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine headed by Serhiy Bubka, the Association of Sports Journalists, as well as the world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, People’s Deputy of Ukraine Zhan Beleniuk took part in the development of the draft decree. The date of the celebration was not chosen by chance. It was on July 19, 1996 that Ukraine took part in the Olympic Games for the first time.
It is believed that the coaching profession in its modern sense originated in Great Britain in the 19th century. At first, coaches were called private tutors who helped Oxford University students prepare for exams, but later it acquired a new meaning – a specialist responsible for the preparation of a sports team.
A coach is a key figure in an athlete’s training. The coach is always close to the athlete during his training and competitive practice. He helps to achieve sports results, teaches to set goals and achieve them, cultivates will power, responsibility, team spirit, punctuality, composure, monitors the athletes’ health, regime, nutrition, sleep, this person feels the mood of the students, knows how to encourage in time.
Today, a coach is a broad concept that includes team coaches in team sports, specialists who train athletes in individual sports, and coaches of national teams in various sports, both team and individual. And physiotherapists, nutritionists and sports doctors, although they are not coaches in the literal sense of the word, are also considered members of the coaching staff.
Many Ukrainian coaches forever inscribed their names in the history of not only Ukrainian, but also world sports. Among them, for example, Valery Lobanovskyi is one of the most successful coaches in the history of European and world football; Oleg Blokhin, who coached Greek and Ukrainian football clubs, as well as the Ukrainian national team; Iryna Deryugina – coach of the national artistic gymnastics team of Ukraine; Galina Zmiivska, who led Oksana Bayul to the Olympic gold medal in figure skating; and many others.
Khmelnytskyi National University is famous for its sports achievements. Students worthily represent our university at various competitions in all-Ukrainian and international arenas. All this is the result of the efforts of trainers — teachers of the Department of Theory and Methodology of Physical Education and Sports and the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, as well as the sports club of the university. And the Faculty of Health, Psychology, Physical Culture and Sports of KhNU trains specialists who will also be involved in coaching in the future.
We congratulate current and future coaches on their professional holiday and wish them health, happiness, inspiration for new training methods and good mood, as well as worthy and grateful pupils, new sports victories in the name of Ukraine, patience, enthusiasm, energy and confidence in his own strength in such a necessary and useful matter.
Department of Public Relations
