July 12, 2007

Renowned Russian coach featured at training seminar

By Troy Ruel

In the world of international track and field, Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk has no equal.

Bondarchuk was an Olympic champion in the hammer throw during the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, but is renowned more for his coaching and the development of the Russian strength and throwing program over the last three decades.

Athletes under his direction have won every hammer throw medal in four consecutive non-boycotted Olympics -- the Soviet Union did not attend the 1984 Games in Los Angeles -- and broke 18 world records from 1976-92 in the hammer, discus and shot put.

Bondarchuk will be the featured speaker at a seminar this weekend in Grand Rapids. The convention is being presented by Muskegon-based Ultimate Athlete Concepts and will be hosted at Calvin College. Other speakers include Dr. Vladimir Issurin, Dr. Michael Yessis and Tony Schwartz.

"In track and field, no one has come close to what Dr. Bondarchuk has accomplished," said Yosef Johnson, a Muskegon resident who is coordinating the seminar through his company. "It would be like John Wooden coming here to talk about basketball."

Bondarchuk was visiting Muskegon earlier this week and will speak Saturday and Sunday during the three-day event. His speech is centered on "the transfer of training" which is based on his research into technique and high-performance training methods he developed as coach of the USSR National Team.

Bondarchuk is a doctor of pedagogical science and has authored 11 books and most recently has been consulting the Kamloops Track and Field Club in Canada. He's also spent time coaching national teams in Portugal and Kuwait.

Johnson, a business major at Indiana University, was introduced to Bondarchuk through Dr. Yessis, a professor emeritus at Cal-State Fullerton, where he is a multi-sports specialist in biomechanics and sports conditioning and training. Yessis introduced many of Bondarchuk's training methods and secrets to the English-speaking world through the translation of his articles nearly 30 years ago.

Johnson has purchased the publishing rights for many of the articles by both men and offers them at his Web site at www.ultimateathleteconcepts.com. He has used much of the research to aid in his own business ventures, which include the training of several area high school athletes.

Two current students were city and regional champs during last spring's track and field season in their respective events.

"What we do is based on the whole idea of biomechanics," Johnson said. "As a group, we take certain techniques and transfer those into specialized exercises for the kids."

Dr. Issurin is the scientific and professional coordinator at the Elite Sport Department of the Israeli Olympic Committee, while Schwartz has worked as a consultant for various collegiate and professional teams and is the head performance coach at the Athletic Performance Academy in Minnesota.

The seminar runs from 6-10 p.m. Friday at Calvin College's DeVos Communications Theatre, while Sunday's speeches will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. The seminar begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

For registration and other information, see www.ultimateathleteconcepts.com.