opprettet på: 02.03.2012 12:31 / km

Havard Lie is a former Norwegian ski jumper and now coach of the Continental Cup team. This winter season has been especially successful for his athletes. During the Continental Cup weekend in Wisla, he managed to take the time to talk about some of the specifics of the Norwegian B team.

 

FISskijumping: The jumpers on your team are achieving some impressive results. Do you think this is mainly the consequence of Mika Kojonkoski's training, or more Alexander Stoeckl's influence, or your specific training methods?

 

Havard Lie: Maybe it's a combination of those three things. We were training for a long time with Mika with a lot of the boys, and then Alex came with a bit of a new philosophy, which also happens to suit my philosophy. So it was a bit easier to get through to the boys with that technique, and it's all working better now. But it also worked very well in the beginning with Mika.

 

FISskijumping: There has been a lot of talk about the Austrian training system and philosophy for a long time now. You mentioned that your philosophy is similar to Alexander Stoeckl's. Would you say that it has a big influence on contemporary Norwegian ski jumping?

 

Lie: Yes, I have to say that it does have a big influence. When Alex came, he saw our philosophy and he had his own - of course this is making our jumpers jump longer now than before.

 

FISskijumping: Do you have a training system for kids? For example special schools, like Stams in Austria?

 

Lie: We have a system for athletes from the age of 16, that is when they can start at the special schools. The boys are divided into teams like Trønderhopp, Kollenhopp or Lillehammerhopp. Before that age, we don't have that kind of system. I think that in Stams, they start around the age of 13. But we have coaches so the youngsters know what to do, they just don't go to a special school before they are 16.

 

FISskijumping: Can you count on help from specialists, like the physiotherapists in Austria for example?

 

Lie: Yes, we also have that in Norway. Right now, we have the A team with Alexander Stoeckl and Magnus Brevig, the B team with me and Jermund Lunder, and the ladies' team with Christian Meyer. We also have four or five national coaches and we are always working together. I'm working a lot with Alex, Alex is working a lot with Jermund, so we are a tight group.

 

FISskijumping: Does this mean that you always discuss everything between the different team levels, Continental Cup and World Cup, is it a very close cooperation?

 

Lie: Yes. I pick the Continental Cup team and Alex picks the athletes for the World Cup before every weekend, but we always talk to each other every other day.

 

FISskijumping: You also mentioned local ski clubs - is there a lot of rivalry between them? Because the Norwegians seem to be very close together as a team, very friendly and positive towards one another. Do the local clubs see each other as competition? Which clubs would you say are the strongest?

 

Lie: Maybe that was more of an issue in the B team. In the A team, we have a new coach taking care of the results, but this year we have also been able to make the Continental Cup more of a Norway-oriented team. Before, it was more like you had the different clubs: Trønderhopp and Lillehammerhopp and Kollenhopp. And now everyone knows that this is Norway and we all pull in the same direction. So the jumpers, the coach and the local teams as a whole are also working for Norway. They used to work for their jumpers and their individual teams before, but now it's for Norway and that may be the biggest difference now compared to the previous years.

 

FISskijumping: When you choose the Continental Cup competitors and Alexander Stoeckl chooses the World Cup competitors, what helps you decide? Is it more of a question of results, or your opinion of the potential of each athlete?

 

Lie: No, it's actually 90% based on results. That's also a bit new this year. Before we had thoughts like "Well, now this jumper has bigger potential" and so on, but this year especially Jermund Lunder and I have tried to focus on the results. If you're good enough, you'll go and compete. You can be 30, you can be 21, you can be 16, you just have to be good enough.

 

FISskijumping: There are a lot of Norwegian athletes who are constantly moving between the World Cup and the Continental Cup, like Atle Pedersen Rønsen, Anders Fannemel, Vegard Swensen, Vegard Haukø Sklett and so on. Do you think this rotation is positive for both teams and for Norwegian ski jumping in general? Is it a big goal for you to get your ski jumpers to the World Cup?

 

Lie: No, not for me. The big goal for me is to help make Norway the best ski jumping nation in the world. That's my goal. That's the only goal, no question about it. And you mentioned that we are going back and forth from the World Cup to the Continental Cup and so on, but that's happening because of the results. When Tom Hilde got injured, then there was a free spot, so Kenneth Gangnes came in. Kenneth did well, but when Tom came back again, he took the eleventh place and won the qualification. So he was better again, that's why he got the spot back. We are not trying to make everyone go from the Continental Cup to the World Cup, but we are hoping that everyone can get good enough for the World Cup. Still, there are just 7 spots, so they have to wait for their turn.

 

FISskijumping: What about the training conditions for the Continental Cup athletes, are they comparable to those of the World Cup team, or are there any major differences?

 

Lie: The difference is that the A team has much more money than the B team, but you can still do the same training. We organize training camps, so for example if we are having a camp in Trondheim, then we sometimes stay at my place to cut costs. That can also be a good thing, because doing things like that makes us tighter as a team. But generally, training-wise, they have the same possibilities as the World Cup jumpers.

 

FISskijumping: Do you have camps abroad as well, like you did back when Mika Kojonkoski was head coach? Such as your annual summer trainings in Zakopane or all over Europe, so that the jumpers have a chance to get familiar with different hills?

 

Lie: We'll see about that next year. For now we have good hills and good places to train in Norway, and that's also a matter of funding. But we have actually thought about Zakopane, because it is an inexpensive place for us to go. However, there will also be some Continental Cup competitions in the summer, other competitions at home, so we will have to see. But hopefully we can organize something similar. We want to have a camp where we can go and be alone as a team, with no others, and just work for a week, and that could be it. We'll see.

 

FISskijumping: The head coach is always under a lot of pressure and has to face the expectations of the ski association, the media and the fans. Do you get to feel any of that pressure as a B team coach?

 

Lie: A little bit, not nearly the same pressure as Alex. However, I think that everyone knows now that Norway is a good jumping nation, but we are not the best, and we're aiming to be the best. And all the fans and all the media, everyone is giving us time. We're trying to make it. So I don't think that Alex is feeling the big pressure yet, like Mika did in the last years. Everyone is quite nice now. (laughs) But it's not the same for me. With the Continental Cup, when you're doing well, it's there’s some interest, but when you're doing bad, no one cares.

 

FISskijumping: Aside from the goal that you mentioned - to be the best in the world, what are some of your personal training goals for your team? What are you focusing on?

 

Lie: When it comes to results for the B team, our goal before the season was to try to get one jumper to be a World Cup jumper. If we do that, we will be satisfied. If one of our athletes will be on the A team next year and will manage to stay in the World Cup - then we will be happy. This year has been a bit of a special year for us.

 

FISskijumping: Would you say that there are any less known jumpers who have been showing above average potential? This year we've seen some relatively new athletes, like Mats Berggaard, Espen Roee, Simen Grimsrud, and others. Do you think any one of them has the chance to make it big in ski jumping?

 

Lie: I see that in all of them. They are actually young boys who have been training very well, and I see that potential in every one. I don't judge jumpers according to their weight - they can weigh 59 or 61 kilograms, be tall or small. We just try to do the best with every athlete every day, every year, and to see who is the best. Right now in the World Cup, there is Severin Freund who is a really big guy, you have different jumpers like Andreas Wank, Simon Ammann, Vegard Haukoe Sklett. For example, Sklett has a bit of a stiff, strange body, but he's still jumping, so we have to try to do the best for everyone, and we will have good results.

 

FISskijumping: How is Johan Martin Brandt's situation looking? Is he going to be jumping again anytime soon?

 

Lie: I think he's going to start jumping next week, so let's see. He was really unlucky. But now he has been training well mentally, and he's been doing all he could physically, so he is in good physical shape. Still, he probably needs some time to reach the same level again. But I hope we will take him to Kuopio just to give him the last competition, if he is jumping okay.

 

FISskijumping: What is your opinion on Johan Remen Evensen's decision to quit ski jumping? Do you think it was a bit early, or that he may want to come back like Anders Jacobsen?

 

Lie: I think Anders is coming back for sure. But Johan is a totally different guy, and he's a special guy, and I think he has done everything he can do as a jumper. He is not the kind of guy who is fighting really hard every day. He is a bit like an artist, going his own way. If it's the right decision now? For him - yes. He made it, so it probably was the right decision.

 

FISskijumping: Do you think it's possible for Anders Jacobsen to come back and achieve top results after such a long break? Has he been training at all while he was away from professional jumping?

 

Lie: Yes, he has a chance. He has been training dancing (laughs). No, I think Anders is a really smart guy, a humble guy. He's actually perfect for ski jumping and perfect for a coach to train, so I think he will keep going for sure.

 

FISskijumping: Let's hope he does, and good luck to you and your team.