"We started with that, basically to help kids, and then we created a pole vault school, which is part of the club and exists to this day. The club and school exist"
About this Quote
Sergei Bubka shifts the focus from medals to legacy, describing a path that begins with helping kids and matures into an institution that endures. The story is incremental: start small, build a community, formalize it into a school within a club, ensure it lasts. The choice of we matters. It signals collaboration with coaches, local officials, and families, and it frames success as collective rather than individual. Coming from the rigorous Soviet sports school system, Bubka understands that talent is cultivated through structures, not moments, and he sets out to recreate that pipeline in a modern, self-sustaining form.
Pole vault is an especially demanding discipline: it requires specialized coaching, proper equipment, and safe facilities. Without dedicated infrastructure, potential is easily lost. A club-school model addresses that gap, giving young athletes a place to learn technique, develop strength and confidence, and absorb a culture of craft. It also provides continuity. The phrase exists to this day carries a quiet pride, suggesting survival through economic shifts and the upheavals that have tested Ukrainian sport. Longevity is proof of purpose.
There is also a moral stance embedded here. Help kids comes before celebrate champions. If excellence emerges, it does so as a byproduct of access, mentorship, and a stable environment. That emphasis differs from one-off philanthropy or headline events. It is institution-building: turning personal fame into durable social capital, so the knowledge of a great athlete becomes a shared resource rather than a private accomplishment.
The tone is matter-of-fact, almost understated, as if endurance needs no flourish. The club and school exist becomes both a report and an ethos. It says that the real measure of a career lies not only in records but in the structures that allow others to dream, train, and eventually surpass the founder.
Pole vault is an especially demanding discipline: it requires specialized coaching, proper equipment, and safe facilities. Without dedicated infrastructure, potential is easily lost. A club-school model addresses that gap, giving young athletes a place to learn technique, develop strength and confidence, and absorb a culture of craft. It also provides continuity. The phrase exists to this day carries a quiet pride, suggesting survival through economic shifts and the upheavals that have tested Ukrainian sport. Longevity is proof of purpose.
There is also a moral stance embedded here. Help kids comes before celebrate champions. If excellence emerges, it does so as a byproduct of access, mentorship, and a stable environment. That emphasis differs from one-off philanthropy or headline events. It is institution-building: turning personal fame into durable social capital, so the knowledge of a great athlete becomes a shared resource rather than a private accomplishment.
The tone is matter-of-fact, almost understated, as if endurance needs no flourish. The club and school exist becomes both a report and an ethos. It says that the real measure of a career lies not only in records but in the structures that allow others to dream, train, and eventually surpass the founder.
Quote Details
| Topic | Coaching |
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