Do Harsh and Punishing Coaching Techniques Make Better Athletes? Nathan Chen Shares His Opinion

22-year-old American figure skater Nathan Chen finally won his first Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. Chen’s first Winter Olympics were in 2018 in Pyeongchang, where he finished with a bronze individual title.

Now, with his golden victory in 2022, Chen is enjoying the limelight and adulation of the world. Naturally, with a golden victory also come interviews and the public eye, and Chen is no stranger to either.

On the contrary, there has been plenty of controversy around Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva. Moreover, her coach came under fire for being too harsh on the teenager, and here’s Chen’s opinion on the same.

Nathan Chen talks about whether harsh coaching is necessary

Nathan Chen, off his maiden gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics, talked about whether harsh coaching is the only way to achieve results. In his interview with The New Yorker, he referred to Kamila Valieva, and how her coach Eteri Tutberidze berated her for falling.

Subsequently, the president of the International Olympic Association called the incident disturbing. However, the Kremlin responded by saying that the key to achieving results in high-level sports is a coach’s harshness.

When asked about his opinion on the matter, Nathan Chen stated how “there has to be discipline to the sport.” He opined that “there has to be a certain amount of time and hours that you spend (practicing).”

Then, he addressed mistakes. “I don’t think you need to necessarily punish, but I do think you have to be strict,” Chen stated. According to Nathan Chen, “the sport has to be very precise and defined”.

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Thus, “it’s important to note certain mistakes and to hold an athlete to a certain standard of accomplishment.”?However, Chen disagrees with any punishment, per se. “I don?t think there has to be any physical punishment, any verbal punishment,” the two-time Olympic medalist expressed.

Chen describes his personal coaching experiences

Speaking about his own relationships with authority figures in his life, Chen was quite forthcoming. “I?ve had very healthy relationships with my coaches, a very healthy relationship with my parents,” he said.

Chen stated that he has had healthy relationships with fellow athletes and teammates, too. “I?ve been able to do pretty well in the sport, you know,” he said, expressing the sentiment that harsh and punishing coaching is not the only way to win.

Then, he praised his own coach, Rafael Arutyunyan. “He guides us and allows us to develop on our own time,” Chen described. “He?s very aware of the fact that we, as humans, need rest, that we need time to recover,” Chen continued.

Moreover, he also shared how his coach “believes in us, too. He gives us the opportunity to continue growing and doing what we believe we need, and he fully trusts that”. Clearly, the Olympic gold medalist has no qualms regarding his relationship with his coach.

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It goes to show how there is never a certain set-in-stone technique to reach your fullest potential.