For two years now, Oh Seon Tek has been the head coach of the French archery team. The Korean was recruited by the French federation and the national sports agency in view of the Olympic Games. Former coach of South Korea, he is a big name in the discipline. He himself participated in the 2000 and 2012 Olympics.
Regularity and flexibility
Oh Seon Tek – Mr. Oh to the archers he trains – arrived in France with his method in his suitcases. “He played a very important role in structuring the timetables, the season and the number of arrows shot, which increased a lot,” explains Jean-Charles Valladont, the most experienced archer of the French team, silver medalist in Rio in 2016.
A Korean method which required the French team to review its shooting technique. “He brought his technical touch, a certain expertise. In France, we often had to be very strong to hold our bow and be able to put an arrow in the middle. Mr. Oh really brought us regularity in shooting and flexibility. The idea is to concentrate on the pure execution of the gesture, to think only of that to free ourselves from stress or external elements.”
Time to adapt and accept
And it is proving its worth. French archers are breaking their various records. But it was necessary to adapt after years of working “à la française”. “Everyone had a different adaptation, recognizes Jean-Charles Valladont. Already psychologically, we had to accept having to start from the beginning. Habits had been acquired, it was our way of shooting but, for Mr. Oh, they were bad.
Why did you hire a Korean coach? “There is a very professional side to archery in Korea, recognizes the French archer. They have a structure with many professional teams, business teams with car manufacturers, car operators as sponsors.”
Already a Korean coach in 2006
A development that allows for a large pool of archers. “When they do national selections, there are maybe 150 Koreans who can claim it. And these 150 archers are at the same level as the three best French.”
Jean-Charles Valladont was not surprised by the arrival of this coach from South Korea since he had already experienced this in 2006. “We’re not going to become Korean or live like a Korean because that’s how we succeed. We just have to take everything positive from this preparation.”
The only problem – which isn’t really one – with Oh Seon Tek: the language barrier. “On a daily basis at Insep, we have a translator, explains Jean-Charles Valladont. But in three years, we have developed a dialect with Mr. Oh that allows us to understand each other.”
2024-07-03 10:06:22
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