The idea to try himself as a coach of the men’s team has been maturing for a long time. This was stated in an interview with RT by Helen Shakirova— the first Russian woman to head a men’s basketball club. According to her, the leadership of Aktobe Kazakhstan has moved away from stereotypical thinking when choosing a mentor. The Olympic champion said that she values professionalism and the desire to learn new things independently in the players, and also admitted that she would love to talk with Becky Hammon. In addition, Shakirova recalled how the silver medalists of the Tokyo Games, the Frolkin sisters and Yulia Kozik, convinced her that streetball was no less exciting than classic basketball.

• The news about your appointment to the Aktobe men’s basketball club, we can say, blew up the media space. Doesn’t it surprise you that this happened?
• No, absolutely. I know my capabilities well, so I took it as a new challenge. I have long had a dream to try my hand at men’s basketball. I wanted to get to know him better, get to know him.

— How did you get into Aktobe?

— After leaving Dynamo Kursk, I was open to offers, but I wanted the work not to remain just a job, but also to cling, make me develop, move forward. Agent Igor Zaikin and I considered various offers, but decided to take a chance and try our hand at men’s basketball. Negotiations were held, including with the clubs of the Russian Super League, but the leadership of Aktobe turned out to be more persistent. We quickly came to a common denominator. I was considered as a coach with experience of playing in the Euroleague, who worked in the coaching staff of the national team, and also trained a new generation of athletes who currently make up the backbone of the national team. The most important thing in the dialogue process was to move away from the stereotype of a female coach, and I think we succeeded. After weighing all the pros and cons, we came to the conclusion that at this stage of our career, the game is worth the candle. That’s how I ended up in a Kazakh club. But this does not mean that I am closing the door to women’s basketball, I will be happy to return, especially if my new experience will be useful to someone.

— Little is known about your new team in Russia…

• The club is based near the border with Russia. I haven’t been to the city of Aktobe yet, the negotiations were conducted remotely, but I have an idea about it, fortunately there is Internet. After all, I myself come from Central Asia, so this region is close and familiar to me. This is not some kind of shocking or negative factor. Initially, Igor voiced the option of an ambitious club and was asked to call. During the conversation, I realized that our positions on many issues coincide and there are people behind the team who, just like me, breathe basketball. I understand that these are completely different speeds, power struggle, decision-making, but I got the impression that we coincided in our aspirations.

— Have you met the players yet?

• Not yet. Negotiations were held only with the management, the details of the contract and my move were discussed. While I’m still in Russia, I’m going to fly out in a week. There will be time to get acquainted and establish relationships.

— When did you come to the idea that you want to coach a men’s team?

— I finished my playing career in 2009. After that, she came to Vidnoye, was an assistant coach for girls, then began working with boys in parallel, went to the youth team, then switched completely to boys. I worked with them until 2013, when I received an offer to lead a youth team in Kursk. Then I decided to jump a few steps at once and go there. When I was studying boys and girls aged 13-14 at the same time, I realized that men’s basketball was also interesting to me. I was constantly watching him, comparing him, and the idea of trying it was spinning in my head. Since everything worked out with the girls, a very long way was passed, there was no opportunity to realize your dream. And now it so happened that I brought the girls to the national team and Olympic medals and thought about what I want. If there is a craving for something, then you always need to try.

— Do you perceive what is happening as an experiment?

• No, this is another challenge in my coaching career. A new step, not some temporary solution.

— You mentioned that you are aware of the difference that you will have to face after switching from women’s basketball to men’s.

— I talked a lot with colleagues who led various teams. I also talked a lot with my first coach Sergey Ambartsumov, to whom I often turn for advice. Now there is an opportunity to experience on your own how big this difference is, where the line runs.

• Becky Hammon, who once played in the Russian national team, has long been a member of the coaching staff of the San Antonio Spurs and once even served as head coach. Would you like to talk to her about this topic?

— IT WOULD BE INTERESTING. MAYBE WE WILL HAVE SUCH A CONVERSATION AND IN THE FUTURE WE WILL EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES, OUR IDEAS AND SUBTLETIES. I THINK SHE HAS SOMETHING TO SHARE AND SOMETHING TO TELL, I WOULD ALSO SHARE MY THOUGHTS. WE COULD FIND A LOT IN COMMON, HELP EACH OTHER. BECKY IS A GREAT FELLOW, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT SHE IS PERCEIVED IN THE CLUB AS A PROFESSIONAL WHO HAS A HUGE GAMING EXPERIENCE AND CAN SHARE IT. I ALSO HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL THE YOUNGER GENERATION, BECAUSE AT THE CLUB LEVEL I WON ALMOST EVERYTHING.

— Aren’t you afraid that it will be more difficult to work with men than with girls?

— I don’t divide anyone on the site by gender. There are only players and a coach, everything else lies beyond the plane of professionalism. I am ready to help those with whom I go further, to reveal their strengths. This is my main task. I don’t even want to think that it’s easier with someone and not with someone. This is not the most important thing when working with a team. You need to build relationships with her regardless of gender.

— Why do you think there are not enough female coaches in men’s teams at all?

— I think this is a question for the heads of clubs, why they do not consider women as mentors. Maybe not all women themselves want to go to work with men, because this is a different basketball and they are uncomfortable in this element.

— While working in Kursk, you coached Evgenia and Olga Frolkin and Yulia Kozik, who became silver medalists in 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics. Tell us how you became their coach?

— The next year after I joined the Dynamo youth team, the Russian Basketball Federation introduced an age limit, and many of the girls stopped being age-appropriate. Then the club management decided to recruit young people for the future. We took a lot of players from the Gomel school, among them were the Frolkin sisters, and a year later Kozik came. At first we played in the youth team, showed up in the Super League, then under the name “Inventa” we played in the Premier League, took fifth and seventh places. The girls were growing up, they were becoming players. Just two years ago they were invited to 3×3 basketball.

— How did you react to this?

— At first I was against it. I understood that this is a different kind of sport, more contact, with a different coating. I was worried that the girls might get hurt. However, they forced me to look at the situation differently, convinced me of the correctness of the chosen path. After watching how they come back after the training camp, I realized that this is really their game. After the first tournament, they told how much they liked the street version of the game. At the same time, the girls did not get into the national team in classic basketball, they were not even candidates, and then there was an opportunity to represent the country, although they were not yet 23 years old.

— Is it possible to say that you are also somehow involved in their silver, which pleased many fans?

• Yes, after all, Frolkins and Kozik mostly play 5×5 basketball, they gain experience in it, played in the Euroleague and the FIBA Cup. We don’t have a strong 3×3 championship in which you can mature, only in the summer they play it. Therefore, we can say that I am related to the success of girls, to their upbringing.

— Do you like 3×3 basketball yourself?

— At first I didn’t take it very seriously, but in the summer I visited St. Petersburg, looked at the training sessions, the games. Then I was interested in it, I really liked it, my attitude changed dramatically.

— If such an option existed when you were a player, would you try yourself in it?

• Now I think so.
• Many people compare street basketball with beach soccer and say that success in it is achieved by those who have not found themselves in the classic versions of the game.

— No, I do not agree with this statement of the question. It has its own specifics. Basketball players have a real chance to play well in one discipline and in another, and it’s not as easy as it might seem.

• At one time, Red Bull held a King of the Rock tournament, where they played 1×1. Can this also be considered an independent sport?

— THE MORE DIFFERENT COMPETITIONS THERE ARE, THE MORE IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE POPULARIZATION OF BASKETBALL, BOTH CLASSICAL AND ANY OTHER. THIS ALLOWS PLAYERS TO FIND THEMSELVES IF IT DIDN’T WORK OUT IN ONE FORM, BUT CAME OUT IN ANOTHER. OR IT HAPPENS THAT A BASKETBALL PLAYER GETS BORED OF THE SAME THING AND WANTS A NEW ONE, WHY NOT THEN PLAY IN A DIFFERENT FORM? THE MORE PLAYERS ENJOY THE GAME, THE BETTER.

— And if we consider 3×3 basketball from the point of view of a coach? Does it help to develop in the classics?

— We use some techniques when we work out interactions either in defense or in attack. It’s just that there are specifics that you need to play on one ring, not two. Street basketball has a completely different dynamic of movement, as well as a completely different endurance, the last two minutes in 3 ×3 basketball are a struggle of characters, and in sports, as you know, character and willpower play a decisive role.