The coach of Cavigal Nice Basket 06’s women’s team, Olga Tarasenko, seems to have the method to propel her team to the top. The Russian tactician, however, has only one guiding principle: hard work.
What can be said is that at just 41 years old, Olga Tarasenko is certainly not lacking in experience. First, as a player, she nonetheless won the European Junior Championships with the USSR in 1988. As for the clubs she has played for, she took a real tour of the old continent. Consider this: she played in the Latvian championship (in Riga), then France (Clermont-Ferrand), Finland, back in France (Toulouse), Spain, back in France (Bordeaux), returned to Spain and finally settled in Nice to end her career at 34.
“Here to Work”
But for Olga Tarasenko, the end of her playing career marks the beginning of another well-considered adventure. “I always had the desire to coach, to pass on my expertise to the young. After my playing career, I definitely wanted to stay in the basketball world,” she explains. And in this role, even if her philosophy may seem a bit harsh, the Russian coach undeniably proves to be effective. “In my relationship with my players, I am primarily looking for respect, not to be liked. I am here to enforce a certain rigor, a discipline. The girls are here to work. There is no room for cheating in my team.”
At least this much is clear. It is a philosophy quite common in the sports world. Many coaches (rightly or wrongly) hold the same discourse. One might think that she was influenced by someone she considers a mentor, but again, a very clear answer: “I don’t really have a model as a coach. I’ve had many coaches in my career and I just try to take the good sides from them and discard the bad.”
A Natural Authority
And it works, as the first women’s team of Cavigal is currently fourth in League 2 and fighting to reach the top level, the elite of basketball in the category.
So, the “Tarasenko method” is a mixture of work and respect. But this method, it’s her collaborators who talk about it best. “Olga, above all, brings rigor from the Eastern countries but uses it intelligently. She has a sort of natural authority that makes the players adapt to Olga themselves. She manages to convey a coherent message to the group,” states the general manager of CNB06, Claude Pallanca. “And what I’ve noticed is that she has gained a lot of confidence over the past two years. The players are increasingly listening to her. Now, if the group manages to move up from League 2 to League 1 by the end of the season, I have no doubt about Olga’s ability to lead them at the very high level, given the experience she has gained in recent years.” There’s only one way to find out…
