Three months ago, he held the VTB United Youth League champion's cup over his head, which he won as the head coach of Zenit-M. Today he works in the staff of the main team of Lokomotiv Kuban. We talked to Artyom Mikhailovich about his coaching career, his unusual records and how long he doubted about returning to Krasnodar, where he had already won medals in the Russian Championship – with the Loko juniors.
- How did you become a coach?
- At the age of 19, I played in the Superliga-1 for Spartak-Primorye, and got a serious injury – a torn cruciate ligament. After recovery, there was an opportunity to play in the Superliga-2 or start coaching in the Sakhalin club. I decided that there would be much more prospects in coaching, especially because at that time Sakhalin had a very good staff: head coach Eduard Raud, assistants Maxim Uchaikin and Gleb Plotnikov. I decided not to miss the opportunity to start learning.
- How did you get in Loko for the first time?
- In 2018, Roman Evgenievich Semerninov invited me here from Irkutsk – he was then the head coach of the youth teams of Lokomotiv Kuban and was looking for an assistant. I worked with him for a year in the Superliga-2, then we started working with younger guys: we won bronze in the DYuBL Championship, and for those born in 2004, we became champions of Russia.
- Who of these champions still plays for Loko?
- Mikhail Vedische is in the main team, Artyom Oreshnikov is in the Superliga team, and Sergey Shchetinin is on loan at Novosibirsk.
- In 2021, you moved to Kupol-Rodniki BC, where you became the youngest head coach in the history of the Superliga...
- Initially, I came to the Izhevsk team as an assistant to Miloš Pavićević, but a month later, he was invited to UNICS. Then I had a conversation with Konstantin Nikolaevich Starodumov, the general director of Kupol-Rodniki, in which he offered me to lead the team. It was an offer impossible to refuse. I am very grateful to him for such trust.
- How hard was it working there?
- It was okay, although a bit nerve-wracking. It was a tough, but very useful experience. If I could go back in time and assume that I would get the same offer again, I would agree without any doubts.
- From Izhevsk you moved to St. Petersburg, where you won bronze in the VTB United Youth League with Zenit-M, and then gold a year later, in 2024. How long did it take you to consider accepting Loko's offer from that point?
- This is exactly the promotion I was counting on. At Zenit, after the gold medals of the VTB United Youth league, I was offered to work as an assistant in the Superliga, and at Lokomotiv – in the country's main championship. So I didn't have any difficulties in making the decision.
- What is your specialisation in the coaching staff?
- Every coach in our team is multi-skilled. It’s not like I specialize in, say, only defense or attack. Before each training session, our we discuss who of us will be responsible for what, what to pay attention to during the session. And then we do it.
- Some of Loko players are older than you. Is it a problem?
- Not at all. There is no age on the court. There is a player and there is a coach. Our team consists of devoted professionals. We all treat each other with great respect.
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