When Barry Trotz, the head coach of the NHL Washington Capitals, gave an interview to a Russian sports publication, "Sports-Express," he mentioned that one of his sons was working in Vladimir. Several Russian sports publications tracked down the son, Tyson, and he ended up giveing a number of interviews. Following is a translation of the longest of the published interviews.
Tyson is currently at home in the States where he is recovering from an operation on one of his knees. (See the comments on his knee problems below.) He will be returning to Vladimir in August for a second year of teaching English in the American Home program.
Tyson's girlfriend at the lake
Tyson is currently at home in the States where he is recovering from an operation on one of his knees. (See the comments on his knee problems below.) He will be returning to Vladimir in August for a second year of teaching English in the American Home program.
Sport
Tribune
March 30, 2016
http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/thethinblueline/920670.html
The thin blue line
The interesting history
of hockey -- and more
"Kholodets
-- I don’t know how people can eat this."
The son of
the Washington Capitals head coach is a teacher in Vladimir
Two weeks ago, Barry
Trotz, head coach of the Washington
Capitals -- the best team in the NHL this season -- gave an interview to
"Sport-Express" [a Russian publication]. In it, he talked about the great Russian
forward Alexander Ovechkin, the new star Dmitry Orlov, other hockey heroes, and
-- very briefly -- about his son, who loves Russian culture so much that he has
gone to work in Russia.
For the last 8 months
24-year-old Tyson Trotz has been living in Vladimir. Cyril Novokshchenov [traveled to Vladimir] to
visit with him.
The American Home is a
private school hidden in an attractive three-storey building in the center of
Vladimir. The school's customers are
local residents who want to learn English from native speakers from the United
States. Tyson Trotz has been working here since last September.
- You only teach
English?
- Yeah. But on Saturdays we give presentations. Each teacher prepares a presentation which
they give during the school year.
Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday we give lessons; on Wednesdays we
have a teacher's meeting, and we prepare for our classes, grade assignments,
and do other necessary things.
Conversation classes meet Wednesday evenings. The conversation classes are
held for those who do not want to go to regular classes. They come just once a week to practice their
English. Some students have reached a
high enough level that they don't need to attend a regular class. The students range in age from 12 or 13 up to
50 years old or even older.
-Do you remember a
particular day when you woke up and realized that you wanted to devote your
life to the study of Slavic culture?
- No, it was a process.
My family has Slavic roots. [A
great grandfather] was born in Ukraine.
So this fascinated me more and more -- the history and culture; and I learned more and more. How old was I when I decided that my future
work will be associated with this topic?
I think I was about 9 or 10 years old.
- How do you perceive
your future work?
- I'm not sure exactly what
I want to do right after I finish working at the "American
Home." I will stay here for another
year. Learning about Russia will be of
help no matter how my career develops because I want to do something associated
with Russian culture.
I love to teach. In college I did some work as a private
tutor, helping high school kids who were struggling with their grades. I like to
teach people. Perhaps one day I will
become a university professor, and I will teach students about Russian culture.
I probably won't teach the Russian language -- which is very difficult.
My ultimate dream is to write historical
novels about Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine.
- Which historical
period is of particular interest to you?
- I love
antiquity: Kievan Rus, the Tartar-Mongol
invasion, and a little bit after that. I'm not a fan of modern history.
- Is your work similar to your father's work as
a hockey coach?
- I think it is. Much
depends on the organization. My father has become a head coach, so he has an
advantage. Now his job is to lead the
other coaches. We both need to make decisions.
A coach needs to know his players, to understand in what combinations
they work best. Right? This is true for teaching as well. Most
students learn best from specific types of activities or when they work with a
certain other student.
Creating
lessons which take different learning styles into account is
similar to choosing the best combinations of players in hockey. Different
people have different characteristics. This semester I did some reorganizing of the lessons to help the students better understand the material.
- According to you, a
teacher can be friendly with his students?
- It depends on the
students. I'm friends with most of my
students. Among them are my closest friends. But at the same time, if the students do not
respect you, do not listen to you, this does not work. You just need to know your students well
before you choose your approach to them.
* * *
- Before you moved to
Washington in 2014, for 16 years your father was the coach in Nashville. Was he
very upset when they decided to let him go?
- Of course, it was
sad. After such a long time in one place, moving is always sad. But at the same time, for a NHL coach to work
for 16 years in one place -- it's incredible. Well, the move to Washington --
it wasn't bad. My parents like life in
the capital.
- What is your father like when he is coping with
disappointment after serious setbacks?
- In his first years [as a coach] job stress was
much stronger. He tried to leave all
of his [work-related problems] at work,
not drag them home. But if the season
ended badly, we just left for our Canadian cottage on a lake and vacationed
there. The view is simply stunning. This lake -- Okanagan -- is on a list of the
10 most beautiful lakes in the world.
The water is simply
beautiful. In general, we go there to
relax. We rest, we do a lot of
hiking. In the summer it's an incredible
place. You can just sit and enjoy the
view, or you can take a boat ride.
- Who is stricter:
Barry Trotz the coach or Barry Trotz the father?
- The coach. Mom was
defiantly the stricter one. She thought
that my dad wasn’t strict enough with us. You do realize that my mother raised
us while my father was at work. If we
wanted to do something, and my mother was against it, we always ran to our
father, because we knew that he would let us do what we wanted to do. And when
my mother found out about this, my poor unknowing father was the one who got in
trouble.
- You left to study [in
college] before your parents moved to
Washington?
- Yes, I attended
Sewanee [The University of the South].
It is located in southern Tennessee between Nashville and
Chattanooga. It is an hour and a half drive from Nashville. You can easily go
home. I used to go to Nashville for a
[hockey] match, and then return to campus the next morning.
- Did you play any
sports at the university?
- Formally, no. I just exercised on my own. I walked a lot and went hiking in the woods,
rode my bike, skateboarded, and went to the gym. In general, to get on any university team,
you need to seriously pursue a particular sport. As luck would have it, they didn't have a
hockey team [at Sewanee] when I was there. This was only added after I
graduated from the university. So I
played hockey only when I came home for the holidays or weekends.
- How is it that in the
US university sports are so popular?
-
In part,
people just love to watch their children achieve something. Many universities are proud of the
achievements of their sports teams.
Students support them even after graduation. I think many people root
for their university's teams because of their fond memories of
their student days.
- Who do you see
yourself as: Canadian or American?
- I live in America, I
was born there, so, of course, I am an American. But we spend so much time in
Canada, my parents are Canadians, so ... There's a strange phenomenon. When I'm in America, all my friends think of
me as a Canadian, and when I am in Canada all my friends think of me as an
American.
- You grew up the son
of a hockey coach. How much did this effect your childhood?
- A little. But when people ask about this, they comment
with delight: "Oh, that's your father -- the coach, that's so cool!"
... Yes, this is interesting, but everything in life has its pros and cons.
I remember in college I
asked a classmate: "What does your father do?" "Well, he works for the military. He invents things for the army. he collects
information. I'm not sure exactly what he does because we are not allowed to
talk about it at home. "It turns
out that your father might be a spy or someone like that." It's funny....
We grew up in
Tennessee. Before the [NHL]
"Predators" there wasn't any hockey. The city [of Nashville] had just
one ice rink, as I recall. A second rink was built [only after the NHL
Predators came]. Nobody in
Nashville understood the game of hockey. I played hockey as a young child in
Maine . It was strange to move from the
north where ice hockey culture is everywhere, to the south where
hardly anyone was familiar with the game. But in
addition to regular trips to the ice rink, there were some events that we had
to attend with celebrities because my father was also a celebrity in Nashville.
- Does it snow in
Tennessee?
- Yes, it snows, but
only occasionally, not like [here in Vladimir].
[In Tennessee] there is only occasionally enough snow for a few days
sledding. I remember two times when the
city had significant snow storms and the roads were covered with ice. We even
suggested skating on the streets. I
think that once we even did this.
- In Nashville do they
play anything besides country music?
- Actually, yes. I am not a fan of country music. But mom and
dad like it very much. I prefer rock,
heavy metal, folk, swing, and 30s and 40s music.
* * *
- What has most
surprised you in Russia?
- I did not experience
any major culture shock. When I arrived, it turned out that everything was
pretty much as I had expected it to be.
"Great"! Though there was one thing that was quite
surprising: Russians do not participate
in recycling. There is a park next to
the building where I live. It could be a very nice park, but there is so
much trash.... And this despite the fact
that the Russians love nature.
There was also the case
when we had planned to go to the countryside.
At the last minute some of the teachers decided not to go. When we arrived at the dacha, the food had
already been cooked. There were 10 kilograms of sashlik for just 10 people! [1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.] And there were even salads, bread, and so on.
We stayed there for the whole day. We
ate and ate. We drank tea. We talked, and we ate some more. It was fun.
- In Russia, is there a
food that you do not understand?
- Yeah. Aspic
[kholodyets]. I do not know how people can manage to eat this. I was told that
it is good for my knee problem, so I tried it, but ... They then said that I have not tried the
right kind of kholodyets. I was assured that if I tried the right version, then
I would like it. But with each new
attempt it got worse.
- How did you injure
your knees?
- It resulted from the
way I walk. My feet turn in when I walk.
As a result, the stress on my knees is increased. When my knees started to hurt
I thought nothing serious would come
from this. Of course I should have
sought treatment right away. It is
unfortunate that I currently can't take long walks or ride a bike. But that will soon change.
- What is your favorite Russian word?
- Probably pereputyvat' [to confuse]. That's funny.
- Has your ability to
speak Russian improved during the months you have lived here?
- Yes, there has been significant
progress. Of course, there are still
problems. We are in a [somewhat]
enclosed environment. At work, I speak English with my students, [and with the other
teachers and most of the Russian staff].
This limits my opportunity to practice my Russian. I of course speak Russian with my host
family. Actually, I can speak Russian
much better now, but, like most
people who study a language, it seems to me that my progress is always not
enough.
- Do you rent an
apartment here?
- No, I live with a
family -- a mother and son and a babushka [grandmother]. I have my own room, I am fed breakfast and
dinner, and we spend the weekends together.
It is a very nice family. They
treat me like a full-fledged member of the family. We often go to their dacha,
collect mushrooms, and rest.
- Do you ever feel
overfed ?
- Well, not now. But it seemed that that was what was being attempted
when I first got here. There was a lot
of food. Many of our teachers
encountered this. The first couple of
months I had enough to eat for breakfast and lunch to last me for the whole
day. Generally Russians conserve food more -- they throw out
less [than Americans].
- What do you miss most
in terms of lifestyle?
- For example, while I
definitely like the public transportation system in Russia, at home in America
I was able to ride a bike and walk everywhere.
There is a problem with doing that here.
Of course my knees are
the main reason I can't do this, but even with a healthy body, biking all over
Vladimir could be dangerous. There are many cars and no bike paths to safely
ride on.
I miss Mexican
food. You don't cook spicy food in
Russia.
Of course, I have
especially missed being able to see close relatives and friends. During this school year I was able to see my
parents, one of my sisters, and my girlfriend only once. That was over the [Christmas and] New Year's
holiday [when I was able to fly home for a few days].
- You have a girlfriend? Does she know what Russian girls are like?
- She knows of course, but she isn't worried
-- just like I do not have to worry about her. I trust her, and she trusts me.
It's funny. When I meet
people here [and mention that I have a girlfriend], they all say, "Oh,
she's in America? You need to have a Russian girlfriend." I don't think my girlfriend would like that!
- What else do you do in your spare time?
- There isn't very much
of that. When there is some free time I
cook and hang out with Russian friends, the majority of whom I have met at the
American Home. We get together, chat. Some times we play board games. We did this just a couple of days ago.
When my knees are
better, I will be able to get out and about more. I was in Suzdal for Maslenitsa [Mardi Gras]. That
was a lot of fun. I want to see more of
the Golden Ring. I want to make regular
day trips to neighboring communities.
- I'm from Moscow? Does that city interest you?
- It is an interesting
city, of course, but because I currently can't
walk very much it doesn't make sense to go there now. Maybe I'll go
there for the Victory Day celebration.
I've been wanting to see that for a number of years.
I know St.
Petersburg much better. I spent a couple of months there right after
finishing my freshman year at the
university. I've already traveled there
twice this time around. I have a friend
there. I have stayed with her, and she
has shown me the city. We met in
America. She was at my university as a
part of an exchange program.
- Why did you choose
Vladimir?
- It's small -- which
is a nice bonus. But first of all I was
looking for a suitable job. In St.
Petersburg I have friends, so I looked there first. But the approach to teaching was ultimately something like "use this textbook, give this lecture, do this exercise."
Here in the American
Home everything is much more personal.
We have a student-centered program, and we try to make the learning
process interesting and fun. This is
what really attracted me. It's very important for me to have a job where I can
be proud of what I do. Plus, I want to
be able to teach effectively and to gain experience for the future.
In addition, the other
schools do not offer anything except money. They provide no help with the
necessary living arrangements. In
contrast, the American Home helps you settle in with your host family and
provides whatever additional assistance you need. Plus there are Russian teacher-supervisors
who teach us how to teach and respond to whatever questions we have. This is
also important.
I did not want to go
somewhere and read lectures. I wanted to
be a teacher, to help people learn English and not just do what they would be
able to do without me.
I love Vladimir. It has what I love most in life -- nature,
history, and Russian culture. And now I'm in an ancient provincial Russian
city. It's as if the city was made for me, it's
such a perfect fit.
Concerning my salary, I
do not remember exactly how much I was offered in St. Petersburg. The pay is undoubtedly less here -- but the
cost of living is lower in Vladimir.
-Are you paid in
dollars?
-I'm paid in
rubles. This is very funny. Whenever someone talks with me about money,
they say, "You're an American. You
are so lucky with the exchange rate. But
my salary is paid in rubles. It would be
nice to be earning dollars, but that is not the way it is. [NOTE:
For the teachers to be paid in dollars the students would have to pay
the tuition in dollars....]
But to friends and family
I always say, come quickly while the exchange rate is so favorable.
- Tell me about your
tattoo.
- I designed it based
on Slavic folk art which I have studied for about one year. Here are all the
elements for a traditional interpretation -- these designs are used for Easter
eggs. This line in the center symbolizes life's journey. A few parts:
these stand for power, wisdom, loyalty and protection from life's
obstacles.
It is a visual reminder
of the things that are important to me about my heritage.
- Imagine that you need
to promote Russia to foreigners. What would you tell them?
- I would start by
describing a church. If you choose just one Russian church, people usually talk
about Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral.
It is a classic. But I like the
Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg. It is very beautiful. In general, Russian churches are something
you must see. I have always admired them. I think Russia has the most beautiful
churches in the world.
Oh, that's a difficult
question (said in Russian). Of course, there is also nature. No one has more of this [natural beauty] than
Russia. I cannot wait to research it thoroughly.
Another feature would
be all of the museums with their history. People always want to go to Europe
[to see museums], but in Russia there is almost everything that you can find in
Europe, in terms of culture and tourism.
It is just that what Russia has is not well advertised. People want to go to Paris and stare at the
Eiffel Tower, go to see the Louvre. In
Russia there are even better art galleries, and the Eiffel Tower is not all
that beautiful.
- Do you like Russian
weather, nature, history? And what about
the people?
- I like the people. I have a lot of friends in Russia. I just
wish I had more free time to spend with them. Many
Americans believe that Russians are not very friendly, because they do not
smile in
public. But this is not the case, it
is not because of hostility. I am
smiling now. It is probably easy to spot
foreigners on the street.
In Russia, smiling is a
way of showing sincere feelings. In
America or England constantly smiling can result in your being mistaken for a
salesperson.
When Tyson found out I
was in Vladimir for the first time, he offered to take me on a tour of the city
center.
- And where are you
from? He asks, when we are out on the
street.
- I was born in
Ukraine, then I moved to Minsk, and from there to Moscow.
- Oh, I would love to go to Minsk. My friend has family
in Belarus and I would really love to visit there but the Visa costs $300
dollars, so I think I’ll just stay in Russia for now.
We climbed to the top
of the earthen rampart next to the Golden Gates.
- The Golden Gates are
the symbol of Vladimir, reportedly built in 1164. I often wandered along the embankment when I
first arrived. It is very interesting to look around and imagine how it must
have been a thousand years ago when the defenders tried to hold off the raids
of the Tatar-Mongols. US history only goes
back 200 years. We have nothing like
this.
We went to the viewing
platform [on top of the Museum of Old Vladimir], which offers an overview on
the Klyazma River and the lowlands around the town.
- Can you catch the
smell of coal? Here nearby is a smithy.
I studied blacksmithing in the States and would like to continue here, but
unfortunately the master does not give lessons.
After half an hour
walking Tyson has already begun to limp, and we go in to a coffee shop on Lenin
Prospect to relax.
- In principle, we can
finish up now if you're tired.
- No, no, we need to
see the monument to Vladimir the
Great. It should not be missed. This is another important symbol of the city.
[Question
from Tyson]: In general, how do you like Vladimir?
-
[Reporter]: It is very calm, measured,
but I couldn't live a long time in this city.
-
[Tyson]: I'm the opposite. I have been to New York several times. I can't stay there for very long. It is very urban. Even in Washington DC life is
less "city-like" in
this respect -- after all, there is a limit on the height of buildings, and, as
a result the whole city is not covered with skyscrapers
.
- Now that
you have lived in Russia for awhile, is there anything you would like to see
exported from Russia to America?
- In
America I really miss dachas. I think everyone
should have a dacha -- and, of course, a banya. We go to the sauna, but it is
not quite the same as a banya. The whole
cultural phenomenon. The banya. It's just awesome!
Author
Cyril
Novokschenov
Translated by Ron Pope
