Anaël’s Interview:
Since September, you have joined a training structure for the first time. How is it going?
This is all new to me. I have never been in a structure or boarding school. I’ve never trained as much as I have here. From a physical point of view, it’s more intense than what I’ve experienced before and even in the mental investment, everything is longer and more intense. But I signed up for this, I’m very happy to be here because the infrastructure is crazy and so are the supervisors. Everything is going very, very well at INSEP.
Can you give us an idea of what a day at INSEP will look like?
I get up around 7:30 a.m. and go to breakfast at 8 a.m. At 8:30 a.m., we go to the gym to start the day with a warm-up. Then we start shooting at 5 meters during the first part of the morning and at 70 meters until 11:30 a.m./12 p.m. We have a lunch break until 1:30 p.m. and then we resume with shots at 70 meters. We have a break at 3:30 p.m. and end up shooting at 5 yards until 4:45/5 p.m. To end the day, we have a muscle strengthening session and then we can have an appointment with the physiotherapists who are there for us.
How many arrows do you shoot per day? How many training days do you have in a week?
At the moment we are shooting 500 arrows per day but we are on an upward trend. That is to say, next week we will get more and the same for the following week.
We have 5 training days a week. On weekends we are free and we take the opportunity to rest. We finish around 5:30 p.m. on Friday so I sometimes take the train directly in the evening and return home to Rennes to meet my fiancé. Then, I come back to INSEP on Sunday evening.
As you said, it’s a new life for you. How do you experience it?
You could say that it changes my habits, yes. Before I cooked my meals, now I don’t cook anything anymore. I don’t do the cleaning, I don’t do the shopping. I found myself in a student room of 16/17 year olds so yes, that changes things but I knew what to expect. I am not at all disappointed with my choices. Everything meets my expectations.
In terms of the human aspect, do you feel well cared for?
Yes, our head coach, M. Ohand the national coach (for girls), Manu (Jean-Manuel Tizzoni), are attentive, they give us advice. There is no problem, quite the contrary. They make us progress well on a sporting level. As for getting along with the other archers, everything is going very, very well. I spend a lot of time with certain girls, notably Lisa (Barbelin). I taught her to crochet because she wanted to learn. We share little moments together outside of our shooting hours. Everything is going well with the group of boys as well. We obviously feel that there are important selections in January, but overall, it’s okay. We created real bonds of friendship. We spend so much time together that it’s better that way.
Your goal for this season?
My goal: to be in the 4 selected obviously. I think this is an achievable goal even if there is still work to be done. If I achieve this objective, I will have to perform at international events, which is completely new for me because I have never participated in international competitions. The idea is therefore to be in the 4 selected but if I am not there, I have DE (JEPS) coach training which could start at that time. But I believe very very strongly that I will be able to be in the selected ones in January. Plus, if I’m not in, I don’t have a junior or cadet season. For example, Amelie (Cordeau) or Baptiste (Addis) can do their season in junior or cadet, but I can’t. I’m too old now.
To end this interview, do you have a motivational sentence?
Yes, I often repeat the Latin phrase “ Memento Mori » (Remember that you are going to die) to give my all every day in archery or elsewhere. Don’t tell me “yes maybe”, that it will be better later. We must bring about change. You have to be happy at the moment. There, I feel fully aligned and in agreement with what I want to do. I’m very, very good and I’m completely happy to be here.
We thank Anaël for taking the time to answer these questions and we wish him a great season, full of success!
2023-11-03 15:35:05
#Anaël #Coupard #meeting #outsider #INSEP
