Coach Evandro Lázari participated in the preparation of the team that recently won gold in the men's 4x100m event at the World Cup in Japan
Unicamp is about to reinforce its teaching team with a world champion. Approved in a public competition to teach the subjects “Athletics” and “Sport Organization and Management” in the Sports Sciences course at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA), located in the city of Limeira, Evandro Cassiano de Lázari awaits the completion of the process hiring process to assume your position in the classroom, laboratory and track. “This University is my second home. Here, I completed my undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees. Now, I will have the satisfaction of also working as a teacher”, celebrates the physical educator, who joined as a coach the delegation of the Brazilian Athletics Team, whose men's 4x100m team won, on May 12th, the world championship in the category in a contested event. in Yokohama, Japan.
For someone who first came into contact with sport due to medical orders, Evandro Lázari built a unique trajectory in athletics. “Because of pneumonia, the doctor recommended that my parents put me in swimming. I loved the experience, which made me interested in other sports, athletics in particular,” he says. The decision to study Physical Education was a natural consequence. “I joined Unicamp with a very clear objective. I wanted to work with high-performance sports. Many students have this desire, but few manage to make it happen. Fortunately, I did it.”
Just as he had plans as a student, Evandro Lázari also has plans for his teaching phase. He wants to serve as a liaison to bring Unicamp closer to the federations and the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB). In other words, he wants science and sport to become closer, so that both can advance. “In the past, there was a clear divide between theory and practice. Currently, we know that one cannot live without the other. The academy needs athletes, who are in clubs, federations and COB. Institutions, in turn, need the knowledge and methods generated by the University to improve the preparation of athletes. I think we can establish a fruitful exchange between the parties”, he considers.
The future FCA-Unicamp teacher also hopes that his experience on the track, added to his experience as a researcher, will help train new coaches and managers. “This aspect is fundamental for the development of the sport. Abroad, there is concern about the qualification of professionals. In Chile, for example, 60% of technicians have a postgraduate degree. In Brazil, considering the approximately 2 thousand coaches registered with the Brazilian Athletics Confederation, only I and one other colleague have a doctorate. It’s very little”, says Evandro Lázari, whose doctoral thesis, supervised by Professor Miguel de Arruda, was titled “Monitoring muscular power, body composition and performance in high-level sprinters”.
The world champion coach's aspirations don't stop there. He also hopes to contribute to the development of university sport, which is still little practiced in Brazil. “Brazilian university sport exists, but it could have much greater importance. Before going to Japan to compete in the World Relay Championship, I stayed for 15 days at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, in San Diego, California (USA). There, the Olympic champion usually trains alongside the university freshman. Imagine training close to Justin Gatlin [Olympic 100 meter champion in Athens 2004]? We need to work with this type of reference”, he argues.
Crisis
In Evandro Lázari's opinion, Brazilian Olympic sport is currently experiencing its worst phase in terms of financing. “It is an unprecedented crisis, which affects everyone: athletes, coaches, federations, etc. Due to resource cuts, the structure was greatly reduced in all areas. In most clubs, the coach also has to perform the functions of psychologist, nutritionist, social worker, counselor, father and, not infrequently, a loan bank”, says the specialist, who was coach of the athletics team at the Rio Olympic Games. 2016. The physical educator, who was born in Campinas, is currently the president of the Funilense Athletics Organization (Orcampi), located in the city, which is the training center of the Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima Institute. “At Orcampi, fortunately, I still have the support of a psychologist and the partnership of a nutritionist”, he adds.
Asked if the crisis affecting sport was what led him to opt for an academic career, Evandro Lázari answers yes, but in terms. “In fact, I thought it was time to seek a little more security for myself and my family. However, I also love teaching. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was made very consciously. I am ending a phase of my life, to start another with the same taste and disposition”, he adds.
The athletes who were trained by him must remain under the guidance of an assistant, who was prepared precisely to continue the work. “We, coaches, have no commitment to the federations or the COB. Our bond is exclusively with the athletes. I'm sure they will continue working in search of new titles for the country”.
Winning a gold medal at the World Relay Championships in Japan, admits the physical educator, was not an objective of the Brazilian delegation, which had two coaches, one of them Evandro Lázari, and three teams, one of which was male in the 4x100m [champion], a female in the 4x100m [fourth place] and a mixed one in the 4x400m [sixth place]. “However, we have a tradition in the 4x100m and we have the best generation of all time in this discipline. When we analyze the quartet's performance in the classification tests, we start to believe in the possibility of victory. She came and it was exciting.”
The winning team in the men's 4x100m was made up of Paulo André de Oliveira, Derick Souza, Jorge Henrique Vides and Rodrigo Nascimento (24), as well as Vitor Hugo dos Santos, who remained in reserve. The other coach who was part of the Brazilian team delegation was Felipe de Siqueira da Silva. The athletes clocked a time of 38.05, the best time in the world this season. The Brazilian team surpassed the United States and Great Britain, who took second and third place, respectively.
SEE VIDEO OF THE PREPARATION OF THE BRAZILIAN DELEGATION
