Meet Nikolay Boev who is young, open-minded and ambitious. He is 29 and has already gained nearly 15 years of experience as a coach and judge in a sport, in which men are rarely seen - rhythmic gymnastics.

A meeting changed his whole life. At the age of 12 he met coach Elena Simeonova, who saw his incredible physical abilities and natural flexibility and invited him to practice in her group.

Nikolay graduated from the High School of Banking and Commerce in his native town of Burgas and continued his studies at St. KlimentOhridski University in Sofia with adegree in history and pedagogy, but artistic gymnastics remained love at first glance. Unfortunately, in Bulgaria this sport is not practiced by men, unlikecountries such as Japan, France or Spain. Nikolay Boev was 15-years-old back when he was deprived of the opportunity to compete for Bulgaria and took the only logical path for him: he started coaching and at the age of 17 he received the right to be a judge at rhythmic gymnastics competitions.

“At first I was more easily accepted abroad than in Bulgaria,”Nikolay Boevsays about the first steps in the coaching profession.“In Bulgaria people were a little more skeptical, but as the years passed I managed to prove my qualities and I think that experts now accept me as absolutely equal to good coaches, not only in the national team, where I work but also all across Bulgaria.”

Years of intensive training have given Nikolay an excellent start in the chosen profession, while experience gained in manipulating apparatus helps him pass on his knowledge and skills to his "girls" - the young stars of Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics. The results were not late. Nikolay Boev is involved with the training of two gymnasts from the national side - Veronika Lyubchova and PetyaBorisova, who have managed for the short time from the beginning of 2018 to bring glory to Bulgaria at international tournaments in Norway, Budapest, Kiev, Sofia.

The great work the young man does is already well known in professional circles. And this is evident not only from the numerous job offers that Nikolay Boevhas been receiving from all over the world, but also from the attitude towards him and his results. His achievements have been noticed by the personal trainer of three-time world champion Yana Kudryvtseva - Russian Elena Karpushenko:

“I have known Mrs. Karpushenkofor quite some time. We have met abroad she has told me a few times that she likes my work and that my style has become recognizable. She and Kudryvtseva participated in the World Cup in Sofia in 2017. During the performance of my athlete PetyaBorisova, they applauded her and Yana personally went out to see her play and greeted me for the high-level of the performance.”

Despite offers, Nikolay Boev chose to stay in Bulgaria because he believes his professional realization should take place here. In 2016 he opened his own club and continued to work with young competitors in the name of Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics. Is the onlymale rhythmic gymnastics coach in Bulgaria, and until recently in Europe, too strict?

“Yes! I definitely consider myself a strict coach. At first I was not as strict as I am now, but as the years passed I realized it was very important to be demanding in the sports hall, to be strict but fair. Children must respect you; you should not mix friendly relationships that exist between friends with the training process. Because during the training I'm teaching them to be professionals and know that from the first to the last minute in they have to be 100% devoted to what they do in order to have success and progress.”

Nikolay Boev teaches his pupils to be strong and hardworking and to believe that the bigger their dreams are, the greater people they will become, developing mentally, physically and emotionally. I teach them to be competent, knowledgeable and diligent; to know that everything is accomplished with hard work. And we are convinced that the young generation of "golden girls" will realize Nikolay’s great dream – one of his athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.

English: Alexander Markov