Biography

Aleksandr Gomelskiy is a Soviet and Russian professor, candidate of pedagogical sciences, honored coach of the USSR, honored coach of Lithuania, honored worker of physical culture of Russia, judge of the international category. For eighteen years he headed the USSR national team, which under his leadership became the 1988 Olympic champion, two-time world champion (1967, 1982) and seven-time European champion (1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1979, 1981).

Gomelskiy was born January in Kronstadt, Soviet Union. There were three children in the Gomelskiy's family: Aleksandr, the eldest, sister Lidiya and brother Evgeniy. He studied at school No. 5 on Lev Tolstoy Square. His favorite teacher was a physical education teacher - Yakov Ivanovich. He was the first who instilled in Aleksandr a love of sports, put him on skates. Soon he became the champion of the region, then won the championship of Leningrad in cross-country skating. At the same school, he began to play volleyball and basketball.

He graduated from the Higher School of Trainers at the Lesgaft Institute in Leningrad, where he studied from 1945 to 1948, as well as the Military Institute of Physical Culture (1949-1952), after which he received the specialty 'coach-teacher in sports games'. He played for the Leningrad basketball teams 'Skif' (1945-1949) and SKA (1949-1953).

For the first time on the world basketball arena Gomelskiy came out as one of the coaches of the USSR national team at the Olympics in Melbourne 1956: Games of the XVI Olympiad (1956). For Aleksandr Yakovlevich, it was a double premiere, a kind of test as a professional, because for the first time his pupils appeared on the stage. In Melbourne, the third premiere took place - as a judge. Due to the lack of experienced referees, he was asked to act on the site in this role. The debut was successful, he received the title of judge of the international category.

Half a century has passed since then. Half a century of sports battles on the grounds of all continents, hundreds of tournaments, thousands of matches in which the great coach took part, experienced the happiness of many victories and the bitterness of defeats.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bazza the Beast