Ivan Pravilov was born in Kharkov, Ukraine on January 22, 1963. He played professional soccer. Later his interests turned to hockey when in 1980 the first indoor hockey arena was built. His proficiency in soccer and hockey led him to coaching the youth in the city of Kharkov.

Through his great selection work “Druzhba’78” was created. The youths had not experienced skating and it was very novel to them and within a few years he fashioned an excellent hockey team. His dedication to coaching and his love of sport is reflected by the many notable achievements by team “Druzhba’78”.

Ivan Pravilov is considered to be one of Europe’s finest power skating coaches. He believes that the talent level of hockey players is directly related to their skating ability. For this reason, Ivan Pravilov’s Unique Hockey School focuses on developing skating power, agility and finesse. By using specialized power-skating drills and dry-land training exercises, Pravilov breaks the vital elements of skating down to a science. His goal is to significantly improve skating balance, the foundation upon which the other ingrediants are constructed - shooting, passing, stick-handling, the ability to both absorb and deliver a check.

The results of concentrated study and coaching undertaken by Ivan Pravilov over a 20-year span has enabled him to become one of most authoritative persons working with youth hockey players. This recognition has resulted in successful achievements in hockey tournaments and friendship matches in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Russia and Belarus. Ivan Pravilov is a Head Coach of the National Team of Ukraine (U-18).

The word "Druzhba" means "Friendship" in Ukraine.