Team Russia

[LucyH]

1 minute ago, Neenah said:

That is exactly what everyone is worried about, that all these unnecessary risks will cut her time short and hurt her at such a young age. She is truly amazing and I hope she stays safe to show her true potential, but to be honest I am not very optimistic.

 

I also have the same feelings about Gogolev who I also think is too young for all the quads he is doing  

I think she is amazing as well - my question remains why is there a need to subject her as yet not fully formed body to train this many quads? Tara ended up with hip surgery jumping 3-3’s at her young age and stopped skating at 17. The girl is 14 - I don’t see why there is a need to do this all now. Is it because it is only doable when he body is like this? I don’t know about others but I don’t want to see the sport evolve to a point where girls are doing crazy amazing things at 14-15 and then leave the sport broken 2 years later. Artistry also takes time and maturity to develop so how we expect this when girls barely last 2 seasons and by the time they have developed artiscally the next batch of jumping phenoms have again upped the tech ante. If I wanted to watch gymnastics on ice I would just watch gymnastics. This is really something that the ISU needs to ask about where they want the sport to go. I think Sasha is amazing and fierce - I want her to last. Sadly I agree with your pessimism. And I feel the same about whether we are talking about girls or boys so same concern about Stephen as well 

[ralucutzagy]

Poor Alena, with those unfortunately chosen RJ music cuts ...  just terrible imo ... nothing to do one with the other ... why 

[Yatagarasu]

17 minutes ago, Neenah said:

I also have the same feelings about Gogolev who I also think is too young for all the quads he is doing  

 

I have questions about Gogolev too, especially as I think his technique, as well as Sasha's, isn't exactly ideal. 

 

In general, I think the question of quads and their impact on health is one that is yet to be answered, for everyone. We don't exactly know what the impact will be for the current Seniors either. Chiddy talked about this about a year ago ( for those who haven't read it - Patrick Chan fears for skaters' health in quads era ) and while I don't agree on everything, I do think it's a question that's worth asking. 
Personally, I think one way to limit the potential harmful effects of quads is for coaches, and skaters if adults, to be aware of the rule of quality over quantity and to stick to that rule. It won't be the same for every skater because some skaters can safely jump more (Kolyada I believe has a much smaller limit IIRC) but there is a limit while training. This isn't' down to just ISU; there's personal responsibility too, for the skaters, or parents, and coaches, to safely train. Another is to have really good jump technique and to polish that as much as possible.

 

When it comes to Juniors, and in this case Sasha, I at least would choose a middle road here. I'd go for max quality of programs, well, as much as possible, with a quad with excellent technique. This would also help with keeping the jump as she grows older. We cannot limit these kids fully and IMO we shouldn't; athletes will push and push and that includes Juniors but we can play it at least somewhat safely while pushing these limits. 

[cucciolo888]

33 minutes ago, Neenah said:

That is exactly what everyone is worried about, that all these unnecessary risks will cut her time short and hurt her at such a young age. She is truly amazing and I hope she stays safe to show her true potential, but to be honest I am not very optimistic.

 

I also have the same feelings about Gogolev who I also think is too young for all the quads he is doing  

There is always risk... I've read her interviews and as I understand she loves jumps, Sasha said- if you have strong technique you'll minimize the risk

No one forces her to do quads. she chose such path.

[Yatagarasu]

6 minutes ago, cucciolo888 said:

There is always risk... I've read her interviews and as I understand she loves jumps, Sasha said- if you have strong technique you'll minimize the risk

No one forces her to do quads. she chose such path.

 

She is 14 years old. The adults in her life are there to guide her because at 14 she is definitely at the age where she still requires guidance. It's normal, she's a child.

Her Lz technique is anything but strong. She prerotates that thing by a lot and take a look at where her blade is at take-off. There is no reason not to try and give her a proper Lz before including that jump into her programs. For example. 

 

I'm not one for limiting skaters but both for her, and Gogolev, and Anna S, I think some things are too rushed. It's pointless in the end, as I am not the one calling the shots but that's my opinion. 

[cucciolo888]

13 minutes ago, Yatagarasu said:

 

She is 14 years old. The adults in her life are there to guide her because at 14 she is definitely at the age where she still requires guidance. It's normal, she's a child.

Her Lz technique is anything but strong. She prerotates that thing by a lot and take a look at where her blade is at take-off. There is no reason not to try and give her a proper Lz before including that jump into her programs. For example. 

 

I'm not one for limiting skaters but both for her, and Gogolev, and Anna S, I think some things are too rushed. It's pointless in the end, as I am not the one calling the shots but that's my opinion. 

I understand your point of view, I guess the problem is, I don't see Sasha as a child, she is strong-minded competitor and champion, I really admire her for such spirit. Its second quad season for Sasha and her quads seem much better to me.

[Sombreuil]

I hope someone somewhere is thinking of doing a study of this.  I would never wish for the regime of the old East Germany or Soviet  sports ‘medicine’ but although the price paid by the participants was far too high and in no way worth it, they did at least keep records from which it would be possible to draw conclusions supported by data.  It would be interesting if someone could persuade some of the teenagers who gave up early for health reasons to disclose their records to a reputable study group.  Coaches might then be able to more accurately plot the course for all these eager children - because I’m sorry, however strong minded they may seem they are young, with the thought processes of the young, which include an inability to think beyond the next season.

Watch Yulia Lipnitskayas YouTube footage for pre Sochi - she was confident and strong minded too.

[liv]

Yup, Trusova and her quads....something to behold... i am of 2 minds about her, mainly because of the same old *how much will she grow* question. You want to believe that she will continue on just fine and with time will develop the other skills she currently lacks... but that nagging doubt is there until she hits around 17....  Part of me wants to see what her family looks like to guess how much growing she could be doing in the coming years. 

[LucyH]

While I am in awe of her feats - why do we feel the need to push the sport in this direction? I agree that we need to start tracking to see data on young bodies and what the early training of jumps are having on them. 

[monchan]

I was afraid for Alena FS they would put each R&J piece back to back and call it a "music edit", and.... they LITERALLY DID THAT IT WAS TRAGICCC SAVE HER 

[LucyH]

Just now, monchan said:

I was afraid for Alena FS they would put each R&J piece back to back and call it a "music edit", and.... they LITERALLY DID THAT IT WAS TRAGICCC SAVE HER 

I hope Alena isn't becoming an after thought in that group - she is the most well rounded and artistic skater in that bunch.  

[Sammie]

10 minutes ago, LucyH said:

I hope Alena isn't becoming an after thought in that group - she is the most well rounded and artistic skater in that bunch.  

I hope not either. She is my favorite of the Russian junior ladies. I thought her FS was okay. The voice over killed it but it’s not as bad as Alina POTO so I didn’t mind it too much..... 

[LucyH]

2 minutes ago, Sammie said:

I hope not either. She is my favorite of the Russian junior ladies. I thought her FS was okay. The voice over killed it but it’s not as bad as Alina POTO so I didn’t mind it too much..... 

OK what is the fascination with voiceovers from that camp?! 

[Sammie]

1 minute ago, LucyH said:

OK what is the fascination with voiceovers from that camp?! 

For the drama  

 

All this talk about voiceover, just watch Yuzu new programs has them 

[WinForPooh]

It's a little odd that so many girls from that group say Yuzu is their idol or favourite or whatever, but look at how long he works on each single quad to get the technique as good as he can get it before he lets anybody see it even in open practice or gala goofing off. There is a reason why it took years for him to give us the 4Lo and the 4Lz. He did rush with the 4S because he needed the BV to stand a shot. Sasha does not need to cram the 4Lz in there to have a shot, she can work on it, get the technique as good as she can, fix the PR, and then put it in her programme. Her 4T is the only quad that looks like it might have all the rotations.

 

I admire her strength and her drive and her spirit and how fiercely competitive she is and how much she loves to jump and how she does have this marvelous ability to jump. I do not admire the adults around her for not taking all of those excellent qualities and shaping them by teaching her the best technique, telling her she must get it right before she can put it in the programme. And control her training sessions so she doesn't batter her body, I hope they do that already.

 

Sasha does look like a natural jumper, but she looks whippet thin and agile right now. I really hope the next couple of years will be kind to her. And that her technique is solid enough that she can compensate for the slowing down of those rotations by becoming stronger and getting bigger jumps.