2018/19 Coaching changes

[kaeryth]

Not a coaching change but training camp...

 

Quote

“The plans are to get started, then to go to three training camps,” Kolyada shared. “The first training camp will be in Switzerland and we’ll work with Stéphane (Lambiel).”

 “Stéphane will choreograph my new short program,” the two-time European bronze medalist revealed. “I am still looking for the music and right now we are thinking of different ideas.”

 

For the second training camp, he will go to Latvia for three weeks with his training mates and coach Valentina Chebotareva, and for mid-July, he plans to go with his coach to Lakewood, Calif., to work with Rafael Arutyunyan for two weeks.

 

The charismatic skater is not ready to reveal his music choice yet. “I can say that it will be a very well known, very powerful music and it is in the classical direction,” Kolyada said, adding that he selected the music himself. “I’ve liked it for a long time and I thought, ‘why not take it?'”

 

[Katt]

3 hours ago, Moria Polonius said:

 

I can't imagine TCC shortchanging Boyang, tbh. Yes, Evgenia is going to be a point of honor, to prove they can kerp her at the top. But next Olympics is in China and Boyang is China's chance of podium or even gold. The pressure on TCC is going to be ON.

Of course thats just what I feel. We still dont have confimation from Boyang's side.

4 years is a long time, some can leave Tcc before 2022 if something go wrong. (I dont know if Jason aim for 2022, he's the same age with Yuzuru and has a fair amount of injuries). Not that I wish that happen, but to expect all 3 of them have the same kind of success and improvement like Yuna Yuzu and Javi is abit... unrealistic. They need to adapt the new training system, change their training habit and communication. As i said before some skaters never click well with Tcc. And more people, more problem. And with the club being too crowded like this, the team gonna have alot of works to balance things out. I will wait for actual result to speak itself rather than judging this or that is the best move

[Xen]

I find it interesting that Tracy pushed for taking in Jason. First time I've heard of her rooting for a skater to join. But guys, Liubov and Dylan's coach was also Lee Barkell, so since they retired, Lee does technically have an open slot.

 

I'm also going out on a limb and say that likely BOrser will not be Boyang's primary coach-it may very well be some combination of Tracy or even Lori Nichol (whom people tend to forget also worked as a coach before).  The number of skating rinks in Toronto is also pretty good, so it's possible that one or 2 of these new skaters will train primarily on a non-TCC rink.

 

Edit:

oh guys, Yuzu +boyang+Jason= possibility of Koi dance group number on ice? O_O

[asiacheetah]

32 minutes ago, kaeryth said:

Not a coaching change but training camp...

 

 

Sigh...read: war horse. I HATE war horse programs with a passion. I'm now traumatized by ever watching Women FS live ever again by the multiple Carmen.

[LucyH]

11 minutes ago, Xen said:

I find it interesting that Tracy pushed for taking in Jason. First time I've heard of her rooting for a skater to join. But guys, Liubov and Dylan's coach was also Lee Barkell, so since they retired, Lee does technically have an open slot.

 

I'm also going out on a limb and say that likely BOrser will not be Boyang's primary coach-it may very well be some combination of Tracy or even Lori Nichol (whom people tend to forget also worked as a coach before).  The number of skating rinks in Toronto is also pretty good, so it's possible that one or 2 of these new skaters will train primarily on a non-TCC rink.

Javi is only going to be part time, Raya is likely leaving and probably Lizbet as well. I think Brian will be the primary coach for Evgenia, Boyang and Yuzu. Jason will be coached by the "team" meaning Brian just oversees and makes sure things are going smoothly... so maybe not as "crowded" as originally thought 

[Xen]

8 minutes ago, LucyH said:

Javi is only going to be part time, Raya is likely leaving and probably Lizbet as well. I think Brian will be the primary coach for Evgenia, Boyang and Yuzu. Jason will be coached by the "team" meaning Brian just oversees and makes sure things are going smoothly... so maybe not as "crowded" as originally thought 

I'm curious why people think Lizbet will leave. She had a pretty bad season yes, but the issue was more her injury. Also, where do you guys think she'll go? I don't think Eteri, so where else? Raf? Ravi?

[LucyH]

1 minute ago, Xen said:

I'm curious why people think Lizbet will leave. She had a pretty bad season yes, but the issue was more her injury. Also, where do you guys think she'll go? I don't think Eteri, so where else? Raf? Ravi?

I think we just look at it and think wow that's a lot of skaters and Brian and the team are usually very good at making sure they don't take on too many people so there's got to be people leaving.... and if anyone is going to go on the Ladies - she's the most logical choice... at least that's my reasoning... 

[WinForPooh]

That Twitter thread said not everybody at TCC would be staying. The rest is speculation, maybe because Lilbet didn't have a great season. Maybe Gabby? 

[Xen]

28 minutes ago, LucyH said:

I think we just look at it and think wow that's a lot of skaters and Brian and the team are usually very good at making sure they don't take on too many people so there's got to be people leaving.... and if anyone is going to go on the Ladies - she's the most logical choice... at least that's my reasoning... 

Well Liubov and Dylan retired, so that actually freed up 2 spots for Barkell.  And as Brian mentioned, shuffling skaters around to fit Jason, I think coach shuffling within TCC might have happened. I'm also not sure why Tracy is not a main coach for anyone yet.

 

And some of the coaches that they are mentioning now, such as Preston, are coaches we've yet to hear of. So it's possible there are more coaches in the pipeline who will be moving up to more visible positions now. There may be, more coaches than we originally thought of in TCC too.

 

Edit: on a serious note, I'm looking at all those photos Yuzu and Boyang took together at PC, and wonder....did they already know?!

Also, I looked up Karen Preston- she finished 8th at 1992 olympics, not too shabby. Interesting if she's going to be Jason's primary coach.

[hoodie axel]

1 hour ago, Xen said:

I'm looking at all those photos Yuzu and Boyang took together at PC

Probably, right?

[KatjaThera]

I joked in the general thread that maybe they took on Jason - especially with Tracy insisting - to balance out the quad fever at TCC, but maybe that's actually not entirely untrue. Even though for Boyang the focus will be on developing his skating skills, quads are still going to be high profile, so maybe Tracy wanted someone to both balance it out and possibly be able to gain from it.

 

I don't think the number of skaters is a problem. It's just three of them after all and sadly, Jason isn't really top tier. Also, it seems Javi Raya has left and Sonia also seems to have left to focus on studies already last year and I think it's unlikely she'll go back. It's true they weren't top skaters, but still. I'm also pretty sure Gabby is staying, because she commented on a Jason instagram post, with "I can't wait for you to get here!" or so. Either way, I'm sure Brian and Tracy have it all thought out.

 

I don't know if tensions between Boyang, Jun and Stephen will happen or will be easily resolved. I don't think Jason will be a problem, because I don't think he has the same ambitions. If anything, he'll be the Javi in this (though an even more mellow version). For the other three, they could each think they're good enough and the others won't be a threat. Or, for Jun and Stephen, they might have seen Yuzu and Javi and think they can do that, too. I don't know and it remains to be seen. I'm sure they all ok-ed for now and whether it'll work or not, we'll see. Like someone pointed out on twitter, not everyone works well with TCC, so anything could happen.

 

Yuzu is on an entirely different level and they all know this. They might all want to learn from him, but I think Yuzu is beyond needing a rival to push him forward. (As much as I love Javi, he hadn't really been doing that since 2016-2017 anyway.) Seeing Boyang's Lutz up close might be good, but it might also be bad, depending on the condition of his ankle. (If he has to give it up completely, seeing it will probably get frustrating after a while...) Losing to them would probably annoy him even more than losing to Javi did, but an annoyed Yuzu is a powerful Yuzu, so... who knows. But from this, I honestly don't expect Yuzu to last till Beijing. I think his ankles/knees - especially that right ankle that he's sprained and re-sprained so many times - might already have permanent damage - the kind that make competing at top level for much longer very difficult, not the kind that affects daily lives or even an ice show career. Sorry to be pessimistic, but the way he always says "just a little bit more" makes me feel he knows something and something not good like that. So I think his plan is only for another season or two and then re-analyze. If his condition doesn't get worse, he might continue more, but for now, I don't think he plans for more than that. He might push himself to get the 4A, and then that's it. But we'll see. (I honestly hope I'm wrong, because I know Yuzu loves to compete and like someone said - sorry I couldn't keep track of everyone - I'm not sure just doing ice shows would be enough to keep him truly satisfied. Or else, he'll probably do a million shows a year, just to keep busy...)

 

Still, the Yuzu situation would mean Brian needs backup plans.

 

Brian said after Yuna left and Adam left, they were really worried. And one reason why he immediately accepted going to Japan to see what JSF wanted was because they needed a skater from a big federation. If Yuzu and Javi had both left and he hadn't gotten anyone else, they might have ended up in the same situation. So I don't think it's surprising he jumped at the chances of getting virtually every big skating federation in TCC. But don't get me wrong, like bringing Yuzu only after Javi ok-ed it, they would never get federations at the cost of the skaters, because that's just a recipe for disaster. They're too smart for that, I think. I mean, bad relationships with skaters or among skaters is bad reputation and who wants that?

 

I'm pretty sure they'll find a way. Maybe Yuzu and Javi will start doing coaching internships and help out Unlikely, I know lol But it is one of Brian's dreams, so... *fingers crossed*

 

I'm also pretty sure that aside from the top skaters, Brian & co also train many amateurs and lower level skaters and adult skaters. I'm pretty sure 3 new skaters when 2 have already left and one will only do an event or two, isn't THAT big a deal for them. There are some 20 coaches at TCC, after all...

 

I do hope Brian doesn't give Yuzu to Ghislain completely, though (I'm thinking of Japanese Nationals...). NHK was mostly Yuzu's own fault for pushing himself too much, but I always wondered if Brian, who is perhaps more familiar with Yuzu's stubbornness, especially in competition mode, might not have realized it and prevented him from doing it in a way Ghislain wasn't able to. You know, it's like kids with their parents. There's usually one parent the kids are more likely to obey. With Yuzu, I think that's Brian. With Ghislain and Tracy, I think he's more likely to rebel and fall back on his old habits. That's why I generally feel safer when Brian is there. But then again, if he's changing his attitude, that might not be necessary anymore. Again, we'll see...

[Xen]

The best part of Jason going to TCC is someone else there who can speak Japanese with Yuzu! He may get to speak japanese at training now. =D

 

I actually wonder if Jason is going to be partnered up with Boyang- such a contrast, and Boyang could learn a lot by emulating Jason's posture, lines, SS and artistry. =) And the way Brian told Jason about Boyang....at the time they decided on Jason, they knew they would take on Boyang. Maybe that was the winning argument from Tracy- to balance things out @KatjaThera

 

As for TCC, like you said @KatjaThera ,  it's not a bad move to safeguard the school's reputation. If Yuzu decides to not go to Beijing, they have Boyang, Cha, and possibly Gogolev (depending on age requirement). If Yuzu decides to go to Beijing, well they asked him and he's probably consented and decided it's okay for now at least. He's gone through 2 olympic cycles where a teammate was a rival for a medal, I think he knows himself and how much direct competition he can handle by now.

 

I also checked some Chinese websites and places regarding Boyang's move, and it's interesting-a lot of posters supported it because they think it's good for Boyang to move to a more competitive environment. The view is he isn't always able to move into competition mindset, and might be a bit behind in dealing with competitive pressure (Milan as example) because there is no direct competition in China. At TCC, he has guys above him (Yuzu), and guys nipping at his heels (Cha, Gogolev, Orzel)- this is a situation he has to adapt to and learn to handle going into Beijing, which realistically is true (too true).

 

But oh my gawds, I want to be a fly on the ceiling rafters of TCC. T_T

 

Also, best of luck to Jason. I've never understood why he couldn't get a 4T. He has decent height and distance on his jumps, and the 4T in some practices looked okay, or close. And KatjaThera, I'm also on the train for Javi to co-coach someone from TCC, maybe he could start with Gogolev and Shingo, since JGP series has lots of stops in Europe?

[Katt]

Haha Is Brian and his team not good for anyone at this point ? From the last couple of season, everytime a skater under perform, his name immidiately pop up. But when it comes to Raf, people are all doom and gloom 

 

As for Jason, I'm surprise by this move as I was with Evgenia's. He's very polished and has good packaging. I can see they make his 3A more stable. but for quads, I dont know. Even in practice,  his quad success rate is quite low and prone UR. When I watch his quad and 3A, I feel its a combination of timming, slow rotation speed and nerves.  If thing become metal block, no coaches can help you. Yuzuru struggled with 4S for 2 seasons and I think the COC accident actually help him to throw that metal block away. I still look forward to see David Wilson choreo for him, but I feel he come to TCC for good training enviroment that he can do what he love, rather than aiming for clear goal. With Nathan and Vincent and upcoming US junior turn senior, Brian's name may help him to maintain his current pcs ( but i dont know about US Nat ). 

 

I also agree with @KatjaThera that at this point Yuzuru doesn't need a rival to push him forward. He and Javi both came to TCC at early stage of their career, they face the same challenge and their reputation are pretty much the same. Not to be a shipper, but I feel Yuzuru and Javi have a very special bond that I dont think we can see with any other skater. In an interview, Jun said he and other skater did say hello or have some simple conversation, but that's it, everyone just focus on their own training. I can see the same with Yuzuru. I don't think any new skaters can make Yuzuru change his long time habit. 

 

 Although we can say right now Yuzuru skate for his own goal and satisfaction, but as long as he compete, he always aim for winning. And with that, he still need all the attention and support from his coaching team like he had in the past, not half of it because the competition won't be easier, and the pressure on him can only go higher. . Its good that we already knew he also work with Ghislain for good amount of time, and he himself will decide his own direction, program, layout and transision. Brian and Tracy might monitor the general things and give their input to perfect thing for him. But I agree when it comes to competition, Brian is the best, simply he has more experiences than any other TCC coaches ( And even with that, he still has mistake sometimes). Thats why we saw Tracy and Ghislain play a more active role from last season.   

 

  I still think its too crowded for TCC, with Yuzuru, Evgenia, Boyang, Jason, Gabby, Jun, LilBet,  Brian will have 2-3 students per GP, not to mention senior B. The WC and 4CC will be a chaos when most of these skaters spots are already fixed. As I said, more people, more problem. Things went wrong when there's only between 2-3 people, there's no sign that it won't happen again in the future. I hope Brian and his team can work it out, for everyone's sake. 

  

[guitarist]

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

 

Jason, Boyang, and Evgenia at TCC has made me way too happy for words  I'm really happy for Jason. Maybe he'll finally get the 4T and stabilize his 3A. He has so much potential. 

 

I hope it works out for all of them!  

 

As for worries about the team getting too big, I'm not really worried, myself. Brian knows what he's doing. The TCC team is big, and they've been at it for a long time. I don't think, even for a second, that they would've taken more skaters they can handle. 

[Fay]