2018/19 Coaching changes

[asiacheetah]

2 hours ago, wingman said:

@moonkat Thanks! Wonder if this mean that he thinks Marin's problem is a mental one?

 

I must disagree with him though. There are plenty of athletes who just cannot hold their nerves. My favorite table tennis player Fukuhara Ai is an example. She is technically perfect, has the endurance, but always falter when she needs to get that last point. 

We all thought that it will come with age, but alas it still isn't the case... 

 

Hope Marin won't fall into the same cycle. She probably won't get any specific mental coaching from Arutunian by the sound of it. 

Judging by how Nathan caved under the pressure of the Olympics and during last year's World, maybe he really should think about concentrating on the mental strength. It wasn't until Nathan realized he had no chance of winning that it freed him up to that LP of his.

[Lunna]

6 часов назад, Nuitsuki сказал:

If she doesn’t want to been seen as a coach who can only teach young girls, she could’ve continue to keep silent and made this split business-like as Zhenya did, then say like “Zhenya and I had conversation and we didn’t come to agreement on certain parts. She now wants to try a different method which unfortunately does not fit with our current one. I wish she luck and health for her ongoing career”. Don’t need to talk down Zhenya and Orser, just be like “yeah their have different approach from us”. She could’ve lie, I don’t care, as long as it preserves good image for her and Zhenya. It’s not like everything they disclose must be true 🤷‍♀️

Then it would not be Eteri  I hope everybody will calm down now a little when the news are out and seems like every person gave their opinion on the matter.

[Lilona]

Eteri knew for sure way before Sunday. Bcs she made a mistake: She said she will challenge Orser. But on Sunday there were only RUMORS that Zhenya will move to Orser and for Russian audience, it was a really hard thing to believe in. Whom did she want to challenge with Trusova quads? Liza, Gabbi? All due respect, but Liza and Gabby not quite there by technique and other aspects. She challenged directly Zhenya... IMHO

Also, Zhenya will be in Heroes&Legends in Nagano xD. Guess with whom xD

http://www.abn-tv.co.jp/heroes-future/

[Nuitsuki]

4 hours ago, asiacheetah said:

Judging by how Nathan caved under the pressure of the Olympics and during last year's World, maybe he really should think about concentrating on the mental strength. It wasn't until Nathan realized he had no chance of winning that it freed him up to that LP of his.

I’ve noticed Nathan bombed hard when:

1) he goes after a perfect Yuzu (WC 2017 FS, OWG 2018 SP) and is expected to challenge him.

2) he is the leader (SA 2017, GPF 2017)

I think the pressure of performing like a leader is much more intense than we imagine. When Yuzu was absent, Nathan and Shoma were seen as top runners and were expected to match up with Yuzu’s glorious pre sochi history (breaking records. Come on, how many of us have prepared to see new WRs? Especially under Olympic inflation). And they couldn’t do that, either due to the upgrade in BV/ unstable layout or pressure. 

 

The pressure of leader/ defender is much much more intense and nerve-wracking than chaser/ challenger. Maybe it’s not Nathan who is mentally weak, but it’s the pressure is too much to handle. 

 

WC 2018 is different. After his loss at PC, while Nathan is still the favorite, it is undisputable that Yuzu is back as the king, hence put Nathan under ‘potential challenger’ category. And he did well with that position, like anyone.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

14 時間前, Nuitsukiさんが言いました:

But in media war, I don’t think Zhenya can win over Eteri, simply because she was her coach, and people (general public) would trust Eteri more than her. So whats the point of fighting a fight she can’t win? Just give her a bit of nice words to calm her down, and don’t engage more with media. Which are what Zhenya did. Girl is smart.

 

She got what she wanted. She got to leave and train overseas under a non-Russian coach, which is, as far as I'm aware, unprecedented in Russian FS history. And while she mostly have herself to thank for being able to make this happen where most others probably didn't even dream of attempting, it's also ironically largely thanks in part to Tutberidze for bringing her to a place where she can negotiate and get enough support for something as previously unthinkable as this move for herself.

 

Taking that into account, not engaging in a media war and continuing to paint her ex-coach in a positive light regardless of what said coach is saying about her seems to me a good way of both thanking her and apologizing. And if all the ex-coach requires are flowers to at least grudgingly accept Med's decision, even if she isn't exactly giving her full blessings, then I say get her the biggest bunch there is with all her favorite flowers. Because then she can keep the mess to a minimum and quickly leave it behind, moving on to focus on the rest of her career, now that it's confirmed she actually has one and it's more or less entirely up to her what she does with it. From her conduct so far, it seems that is the victory she chooses to focus on--rightly so, as it's the only victory that matters in this situation--and I find it incredibly wise of her.

 

Like all the less than perfect situations Hanyu had ultimately turned into the best of outcomes when it comes to the ones that truly matter, I'm hoping Med's OSM will ultimately bring herself and her country and its people, as well as the rest of the world, to a place where we all would never have dreamed of getting to had she won OGM this time around.

 

That and being a fan of Hanyu, ultimately, I'm also seeing her move to TCC  as a positive sign for Hanyu and the rest of *his* career. I truly think that her sharing a rink and a coach with him will help bring about new developments and perhaps yet another evolution in Hanyu's skating, just like I'm hoping some of his technical polish will rub off on her.

[xeyra]

I'm a bit late posting here but good luck, Zhenya. Wishing you all the best in this new phase of your life and skating career. It won't be easy, there'll be times you'll wonder if you made the right decision, and it might not work out immediately, but it's a courageous first step and I hope it makes you very happy.

[micaelis]

2 hours ago, xeyra said:

I'm a bit late posting here but good luck, Zhenya. Wishing you all the best in this new phase of your life and skating career. It won't be easy, there'll be times you'll wonder if you made the right decision, and it might not work out immediately, but it's a courageous first step and I hope it makes you very happy.

I have to agree here but I'll also add something.  I think Zhenya chose TCC because its three greatest successes (Yuna, Javi and Yuzu) have all been non-Canadians.  That indicates that Brian is obviously doing something right for his athletes no matter where they are from.  Questions everyone will be asking about Yuzu and Zhenya, I know, will be legion and I think both of them will be very wary about that relationship.  I think we can expect that both will avoid appearing off the ice together, knowing how the rumor mill will explode.  Yuzu will have the advantage here, not simply because he's been at the top longer than Zhenya but also because he's had far more exposure to the media than she has had, given the environment in Russia.  The Japanese tabloid culture is in the same class as the tabloid culture in North America and Western Europe and Yuzu has become an old hand at dealing with it, aided also by the media experts at TCC.  They know how to run a tight ship, as witnessed by the total control of information about Yuzu leading up to PC.  I have a feeling that that might also be a reason Zhenya chose TCC. 

 

In any case Yuzu finally has a training mate of the same quality as Javi and I think both he and Zhenya will establish the same sort of symbiotic relationship that Yuzu and Javi had, with the one difference being that they will not be competing against each other.  I am wondering if Zhenya will be on her own in Toronto or will some family member accompany her here, as seen in Yuzu's mother coming over to Canada with him (I do not mean she will be living alone but will she be boarding with someone or a family member).  There is one difference between Zhenya's coming to TCC and Yuzu's though, and that is she is definitely one of the elite in FS already.  Yuzu was showing promise as a future member of that club when he came to Toronto but Brian still had a relatively blank slate to work with.  That isn't the case with Zhenya and the challenges to Brian will be markedly different than they were with Yuzu.  If everything works out well with Zhenya and she does move on to success after success Brian's reputation can only be enhanced since it shows he has the ability to deal with skaters who are already pretty well finished products and is able to move them to a higher level.

 

A final comment - Zhenya's moving to Toronto might be just what is needed to prod Boyang to make the move also if he is unhappy with his current coaching situation as rumor has it.  I definitely would like to see such a development come to pass because unlike Shoma or Nathan I think Boyang would really bloom with Brian at the helm.  It's been obvious for some time that Boyang is earnestly working on his skating skills and seeking to put his 'jumping-jack' days behind him and also he's shown some stylistic versatility in his programs for both competitions and exhibitions.  He would also be a good training competitor for Yuzu as I think Yuzu has seen Boyang as a future number one foe, even more than Shoma or Nathan, precisely because of Boyang's developing versatility.  I do not think that Boyang coming to TCC would spread things too thin for Brian and company but it would mean that he'd have to be doing a lot more traveling with so many skaters in his stable.  He'll probably be looking for some secret formula to deal with jet lag.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

1 時間前, micaelisさんが言いました:

I do not think that Boyang coming to TCC would spread things too thin for Brian and company but it would mean that he'd have to be doing a lot more traveling with so many skaters in his stable.  He'll probably be looking for some secret formula to deal with jet lag.

 

Wow, if Brian goes to the RusNats, he and whoever goes with him would be the only non-Russian coaches there. Even if he doesn't*, it'd still be the same for whoever does. That'd make for an interesting atmosphere, I'll bet.

 

*But barring personal emergency, I dont see a reason why he won't.This being such a controversial and high-profile move, and only being the first year of their partnership, I'm sure it's important that he be there to support Med because it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that's what the RusFed would require.

[wpisces]

9 hours ago, micaelis said:

He would also be a good training competitor for Yuzu as I think Yuzu has seen Boyang as a future number one foe

Yes, he likes Boyang. I can be sure. Except for his idols, I have never seen him gush over anyone as much as he does over Boyang. He has actively mentioned and praised Boyang many times in his interviews/ press conferences even when he was not questioned about him. 

Boyang is youthful and positive. I see in him an eternal energy. He's talented and has amazing jumps that never fail to impress Yuzuru. He also competes in the same discipline as Yuzuru. Personally, I think Boyang and his presence at TCC, more than anyone else and more than anything else, will motivate Yuzuru, influence positively on him and his mindset. That's why I wish Boyang could train long-term along with Yuzuru. I'm a bit disappointed knowing that he will probably train attemporarily at TCC. 

[Fay]

Brian was interviewed by Hersh again 

http://www.globetrottingbyphiliphersh.com/home/2018/5/9/figure-skating-olympics-russia-canada-orser-medvedeva

[LucyH]

Good article - did it sound like theRus Fed was going to pay for her training expenses? Or at least part of it - that’s what it read to me. Wow all those wins and just 300K in prize money!

[Lilona]

Phill on the roll. 

Btw Eteri had 30% of all her earnings+sallary from Fed and club. Idk how much

[yuzuangel]

1 hour ago, LucyH said:

Good article - did it sound like theRus Fed was going to pay for her training expenses? Or at least part of it - that’s what it read to me. Wow all those wins and just 300K in prize money!

Yeah, she literally won everything. Imagine a skater who places 5th in every competition!

[LucyH]

1 hour ago, yuzuangel said:

Yeah, she literally won everything. Imagine a skater who places 5th in every competition!

Yup you definitely don't get rich on FS prize money. Good thing she has some fairly large sponsors in Nike and Pantene. Hope she picks up a few more once she is in Canada. She's got global appeal and speaking English helps too! 

[Katt]

For the love of god, please don't package Evgenia like Yuna's 

 

I dont know what to think about David Wilson, his choreo are pretty so so in the last quad. All of my fave choreo from him are Chan's programs ( The journey, Hallelujah). May be since all the eyes are on Evgenia and her program next season, David will invest more. I'm curious to see how non Russian choreographer would do with Evgenia.  When I look at Shae's program for Radionova, I can't help but think someone like Ashley Wagner can pull it off better.