Ashley Wagner to train part-time with Rafael Arutyunyan

drivingmissdaisy · Jul 2, 2013

eyria said:
I know RA has a reputation as a technical coach. But what is this really based on? As I remember it, Michelle's jumps didn't really improve under RA. For example, she never did get the elusive 3/3 combo into her programs consistently. It became more about maintaining the triples she already had. I know her lack of improvement under RA was probably due mostly to her ongoing injuries. But what real successes has he had? Rippon was no better last year under RA than he'd been under Yuka/Jason. In fact I think Adam's 3A was actually more consistent the previous season with Jason than it was last year.

I think the coach can only take so much blame. You can't make every skater be a good competitor or be able to do difficult jumps. I'm sure for ever Michelle or Evan he coached, Frank Carroll had 10 skaters who didn't achieve as much as they could have.

Mao's lutz and salchow were bad from her days with Yamada. No one has yet to fix these problem jumps for her, yet she has worked with some of the best coaches in the world.

I think RA might help Ashley though. Her jump entrances are good, aside from the lutz, so all she needs to work on is putting a 3T on her 3F and her SP and LP scores will improve significantly.

Tinymavy15 · Jul 2, 2013

Rafael isn't being called in here to "fix things." I think his role is more to be the watchful eye and maintain Mr. Nick's work with Ashley.

R.D. · Jul 2, 2013

The coach can only give instructions...he can't skate the performance for the skater. The coach can provide the manual and the tools for building the house, perhaps even lay the foundation (if skater is learning from scratch), but it's up to the skater to actually construct said house.

"You can lead a horse to water, but..."

mskater93 · Jul 3, 2013

RD, you sound like a recent lesson I had with my coach - when you step away from the boards where I am at, you have to do what you have been trained to do...

ice coverage · Jul 4, 2013

Tweets from Jeremy Ten ‏@j3r3bear re R.A.:

After landing a 3A coach Rafael tells me I could do a 4A & that I should be able to do all my quads...
7:45 PM - 3 Jul 13

He's either a mad scientist or a some kind of crazy genius. I haven't decided which....
7:46 PM - 3 Jul 13

Dragonlady · Jul 12, 2013

Artunian doesn't remake a skater's jumps, he simply tweaks them. I'm sorry Mao wasn't happy training in the US. I thought she did her very best skating under his instruction. And Jeff Buttle developed a consistent 3A with Raphael, and won a World Championship.

mary01 · Jul 12, 2013

I think it's a good move from Ashley to go rafael, I wouldn't be surprised if he helped bring back the 3-3. it will be interesting to see how their relationship will develop!

ice coverage · Jul 18, 2013

Wagner hopes to stage triple-triple at Olympics
Two-time reigning U.S. champ reveals programs, banks on Arutunian, Wilson

By Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com
(07/16/2013)
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130716&content_id=53917348&vkey=ice_news

koriani already posted the program news and article link in the Programs thread

, but IMHO, the link belongs also in a Wagner thread (did I miss it elsewhere??). The article covers much more than just the program news.

BTW, Wagner will skate at the Japan Open before her GPs, but prob. will not compete at a Senior B.

MarkusNJ · Jul 18, 2013

I am really feeling these music choices....wow....getting excited!!!!

drivingmissdaisy · Jul 18, 2013

I really like the choice of Prokofiev for her LP. She is one of those rare skaters who can breathe life into modern classical pieces. Pink Floyd for her SP is an interesting choice and I'm interested to see if she can make it work. I typically don't like programs like that because the instrumentation of vocal pieces don't fully capture the piece. In fact, Michelle's Beatles SP was probably my least favorite competitive program she ever did.

Trewyn · Jul 18, 2013

Interesting in the article is that Rafael really has become her 'main' coach and she's only with Nicks one or two days a week. Ashley probably needs to spend as much time as she can with Rafael so they have a good connection before going to competitions. Interesting that she really wants to work on technique, hopefully he *can* help her there, even though we can't expect miracles in such a short time.
Nicks can help keep an eye on her polish; her polish and maturity is her 'edge' over Gracie, so it's important she maintains it.
In the past, Wagner has always gained a lot from having her training situation change. She grew a lot switching from Hughes to Hill and then made a spectacular leap going from Hill to Nicks, hopefully this last move will prove to be the thing she needs to get her onto the (Olympic) podium!

Not sure about her music choices, but I like that she sees Juliet as 'crazy in love' rather than the 'tragic figure' Sasha Cohen portrayed.

Ashley Wagner to train part-time with Rafael Arutyunyan

drivingmissdaisy

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

R.D.

mskater93

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605

Dragonlady

mary01

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605

MarkusNJ

drivingmissdaisy

Trewyn

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