Thanks to Mathman, Euterpe, Hockeyfan, and Soogar for reading my speculations about a possible explanation for Sasha's consistency problems as what they were--just speculations about a possible explanation. I like Sasha. I'd like to see her do well. Lack of consistency seems to be the main thing holding her back. My educational and professional background is sports science. Things like motor performance, kinesiology, sport psychology, eating disorders, etc. were/are my bread and butter as well as an avocational interest so I tend to look at things from a hypothetical point of view. If I don't make that clear in a post, I really do appreciate it if someone either posts or PMs me with that observation, as I am happy to correct any lousy or inaccurate writing on my part.
A second thanks to Hockeyfan for clarifying that the info about Sasha leaving gymnastics because of concentration problems came from a quote in BOI. I know for myself I can easily forget to reference a source, even in a general way, when I present information as fact. I'm trying to make it a habit only because misinformation on forums spreads like, well, misinformation on forums. I'm also glad you said how you were thinking about posting this info when you first read it but decided not to because of the "lightening rod" factor and concern that it would start a wave of "there Sasha goes again with the excuses." I know what you mean; it's frustrating when you want to convey valid information but feel you have to second guess the consequences. Perhaps a good summer thread topic could be, "Why Are Some Skaters Lightening Rods for Controversy?"
BTW, slightly OT but while I'm thinking about it: I recently had a situation where I was asked to source something about a skater I'd seen on televised news. I figured, "No problem. I'm sure I'll find it on Google." I tried entering the information every which way from Sunday and looked at about 200 references and could not find a single reference. I knew this was something I had definitely seen because I had discussed privately with another poster who had seen the same report. The only way I could verify it was through Burrelle's Transcripts, which you can only search by date. Of course I only recall--as could the other poster--that the report was sometime within the last six months. Anyway, if you see something about skating on TV, don't be an idiot like me and assume it's going to be on one of the Internet search engines.
Back to Sasha: With reference to my comment that if she can't improve her consistency that I hope Robin Wagner will steer her to a good sports psychologist: Just so it's clear, I think an athlete consulting a sports psychologist is no different from an athlete consulting a personal trainer. I think Mathman put it in very good perspective, though by no means the only one, when he talked about the physiologic response to adrenaline. The bottom line for me is this: If an athlete has a performance problem or any problem that affects his/her performance, I do not care what it is. I only care that the athlete have the cause of the problem correctly identified so s/he can get appropriate help in dealing with the situation. IMO, FS forums are a place where fans with special interests in the sport can discuss such things. Chances are such discussions are not going to affect the skater being discussed, but a lot of skaters read and/or participate in these forums. You never know if a discussion of possible reasons for inconsistency might positively affect some other skater with a similar problem. Even if it does nothing, it's not as if anyone is accusing Sasha of being a bad person.
Speaking of the "bad person" factor, for me, problems such as dyslexia, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. have no morality or negative connotation. People, of course, have various interpretations of moral or immoral behavior, or positive or negative behavior, but for me there is no morality or value present in any physical problem a person might have, whether it be congenital, caused by training, or acquired in some other way. My hope is that the focus stays on doing whatever helps athletes achieve their goals and/or compete up to their potential.
To stay with consistency as an example, for some athletes it's a matter of lapses in concentration. For others, there are emotional or behavioral issues that have to do with training at the elite level. For me, there is no difference. The athlete with a concentration problem is not a "better person" than the athlete with an emotional or behavioral problem, though I realize that the societal majority probably feels that way. The important thing for me is that the athlete work with someone who can help him/her perform better.
I also think there is no "value" difference between a skater whose major problem is, for example, overall speed and a skater whose major problem is consistency. However I think a lot of people tend to assign value to different skating problems. In the above example, I think it's probably common to think of a skater who has poor speed but consistent jumps as having a technical flaw that can be fixed, whereas people tend to think a skater who has good speed but inconsistent jumps has some sort of character flaw that just shows, especially if you don't like the skater, that s/he is undeserving of being a champion. To me they're both just technical problems. One may be more a more complex problem than the other, but that's just as a 3Lutz is a more complex jump than a 3toe.
My point is really just to reiterate what Cohen said in the article, "Everybody's different." Some skaters will thrive with tried and true methods of coaching; others will need a more creative approach. I don't see the latter skater as having less value than the former, though of course figure skating is a sport and the way value is assigned in sport is through winning. However even there, for some skaters, multiple national and world championships is the goal, whereas for others, one national and world championship is the goal. Rudi Galindo won one US national championship and one world bronze medal, yet he is certainly a much beloved skater. Anyway, now I'm OT with no excuse and this is already too long so I'll stop.
Rgirl
A second thanks to Hockeyfan for clarifying that the info about Sasha leaving gymnastics because of concentration problems came from a quote in BOI. I know for myself I can easily forget to reference a source, even in a general way, when I present information as fact. I'm trying to make it a habit only because misinformation on forums spreads like, well, misinformation on forums. I'm also glad you said how you were thinking about posting this info when you first read it but decided not to because of the "lightening rod" factor and concern that it would start a wave of "there Sasha goes again with the excuses." I know what you mean; it's frustrating when you want to convey valid information but feel you have to second guess the consequences. Perhaps a good summer thread topic could be, "Why Are Some Skaters Lightening Rods for Controversy?"
BTW, slightly OT but while I'm thinking about it: I recently had a situation where I was asked to source something about a skater I'd seen on televised news. I figured, "No problem. I'm sure I'll find it on Google." I tried entering the information every which way from Sunday and looked at about 200 references and could not find a single reference. I knew this was something I had definitely seen because I had discussed privately with another poster who had seen the same report. The only way I could verify it was through Burrelle's Transcripts, which you can only search by date. Of course I only recall--as could the other poster--that the report was sometime within the last six months. Anyway, if you see something about skating on TV, don't be an idiot like me and assume it's going to be on one of the Internet search engines.
Back to Sasha: With reference to my comment that if she can't improve her consistency that I hope Robin Wagner will steer her to a good sports psychologist: Just so it's clear, I think an athlete consulting a sports psychologist is no different from an athlete consulting a personal trainer. I think Mathman put it in very good perspective, though by no means the only one, when he talked about the physiologic response to adrenaline. The bottom line for me is this: If an athlete has a performance problem or any problem that affects his/her performance, I do not care what it is. I only care that the athlete have the cause of the problem correctly identified so s/he can get appropriate help in dealing with the situation. IMO, FS forums are a place where fans with special interests in the sport can discuss such things. Chances are such discussions are not going to affect the skater being discussed, but a lot of skaters read and/or participate in these forums. You never know if a discussion of possible reasons for inconsistency might positively affect some other skater with a similar problem. Even if it does nothing, it's not as if anyone is accusing Sasha of being a bad person.
Speaking of the "bad person" factor, for me, problems such as dyslexia, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. have no morality or negative connotation. People, of course, have various interpretations of moral or immoral behavior, or positive or negative behavior, but for me there is no morality or value present in any physical problem a person might have, whether it be congenital, caused by training, or acquired in some other way. My hope is that the focus stays on doing whatever helps athletes achieve their goals and/or compete up to their potential.
To stay with consistency as an example, for some athletes it's a matter of lapses in concentration. For others, there are emotional or behavioral issues that have to do with training at the elite level. For me, there is no difference. The athlete with a concentration problem is not a "better person" than the athlete with an emotional or behavioral problem, though I realize that the societal majority probably feels that way. The important thing for me is that the athlete work with someone who can help him/her perform better.
I also think there is no "value" difference between a skater whose major problem is, for example, overall speed and a skater whose major problem is consistency. However I think a lot of people tend to assign value to different skating problems. In the above example, I think it's probably common to think of a skater who has poor speed but consistent jumps as having a technical flaw that can be fixed, whereas people tend to think a skater who has good speed but inconsistent jumps has some sort of character flaw that just shows, especially if you don't like the skater, that s/he is undeserving of being a champion. To me they're both just technical problems. One may be more a more complex problem than the other, but that's just as a 3Lutz is a more complex jump than a 3toe.
My point is really just to reiterate what Cohen said in the article, "Everybody's different." Some skaters will thrive with tried and true methods of coaching; others will need a more creative approach. I don't see the latter skater as having less value than the former, though of course figure skating is a sport and the way value is assigned in sport is through winning. However even there, for some skaters, multiple national and world championships is the goal, whereas for others, one national and world championship is the goal. Rudi Galindo won one US national championship and one world bronze medal, yet he is certainly a much beloved skater. Anyway, now I'm OT with no excuse and this is already too long so I'll stop.
Rgirl
It goes without saying that whether or not to continue reading and/or participating in a thread is a judgment call.
