- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
According to a post on FSU, an article in Yomiuri On-line reports that Suguri has moved to Chicago to train with Oleg Vassiliev:
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16874
I don't read Japanese, and I don't know if the article says anything about this being her idea or the idea of the Japanese Federation, but I think it's ironic that the Japanese Ladies' program has as much depth as any other country, yet the top skaters have left Japan to train in the US with non-Japanese coaches. Maybe it's getting a little overwhelming among the top coaches in Japan, having all of that talent in one place.
I know a lot of people will object to this, but in my opinion, in the two competitions in which I've seen her skate live (Worlds 2003-4), Suguri's fast and furious cross-overs, expecially at the beginning of the program, are not particularly smooth and that she loses a lot of speed in the middle of her program until the very end, when she picks up into fast footwork into a very fast ending spin. I also think her "dancing" in all four programs was awkward, and that, particularly in Dortmund, she didn't have the authority, edges, or flow over the ice that any of the skaters in the top six or Rochette or Poykio had. Even Kostner, in a terrible LP performance, had more natural flow and ease. To me, she looked like a 7-12th rank skater, not a returning bronze medallist.
I think this will be a great move for her, if Vassiliev can smooth out her stroking and her transitions and help her to maintain power and speed throughout her program.
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16874
I don't read Japanese, and I don't know if the article says anything about this being her idea or the idea of the Japanese Federation, but I think it's ironic that the Japanese Ladies' program has as much depth as any other country, yet the top skaters have left Japan to train in the US with non-Japanese coaches. Maybe it's getting a little overwhelming among the top coaches in Japan, having all of that talent in one place.
I know a lot of people will object to this, but in my opinion, in the two competitions in which I've seen her skate live (Worlds 2003-4), Suguri's fast and furious cross-overs, expecially at the beginning of the program, are not particularly smooth and that she loses a lot of speed in the middle of her program until the very end, when she picks up into fast footwork into a very fast ending spin. I also think her "dancing" in all four programs was awkward, and that, particularly in Dortmund, she didn't have the authority, edges, or flow over the ice that any of the skaters in the top six or Rochette or Poykio had. Even Kostner, in a terrible LP performance, had more natural flow and ease. To me, she looked like a 7-12th rank skater, not a returning bronze medallist.
I think this will be a great move for her, if Vassiliev can smooth out her stroking and her transitions and help her to maintain power and speed throughout her program.