Alysa Liu Ready for Change

[brakes]

Yulia was in similar situation year before Sochi - puberty hit her hard, so she went on powder diet and won big in Sochi, but:
- Alysa's growth seems to be more significant,
- it worked for her once, but repeating that path two years later cost Yulia dearly.

 

[readernick]

Yulia was in similar situation year before Sochi - puberty hit her hard, so she went on powder diet and won big in Sochi, but:
- Alysa's growth seems to be more significant,
- it worked for her once, but repeating that path two years later cost Yulia dearly.

I would never suggest anyone do what Yulia did.

 

[brakes]

I would never suggest anyone do what Yulia did.

Me neither.

 

[ali0125]

Genetic ability strongly influences muscle mass. It is proven by science. Two people eating the same amount/same type of food will not develop the same amount of muscle mass. Rika counts everything because she wants to make sure she gets enough protein and vitamins. It is smart, but we don't know anything about Alysa's diet so your comments about her assumed diet aren't helpful or constructive to Alysa in any way.

True - so let me rephrase: I recommend Rika's self-control method to Alysa if she hasn't yet adapted (as an ice cream lover ). Anyways I wish her continue to be a happy girl as she has been. Nothing is more important than that actually.

 

[Hyena]

This is such a touchy issue. As a dancer, I had beautiful turns and leaps until the summer between my 9th and 10th grade year of High School. It was a nightmare. I couldn't turn the way I used to and when I saw myself on video, I just didn't look like myself. It took more than a year for me to feel like "Myself" on the dance floor but, it did happen. If Alysa is going through a growth spurt, her muscles may not feel like they used to for a while. Hopefully this is temporary and I wish fans would just cheer for their champion as she deals with whatever is going on.

I think you make an important point that even with excellent technique, most people are going to struggle when their body changes because things just feel "different", and there is usually going to be an adjustment period.

In some ways, it might help Alysa if her adjustment period is now. With all the changes to this season, there's less pressure, potentially less reason to stress. It might be an opportunity to just focus and improve.

True - so let me rephrase: I recommend Rika's self-control method to Alysa if she hasn't yet adapted (as an ice cream lover ). Anyways I wish her continue to be a happy girl as she has been. Nothing is more important than that actually.

We have no idea what Alysa's nutrition is like right now and can't get any sense of that from watching one program. I don't know if it's very helpful to speculate/suggest certain approaches when we're not the ones on her team.

 

[Greengemmonster]

What I don't understand is the decision to change coaches.

She had great results last season (medaled at every event) and it would have made more sense to keep her coach (who seemed like a mother figure to her) to guide her through turbulent body changes.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

When people say things like that, I feel like they slept over 2 periods, few years each, when Liza lost her 3A and couldn’t land/underrotated 3-3s.

She first landed her 3A at 12, and looking at a video of that, it’s like Midori Ito 3A, so much room, height, length. The ones she’s landing now are amazing too, but that video of her at 12 was simply mind blowing to me.

Rika didn’t grow all too much compared to her teenage self, Sasha last year was already taller and bigger than Rika, now she’s even taller and still landing her quads.

Ultimately, Liza’s periods of losing her shape/jumps to puberty changes twice(!) and missing on Olympics twice, should be a sign that her technique didn’t survive the puberty as good as people like to think. She adjusted again, but no one can say it was a walk in the park and that her technique made any of those body changes completely seamless for her. She struggled and quite a lot.

If there is a will there is a way,

I'm sure there will be a few uninteresting years, but people like Sergei Dudakov will be able to figure out a way to make everything work. There are clever people, who I think are capable of producing results without permanently damaging people who don't understand the full consequences (of course, this probably deserves another thread).

 

[natsulian]

Part of Alysa Liu's new free --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJjpwIKKqgY

3Lz+3T, 3F+Eu+3S<, 3F

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Part of Alysa Liu's new free --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJjpwIKKqgY

3Lz+3T, 3F+Eu+3S<, 3F

She's starting to remind me of Caroline Zhang: slow but able to land everything on her feet. They both also get into nice positions in the spins. Unfortunately I'm not sold on her getting back those tough jumps after watching this program.

 

[jenaj]

Part of Alysa Liu's new free --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJjpwIKKqgY

3Lz+3T, 3F+Eu+3S<, 3F

Well that should answer the doom and gloom people who complained that she didn't even have a 3-3.

 

[natsulian]

She's starting to remind me of Caroline Zhang: slow but able to land everything on her feet. They both also get into nice positions in the spins. Unfortunately I'm not sold on her getting back those tough jumps after watching this program.

I would have to respectfully disagree that Alysa Liu is anything like Caroline Zhang. Slow? Yes, but her speed is improving and so are her skating skills. Able to land everything? Caroline Zhang never had Alysa's consistency and her under-rotation errors were more chronic than Liu's. Nice positions? Yes. Apart from the slowness in their skating, Alysa and Caroline are very much different skaters.

 

[bytheriver]

I wish that Lori gave Alysa a different set of programs. The short is okay, but the free music only exaggerates her lack of speed to me. Faster music playing while she is rushing to get through the first few elements isn't a great solution. Her last free had the advantage of being slow to mid-tempo throughout which distracted from her lack of speed.

A faster set of dramatic music builds...drama but also nerves as you try to fight through it.

 

[Dogo]

True - so let me rephrase: I recommend Rika's self-control method to Alysa if she hasn't yet adapted (as an ice cream lover ). Anyways I wish her continue to be a happy girl as she has been. Nothing is more important than that actually.

On this, I will also add that, from what I saw on instagram, she tried to have a normal Summer just being a happy kid. She went to camping trips, had chocolate s'mores, and was hanging out til late at night with her friends snacking candies after that trip. I am sure that she is in a good place emotionally to put effort on her training now. From what I read when she was with Laura, I think she doesn't have the habit of dedicating time for body conditioning and gym exercises (A reporter interviewing Laura said the rink didn't have a gym and Laura mentioned she only made her run around block), which becomes critical for a skater that wants to pursue ultra c elements. I hope USFS supports her growth with access to a gym and guidance on proper nutrition.

 

[jenaj]

I would have to respectfully disagree that Alysa Liu is anything like Caroline Zhang. Slow? Yes, but her speed is improving and so are her skating skills. Able to land everything? Caroline Zhang never had Alysa's consistency and her under-rotation errors were more chronic than Liu's. Nice positions? Yes. Apart from the slowness in their skating, Alysa and Caroline are very much different skaters.

Also, Caroline didn't make the impact that Alysa did at such a young age by winning senior Nationals. In fact, it was Mirai Nagasu who did that. Caroline was inconsistent and her jumping technique was always suspect. Her lack of speed was far more pronounced than Alysa's. I remember her going into a double axel from practically a stand-still.

 

[dancelion21]

Part of Alysa Liu's new free --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJjpwIKKqgY

3Lz+3T, 3F+Eu+3S<, 3F

Much better than the short program. It's nice to see the 3-3s in the second half of the program, and they look pretty solid. The spins look better in the free than the short too. I also feel like the improvement in edge quality is more apparent. I think her hair falling down in the short was really distracting her, which is why she went for the 3F-2T rather than the 3T.

 

[Dogo]

I wish that Lori gave Alysa a different set of programs. The short is okay, but the free music only exaggerates her lack of speed to me. Faster music playing while she is rushing to get through the first few elements isn't a great solution. Her last free had the advantage of being slow to mid-tempo throughout which distracted from her lack of speed.

A faster set of dramatic music builds...drama but also nerves as you try to fight through it.

Yeah I don't know why can't Lori understand better Alysa's strength on her programs..
I don't know how I feel about having her as a sole choreographer, it kinda cuts the opportunities Alysa can have working with Shae Lynn B now that she is California. But before I get to be more critical with Lori, I have to remind myself that Mariah's ABBA done by SLB wasn't that great either. Evgenia's Free has potential but it was lacking attention to musical transitions. It might be a difficult time for some choreographers (Lori, SLB and Danny G) to polish their work right after the pandemic. Hope Alysa's program grows on me later during the season!

 

[bytheriver]

Yeah I don't know why can't Lori understand better Alysa's strength on her programs..
I don't know how I feel about having her as a sole choreographer, it kinda cuts the opportunities Alysa can have working with Shae Lynn B now that she is California. But before I get to be more critical with Lori, I have to remind myself that Mariah's ABBA done by SLB wasn't that great either. Evgenia's Free has potential but it was lacking attention to musical transitions. It might be a difficult time for some choreographers (Lori, SLB and Danny G) to polish their work right after the pandemic. Hope Alysa's program grows on me later during the season!

Or even Rohene! The Don’t Rain on my Parade was by him and it worked for two consecutive seasons (even though it got a little too immature for her by Nats this year). Rohene is really an underutilized resource for choreo.

Just remembered he also did Jason’s great short last year!

 

[mrrice]

Or even Rohene! The Don’t Rain on my Parade was by him and it worked for two consecutive seasons (even though it got a little too immature for her by Nats this year). Rohene is really an underutilized resource for choreo.

Just remembered he also did Jason’s great short last year!

I completely agree about Rohene. I don't know why he doesn't get more calls from top skaters. I think he's brilliant.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I would have to respectfully disagree that Alysa Liu is anything like Caroline Zhang. Slow? Yes, but her speed is improving and so are her skating skills. Able to land everything? Caroline Zhang never had Alysa's consistency and her under-rotation errors were more chronic than Liu's. Nice positions? Yes. Apart from the slowness in their skating, Alysa and Caroline are very much different skaters.

Caroline was great at Alysa's age, winning senior GP medals, making the senior GPF, and having three top 2 finishes at Jr Worlds (including a win there). She started having problems with consistency around 16 or 17, but I think a lot of people forget how good she was because she continued long after she was getting strong international results. Alysa obviously has been better at Nationals, but her success there is due to the 3A.

 

[bytheriver]

Caroline was great at Alysa's age, winning senior GP medals, making the senior GPF, and having three top 2 finishes at Jr Worlds (including a win there). She started having problems with consistency around 16 or 17, but I think a lot of people forget how good she was because she continued long after she was getting strong international results. Alysa obviously has been better at Nationals, but her success there is due to the 3A.

I hate how people undermine Caroline’s accomplishments when the Alysa comparison comes up. You don’t need to put her down to prop Alysa up. Alysa has the senior national titles, but Caroline had tremendous international success considering her short peak career. She was a Junior world champion and a JGPF champion, and she podiumed at nationals consistently in a time when there was frankly more competition than today (Kimmie as the reigning world champion, Mirai as the young upstart nipping at her heels, and Ashley as the scrappy competitor she has always been).

The only commonality between Caroline and Alysa is how their lack of speed and technique seemed to be a hindrance to them as they grew up and hit puberty.