Serafima Sakhanovich

I'm new to this fanfest but I was very impressed by Sima last night -- both skating and as a person. She really held up and delivered under pressure and had a lovely skate, but what really sold me on her was her reaction afterwards. Going straight for a hug from coach, her shock in the K&C... what a sweet, genuine young woman! Wishing her all the best in the free today.

https://twitter.com/n_cool29/status/934652085689126913 Russian girl power

Favorite pic I took tonight https://twitter.com/Sk84it/status/934662661492690944

https://twitter.com/diodio0013tw/status/934618481051365376 cute Sima

https://twitter.com/diodio0013tw/status/934616884611125248 nice

https://twitter.com/figure_tsukune/status/934619224139448320 cute reaction

https://twitter.com/mippy214/status/934623589558493184

https://twitter.com/yokotanpeshenko/status/934618957406863360 cute!

https://twitter.com/Lily_shenka/status/934635435497684992 :luv17:

https://twitter.com/Sk84it/status/934653063431847937 Plushy was more nervous

https://twitter.com/Sk84it/status/934652570861219840 nice, nice!

edit: https://twitter.com/figure_tsukune/status/934618449791164416

Sam-Skwantch said:

We Lose Nothing...We Take What is Ours

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Epic

After what she has been through, I almost cried watching her best SP after a long time. Now go out and kick that FS, you can do it! I still remember when she was 12...

Yeah, Serafima is a classy girl.

Per Jackie's Practice Notes:

Sakhanovich: 3Lo, 3Lz, 3Lz, 3F3T, 3S2T, 3S3T, runthru (3F3T, 3Lz, 2A, 3S3T, 2A(step), 3F, 3Lo2T2T)
https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/934844685587308546

Good luck, guys! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb8Xax5hP0h/?

I took a bunch of photos and a couple videos at Skate America:

Http://www.instagram.com/SimaFriends

Thank you! So delightful to be able to browse those.

Sima's free skate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgpXUIokawc

It was a tough fight, she was dragged out on the ice earlier than expected. But she didn’t fall and she got a new season best. Of course it’s not perfect but she has improved. All the best for her.

Well done, Serafima. Lovely performance

Translated interview with Plushy:

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...at-serafima-on-the-ice-i-want-to-jump.102434/

The part about Sima:

- Evgeni, is coaching as exciting as competing?
- Of course, it's exciting. When I was skating, I was the only one on the ice. And I'm skating with my student now. It requires a lot of hard work, but I'm truly interested in it.
- What do you think about Serafima's performances here?
- Firstly, I am very glad that we were lucky and had a chance to go to Skate America. And she did a great job here, skating for the first time in the new team. Of course, there is something to work on, but she has stepped up.
- What are the main advantages of her performances?
- I am very glad that she has gained some consistency. She has already had a lot of competitions this season: both in Russia and abroad, and now she competed at such a big event.
- Nevertheless, are you still on the ice with your feet, when you are standing at the boards and watching Serafima?
- And with my legs, and body, and head. I always want to jump with her, to give her strength and energy. An interesting feeling.
- Sima told me that you have found the right words for her and that was the most important thing for her.
- Firstly, I'm not the only one, who works with Serafima, she also works with Alexei Vasilevsky and Yulia Lavrenchuk, and also with Oleg Ovsyannikov, Alexander Zolotarev, masseurs and others. I have a very good team and I'm grateful to everyone. Serafima skated greatly because of the whole team. And the words ... Of course, we have found some words for her. We talked a lot, maybe she feels the difference now. But I do not want to offend anyone, she also showed decent results with her previous coaches. We will continue working further.
- Did those words come from the heart or, perhaps, you used the methods of your coach, Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin?
- I do not hide it, I took the technique from Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin. And the words, of course, came from the heart. And were based on my own experience. I've been in this sport for a long time, I know how to set the mood. For me, the main thing was to explain Serafima that it's foolish to retire at 17. She still has time to work, to learn a lot, to achieve results and to have fun. After all, competitions bring a great pleasure. It's cool to compete, to skate in front of the audience, the judges! I can honestly say that I missed it a lot, when I left the sport in 2006 and hadn't skated for three years. So, I hope, we have found the right approach to Serafima with the whole team.
- What are your goals for this season?
- To skate decently. And we have a way more ambitious plans for the next season - we will work on a quad salchow in the off-season. She has the desire and strength to do it. I think that she has a potential to land it.
- Is it possible to teach a skater, who doesn't really like to compete, how to enjoy the competition?
- It is. She's a fighter. Everything can be changed. The main thing is that the athlete must listen to the coach and the whole team team. For example, today, in the free program, she made a big mistake. She was told to add few steps before the double axel, but she hurried and didn't add it, so she popped that axel. If she had done it in the right way, she would have landed that jump. She also could have added the third jump in the combo. But all this is understandable. She didn't have a lot of starts, she is still trying to get used to the team, to me. And for me, this is also a very new experience. I think that Sima will learn how to enjoy competing.
- She also told me that she was a little nervous, when she found out that you were coming to Lake Placid. You didn't tell her that on purpose?
- No, I was on tour in Europe, we did half of the shows, but the others were postponed. And I immediately decided to go to America, when I found it out. By the way, the road was rather hard. I was in the city of Poprad in Slovakia, from there we drove to Zilina, from there to Vienna, from Vienna flew to Moscow, from Moscow to New York, and in New York we rented a car, and then had a five hours drive. All of this in one day. But a good result was worth it. It was necessary for me to support her.
- Will she perform at the Russian Nationals?
- Yes, and I will go there with her. The main goal is to show clean and confident skating. She needs to regain self-confidence. When she came to me, she did not have this confidence. We found the right words, the right exercises and the right approach to help her. We believe in her, and this is only beginning. She is just 17, she has lots of time.

LRK said:

- Is it possible to teach a skater, who doesn't really like to compete, how to enjoy the competition?
- It is. She's a fighter. Everything can be changed. The main thing is that the athlete must listen to the coach and the whole team team. For example, today, in the free program, she made a big mistake. She was told to add few steps before the double axel, but she hurried and didn't add it, so she popped that axel. If she had done it in the right way, she would have landed that jump. She also could have added the third jump in the combo. But all this is understandable. She didn't have a lot of starts, she is still trying to get used to the team, to me. And for me, this is also a very new experience. I think that Sima will learn how to enjoy competing.

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Thanks for sharing LRK! It's good to see that Evgeni is not making pressure on his student but trying to make her enjoy skating and competing. So nice to see his great experience becoming a torch for the ones losing their way on the road!

Totentanz said:

Thanks for sharing LRK! It's good to see that Evgeni is not making pressure on his student but trying to make her enjoy skating and competing. So nice to see his great experience becoming a torch for the ones losing their way on the road!

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Wow - that is such a lovely & inspiring way to look at it; thank you.

Serafima has herself another fan! She skated very well this weekend, and I can't wait to see her at Nationals!

LRK said:

We talked a lot, maybe she feels the difference now. But I do not want to offend anyone, she also showed decent results with her previous coaches. We will continue working further.

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classy and respectful

I'm still so happy and smiley

I'm so in love with the feel of the Free Skate program. The music and mysterious vibe just suck me in and while it's not the most exciting program it has a certain calmness to it that makes it so enjoyable. Very nice dress too.

What is the story behind this music?

I was so impressed with Sima and Plushy this weekend, not only because of the obvious work and improvement they've done together, but because of the obvious mutual respect and care. He sounds like exactly what she needs--highly skilled, but encouraging and low pressure. I hope she stays on her upward trajectory. It's wonderful seeing her so happy.

Sam-Skwantch said:

I'm still so happy and smiley

I'm so in love with the feel of the Free Skate program. The music and mysterious vibe just suck me in and while it's not the most exciting program it has a certain calmness to it that makes it so enjoyable. Very nice dress too.

What is the story behind this music?

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Concierto de Aranjuez (Wikipedia)

Sam-Skwantch said:

I'm still so happy and smiley

I'm so in love with the feel of the Free Skate program. The music and mysterious vibe just suck me in and while it's not the most exciting program it has a certain calmness to it that makes it so enjoyable. Very nice dress too.

What is the story behind this music?

Click to expand...

This is what I found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concierto_de_Aranjuez#Inspiration

OT, and just for fun - Plushy's Aranjuez:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVttluHZRGg