What is Eteri's secret?

MarinHondas · Sep 6, 2017

Eteri is a very controversial coach but you can't deny she gets results. Almost all her ladies are unbelievably consistent. Her skaters are ruling Juniors and the two time world champ and world record holder also happens to be her student. Many fans argue that although she gets results, her skaters have bad technique. I can agree with this to an extent but her most recent stars have stellar technique(Alina Zagitova, Alexandra Trusova, Anastasia Tarakanova). I created this thread to disscuss the following questions: What does Eteri do to create such mentally tough skaters? Why haven't other coaches figured out how to do this? What makes her training program so special? What is the secret? I realize we probably will never know what her secret really is but I figured we could discuss theories.

silverfoxes · Sep 6, 2017

Obviously there are many factors, but probably #1 is the competition within the team, vying against other very strong skaters every day & vying for the attention of the coach. Sink or swim.

vorravorra · Sep 6, 2017

Tarakanova's technique isn't of Eteri's making, she's only been with her since May this year, she was with Svetlana Panova before that. Trusova transferred from Volkov in 2016. Alina has been with her the longest, since 2015. Eteri seems to be good at picking talent and getting top results from them quickly, rather than building them from the ground up. And in terms of mental toughness - a lot of it is also selection I suspect. I doubt she creates her "little monsters" out of delicate flowers. But once again she is stellar at using their strengths to the fullest. She doesn't seem to be particularly interested in/good at playing long-term, which is probably one of the reasons of her lack of success with boys - they don't bloom at 13 and require more sustained effort.

tars · Sep 6, 2017

There is no secret - day after tommorow Rika Kihira is going to spank Panenkova's behind with 3A, then at Olympics in february, Marin Honda will send Zhenya and Alina back home crying, fully establishing Mie Hamada's domination in ladies' figure skating.

tjb · Sep 6, 2017

vorravorra said:
Tarakanova's technique isn't of Eteri's making, she's only been with her since May this year, she was with Svetlana Panova before that. Trusova transferred from Volkov in 2016. Alina has been with her the longest, since 2015. Eteri seems to be good at picking talent and getting top results from them quickly, rather than building them from the ground up. And in terms of mental toughness - a lot of it is also selection I suspect. I doubt she creates her "little monsters" out of delicate flowers. But once again she is stellar at using their strengths to the fullest. She doesn't seem to be particularly interested in/good at playing long-term, which is probably one of the reasons of her lack of success with boys - they don't bloom at 13 and require more sustained effort.

pre-eteri trusova's techniuqe wasn't stellar at all, sasha always had high jumps, but was very slow on the rotation, she wasn't able to get the right momentum with her body and had a bending leg issue. and tarakanova now has the same "midori ito" bending leg on half of her jumps. i hope eteri gonna fix that soon

mrrice · Sep 6, 2017

To quote Eteri herself "I Have No Secret"

If you ask me, the secret to her success is that she doesn't take any B.S. from her students or their parents. I think any student that goes to her knows that they have to pull their own weight. She doesn't have time for tantrums or unruly behavior. We've all heard stories of her students storming out of practice in a rage and she just shakes it off and keeps going. I don't think she's the right coach for everyone but, when she finds the right fit, her track record speaks for itself. If feel the same way about Tom Z. he may not be for everyone but, for some skaters, he's exactly what they need. I was a very serious dancer and I think Eteri would have been a perfect for me.

solani · Sep 6, 2017

What's kind of striking to me is that Eteri's female students all seem to admire her a lot. They like her styling, her outfits and they want to impress her. I guess they probably all want to be her favourite. So I guess that's her secret - the girls all want to impress her. And she's certainly a very tough no-nonsense coach.

vorravorra · Sep 6, 2017

tjb said:
pre-eteri trusova's techniuqe wasn't stellar at all, sasha always had high jumps, but was very slow on the rotation, she wasn't able to get the right momentum with her body and had a bending leg issue. and tarakanova now has the same "midori ito" bending leg on half of her jumps. i hope eteri gonna fix that soon

I am not saying Eteri can't fix mistakes. But the complaint about Eteri was that her students were taught a technique that relied on very fast rotation, and it was implied that now they are not. What I am saying that Eteri has started taking students who already have proper athletic jumps, she hasn't come up with a way to teach them from the ground up. Hopefully this means better longevity for Eteri's girls.

apgold · Sep 6, 2017

I'd like to see how Eteri's approach works in the long term - say to the next Olympic cycle. Most of her top skaters (Trusova, etc.) are juniors or juniors turning senior. Medvedeva seems to be an example of a longer lasting success (jr World champ and 2 consecutive World senior titles) and now has Zagitova nipping at her skates so we'll see how that goes.

We all know what happened to Lipnitskaia, unfortunately. Hoping that she is the exception, not the rule. (Not blaming Eteri for her issues, but she's an example of a star who burned out and is now retired.

Grin · Sep 6, 2017

We say Eteri, but in fact she has a school. There are coaches, choreographers and other specialists in her team. That's how her girls get the full package.
Now about boys. Egor Murashov was 3rd in Cup of Austria. Not bad bebut for 13 yo boy, isn't it?

Now it's time for some conspiracy theories. You know, she trains her girls in Novogorsk from time to time. Legendary rhythmic gymnastics coach Irina Viner-Usmanova also trains her girls in Novogorsk. I think she might consult Eteri and her girls on mental issues

Tutto · Sep 6, 2017

I think she is an excellent manager, her factory works very productively.
As a human being she scares me though. For instance Mishin can be very outspoken and borderline rude but you kinda know that his heart is in a right place.... but Eteri's very smile sends the chill down my spine...I could be totally wrong but I perceive her as a very ruthless person

russianfan · Sep 6, 2017

vorravorra said:
What I am saying that Eteri has started taking students who already have proper athletic jumps, she hasn't come up with a way to teach them from the ground up. Hopefully this means better longevity for Eteri's girls.

but there is Medvedeva who was training with her for like 10 years or even more, and results are pretty much speak for themselves

bramweld · Sep 6, 2017

She grinds them into the ground pre-puberty because in general, most Russian ladies are not waifs. Then when the effects of puberty take effect she pulls a "Lipnitskaya". But hey she knows her context. Girls who work with her must have thick skin and be highly self motivated. She tells it like it is, always. She has a similarly unflinching approach with the boys as well.

russianfan · Sep 6, 2017

also, speaking about Eteri and her school.. i think we shouldn't forget about Dudakov as well. For me, he seems like a very calm and smart person, who really likes to do what he does, and i actually think he owns at least 50% of success there.

Also, their teachers in choreography classes... this guy for example... all videos which you might have seen, where Eteri's students are dancing - is his work. I saw a post where he said that he works with Medvedeva for like 10 years, so now you know where the credit should go when we are talking about Medvedeva's artistry

Jaana · Sep 6, 2017

psusanne said:
And she's certainly a very tough no-nonsense coach.

Yes, she seems that way to me, too. Besides, that is what I would expect from a coach.

sarama · Sep 6, 2017

I agree that she puts her skaters in a "swim or sink" situation. Is it right? Is it wrong? Where is the limit? I don't know. What I find disturbing is that she works with very young people, who probably can't even realise what is happening to them, until it's too late. I wouldn't have appreciated being in her camp, but I never wanted to be an Olympic champion, or even to win a JGP medal.
I am curious to see if the experiences of Julia, Adian and many more will eventually scare her students and their parents off. One thing is for sure now the mental prep of her skaters is unbelievable!

atsumiri · Sep 6, 2017

russianfan said:
but there is Medvedeva who was training with her for like 10 years or even more, and results are pretty much speak for themselves

yes.
and Sherbakova's been with her for a long time too.

sarama said:
I am curious to see if the experiences of Julia, Adian and many more will eventually scare her students and their parents off.

LOL
it's not like other coaches doesn't have problems with some skaters... and other doesn't have any injuries or puberty problems...

tjb · Sep 6, 2017

russianfan said:
but there is Medvedeva who was training with her for like 10 years or even more, and results are pretty much speak for themselves

and shcherbakova, who is the most talented student, i believe, was build by eteri from the ground as well. she started skating at 6 and doesn't even had her doubles, when she joined eteri.

those people, who are making assumptions based on one skater (yulia) are just lovely. i hope they will came up with something better as soon as eteri's skaters starting invading the seniors

russianfan · Sep 6, 2017

silverfoxes said:
Obviously there are many factors, but probably #1 is the competition within the team, vying against other very strong skaters every day & vying for the attention of the coach. Sink or swim.

i would put it other way: if you have the strongest skaters in your team, they will constantly push each other - no one wants to be a weak link.

russianfan · Sep 6, 2017

tjb said:
and shcherbakova, who is the most talented student, i believe, was build by eteri from the ground as well. she started skating at 6 and doesn't even had her doubles, when she joined eteri.

those people, who are making assumptions based on one skater (yulia) are just lovely. i hope they came up with something better as soon as eteri's skaters starting invading the seniors

yeah, so as we can see, the skaters who seems to be the most polished ones - have been with her for a long time. Coincidence? may be :laugh:

What is Eteri's secret?

MarinHondas

silverfoxes

vorravorra

tars

tjb

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mrrice

solani

vorravorra

apgold

Grin

Tutto

russianfan

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bramweld

russianfan

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Jaana

sarama

atsumiri

tjb

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russianfan

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