2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating | Page 7 | Golden Skate

2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
What is the IPS list?

It's the international selection pool, the skaters that will be sent to international competition (I think it may be also tied with funds from US fed, but you better wait for further confirmation on that matter)...speaking of which, is Alysa already eligible for juniors, right?
 

Tahuu

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Despite Karen's hang time her main issue is that she rotates way too slowly. She can barely get the 3Lz around consistently so I don't think a quad is anywhere in her future unless she can greatly increase her rate of rotation. That's really where she needs the most help.

Rotation speed may not be a problem for Karen. She delays her rotation a little too late.
 

bubblecherry

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 20, 2018
Despite Karen's hang time her main issue is that she rotates way too slowly. She can barely get the 3Lz around consistently so I don't think a quad is anywhere in her future unless she can greatly increase her rate of rotation. That's really where she needs the most help.

I'd love for Karen to get her 4Lz but that's VERY wishful thinking. It'd take so many months or even years to learn anyway. However, slow rotation isn't much of a problem. She learned her 3Lz slower which means she still has potential to go faster to get another rotation in compared to skaters who rotate as fast as possible and have no chance to get another rotation in.

She does have problems rotating late though. Ideally, learning a quad would force her not to do that but once again... this is all very wishful thinking. I don't know if she has it in her to even try, but she did say she wanted to go for a 3A, so who really knows. Maybe a possible new coach would get her inspired to up her technical content... LOL
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Will Ashley and Mirai stay for another season or more or will they retire? I remember reading somewhere that Ashley didn't know yet but I may be late with news...
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Rotation speed may not be a problem for Karen. She delays her rotation a little too late.

That's very true, she delays way too long. If that were the problem it seems as if that would be a timing issue and possibly easier to fix. My guess is they'd have fixed it by now...
 

Spirals for Miles

Anna Shcherbakova is my World Champion
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
Ah, just got confirmation: Alysa is not on the list because it only includes skaters who are junior-eligible and senior-eligible next year even if they competed novice this year.
 

*~RussianBleux~*

Medalist
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
It's the international selection pool, the skaters that will be sent to international competition (I think it may be also tied with funds from US fed, but you better wait for further confirmation on that matter)...speaking of which, is Alysa already eligible for juniors, right?

No :( You have to be 13 by July 1. She is 12 and her birthday is in August. So no JGP for Alysa this year and since she isn't junior eligible she is not on the ISP list. She will still compete internationally as an Advanced Novice I assume, as she did this past season.
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I think Karen needs a coach who will be strict with her. She seems a little immature for her age (considering how open she was about how difficult it was being away from her mom during the Olympics), and IMO, I would assume that Tammy isn't very strict with her, considering the choreography drama last season. A stricter coach would've put their foot down.

Karen just doesn't seem to have any grit. I think she'd benefit from a coach who would make her into more of a fighter by being a little more harsh with her.

In general, I think US skaters and coaches would see more results if more of them had direct competitors in their rinks. Nathan and Adam spent quite a few years training together, and ended up top two US men. It worked for BOrser with Yuzu and Javi, worked for Marina and then Marie-France in dance, and it obviously works for Eteri. Training with your rival elevates your skating. It gives you someone to compete with every day and prevents complacency with your own skating. It also gives you someone in your own backyard who understands what you're going through every day. You don't even have to be friends to at least relate to one another and get some benefit from that.

I understand the situation might not be for all skaters, but not enough of them have tried it at the senior level, it seems to me. I think maybe USFS should try to make more of these situations happen. Would've been fascinating to see Gracie go to Raf in 2014 instead of Frank, for example.

Then again, maybe US coaches lack the talented supporting coaches they need to be effective with more than a few top students? (I'm just speculating.) Raf has only been able to have a few "stars" at once (Ashley, Adam, Nathan) while his juniors and Mariah Bell, Brezina, and others have seemed to struggle a lot. This has also been the case for Tom Z. Meanwhile BOrser has Tracy around, along with David Wilson who is a major presence, and Eteri obviously is surrounded by excellent supporting coaches.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I'd love for Karen to get her 4Lz but that's VERY wishful thinking. It'd take so many months or even years to learn anyway. However, slow rotation isn't much of a problem. She learned her 3Lz slower which means she still has potential to go faster to get another rotation in compared to skaters who rotate as fast as possible and have no chance to get another rotation in.

I'd be happy if she just worked more on her triples. Her slow rotation is not an easy problem to fix, as it's been an unresolved issue for several years now.
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
I think Karen needs a coach who will be strict with her. She seems a little immature for her age (considering how open she was about how difficult it was being away from her mom during the Olympics), and IMO, I would assume that Tammy isn't very strict with her, considering the choreography drama last season. A stricter coach would've put their foot down.

Karen just doesn't seem to have any grit. I think she'd benefit from a coach who would make her into more of a fighter by being a little more harsh with her.

.....

I’m sorry, I don’t get or agree with this at all. So Karen got to be a national champion the year before last because she is coddled and immature? Because she honestly said she missed her mother (and thank God for that, I wouldn’t want a skater who didn’t miss her mother:noshake:)

I really don’t understand the narrative that our elite skaters who don’t perform up to expectations would just do so much better if they weren’t coddled little snowflakes. Horsefeathers:devil: *All* of them have grit and determination or they wouldn’t be where they are.

I think it is to a skater’s benefit to have colleagues from whom they can learn and to whom they can go for support. The support factor is key. But competetition? Like a skater wouldn’t know what they have to do to win a comp because another top ten skater isn’t skating with them?

I think they know it all too well. How they implement it is another matter......
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I’m sorry, I don’t get or agree with this at all. So Karen got to be a national champion the year before last because she is coddled and immature? Because she honestly said she missed her mother (and thank God for that, I wouldn’t want a skater who didn’t miss her mother:noshake:)

I really don’t understand the narrative that our elite skaters who don’t perform up to expectations would just do so much better if they weren’t coddled little snowflakes. Horsefeathers:devil: *All* of them have grit and determination or they wouldn’t be where they are.

I think it is to a skater’s benefit to have colleagues from whom they can learn and to whom they can go for support. The support factor is key. But competetition? Like a skater wouldn’t know what they have to do to win a comp because another top ten skater isn’t skating with them?

I think they know it all too well. How they implement it is another matter......

1. I never said or even meant to imply that Karen is coddled or that she's a snowflake. I stand by thinking she is probably immature for her age. Most US skaters probably are - they come from stable, upper-middle class families, and they're pretty sheltered. That's all fine - but the result is relative emotional immaturity. Sure, Karen has grit and determination, but she doesn't have the grit and determination of the Russian and Japanese girls who are dominating. Eteri and Mie Hamada are notoriously tough coaches, and they seem to get results.

2. There's an obvious difference between knowing in your brain what you have to do to succeed and seeing your competition do it in front of you every day. If you're comparing yourself to them every day, it makes sense you'll push yourself harder. We've seen coaches across disciplines produce incredibly successful athletes and results by coaching rivals alongside each other, and might be worth considering if USFS wants to see better results from their ladies.
 

AshWagsFan

Edges for days.
Final Flight
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Country
United-States
Will Ashley and Mirai stay for another season or more or will they retire? I remember reading somewhere that Ashley didn't know yet but I may be late with news...

Who knows, Ashley wasn’t really specific, but she seems to be landing jumps decently in SOI. Mirai May continue, but i see her taking a season off especially now because she’s been getting a lot of hype and is on DWTS.
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
1. I never said or even meant to imply that Karen is coddled or that she's a snowflake. I stand by thinking she is probably immature for her age. Most US skaters probably are - they come from stable, upper-middle class families, and they're pretty sheltered. That's all fine - but the result is relative emotional immaturity. Sure, Karen has grit and determination, but she doesn't have the grit and determination of the Russian and Japanese girls who are dominating. Eteri and Mie Hamada are notoriously tough coaches, and they seem to get results.

2. There's an obvious difference between knowing in your brain what you have to do to succeed and seeing your competition do it in front of you every day. If you're comparing yourself to them every day, it makes sense you'll push yourself harder. We've seen coaches across disciplines produce incredibly successful athletes and results by coaching rivals alongside each other, and might be worth considering if USFS wants to see better results from their ladies.


I understand what you are saying about background and narrowness of perspective, and on that we might agree.

1. I don't know enough about Mie Hamada to say anything about her coaching style. From what little I have seen of Eteri, I would never send my daughter to her. Perhaps I do not know enough about her either. But medals should not be the end all and be all of any life, even a fifteen year old one. Talk about a sheltered existence:disapp:

2. I don't think Japanese and Russian girls are dominating because they have more "grit" or "determination" than any other girls. And I don't think you get grit and determination from a having "tough" coach. On that we will just need to agree to disagree.

3. I think you can learn from other skaters, and I wish USFS had more opportunities to do that. I disagree, however, that a skater will push themselves harder just because they see someone else doing something. Nope, overall, I think they are an incredibly self-motivated group, and that's why they do what they can do.

But do I wish they could train together and *learn* from each other. You betcha:agree:
 

Bluediamonds09

Medalist
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Thoughts???

Karen Chen 2018-19 technical content:

3lutz-2toe
3salchow-3toe
2axel-1/2loop-3salchow
3lutz
2axel
3loop
3flip

Maybe try something new?
 
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