2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[TallyT]

The stuff people sometimes says here in all seriousness...

What on earth are you wittering about? Several of my dearly beloved relatives run businesses, I imagine they would love to be as successful a model in their field. If she or Sambo weren't doing this, she wouldn't drop the unsuccessful skaters. It's a fact, not a criticism to point out that she is a highly successful businesswoman running a business of coaching elite skaters.

 

[P44]

Whether the decision comes from Sasha or her parents, the situation must be difficult for her right now.
Everyone can have a different opinion but I would like to remind you that we don't know what happens during training, we don't really know Sasha's relationships with her coaches or even with her teammates. We only see what they want to show us. I think it's very unwelcome to judge her, she is undoubtedly much more aware of the difficulties she will have to face than us.
I wish her good luck, I hope she'll thrive with Plushenko and find an environment that suits her.
I can't wait to see what will happen in the next few months, it will certainly be very interesting.

 

[macy]

i almost wonder if an American style environment would have suited her needs more. Group lessons are not popular in America and the norm is one on one coaching sessions daily with each skater, outside of that you work alone. if she is wanting more individualized and personalized attention, maybe this would have been more ideal.

As someone said earlier, the day will likely come where Plushenko has more students to divvy his attention between or one will eventually progress to the point they will also need the type of coaching Sasha is after. Then what? Will she want to move again? We as fans have seen how fast someone can rise in the ranks and become a top skater.

I absolutely understand how scary and big of a change it would be to completely uproot an entire family and move across the world to a new county, but i wonder if Raf or whoever she had contacted would have been a good choice for her because of the difference in coaching style.

 

[colormyworld240]

i almost wonder if an American style environment would have suited her needs more. Group lessons are not popular in America and the norm is one on one coaching sessions daily with each skater, outside of that you work alone. if she is wanting more individualized and personalized attention, maybe this would have been more ideal.

As someone said earlier, the day will likely come where Plushenko has more students to divvy his attention between or one will eventually progress to the point they will also need the type of coaching Sasha is after. Then what? Will she want to move again? We as fans have seen how fast someone can rise in the ranks and become a top skater.

I absolutely understand how scary and big of a change it would be to completely uproot an entire family and move across the world to a new county, but i wonder if Raf or whoever she had contacted would have been a good choice for her because of the difference in coaching style.

I've wondered about this, too. But then I think about what the actual problem is: not enough attention because of group lessons vs. individual, or the pressure that comes from your coach training someone who is beating you. I think the struggle for these girls is the latter. They could have individual coaching sessions, but at the end of the day, they're competing for the same medals and if one of their training mates wins, it hurts and is a lot of pressure to know that your coach helped your competitor beat you.

Even with the North American system, from my understanding, a coach generally has more than one skater. It's possible that one of Raf's other skaters could overtake Nathan and Mariah, or someone who shares the same coach as Alysa could one day land all the quads before her. And Brian has Evgenia and Katya, and while they're at totally different levels, it's not impossible that Katya could overtake Evgenia if she improves a lot - and we have seen skaters improve a lot. Like you said, someone can rise very quickly if the stars align for them, and this could be completely unexpected as was the case for both Alina and Alena. They weren't some talented prodigies that the team knowingly accepted; they were average (in Alina's case, less than average) skaters who just rose very quickly.

I guess it's just much more pronounced in Russia, because there are so many skaters. But all it takes is one to take that gold medal spot away and not even the coaches can predict who that will be. After all, Sasha only lost to Alena and Anna this season, it's not like she lost to everyone in the group. And I doubt anyone in that team saw it coming. That's the nature of sports, though. There is only one gold medal, but all (?) coaches have more than one skater.

 

[eaglehelang]

I think the choice Sasha made to leave was her own, and there's nothing wrong with it. And there's also nothing wrong with wanting to be the top girl who comes first. I'd imagine all the skaters want this. I just don't think it is realistic for the female Russian skaters. She's not going to be the only girl in Plushenko's rink, unless he has a contract where he trains her alone. And maybe she will be the best there for the next decade. But there are other skaters, and it's possible that one, or many, will become better than her. If they're training in the same team, they'd deserve equal attention as well.

Even if Plushenko doesn't take a direct competitor, but trains other seemingly untalented skaters, what if they improve enough to become a competitor - is he going to hold them back for Sasha, or drop them? .

That's why the other coaches take in students from different countries. They may be direct competitors but they are not vying for the same WC, Olympic sports.
Or the coaches take in those from different age group. A senior & junior.

That's what Orser & Rafael do. For Orser, there's group training & individual training time. He tries to be fair to all & is upfront abt who comes 1st if there's a schedule clash. Like going to Japan Nationals with Yuzuru if it clashes with Russia nationals cos Yuzuru was his student 1st before Evgenia.
It worked with Yuzuru & Javier.

 

[KOBOT37]

Methods of Khrustalny don't work with Trusova?

with these 'wrong for her' methods she achieved:

2 JWC wins.
Learnt all the quads but Lo.
Holds record in FP.
Is in record books.
Won 2 GP events.
Medals at Europeans, Nationals and GPF.
Ability to jump 5 quad routines.

Was Eteri's way of training not working with her? we will see. I have just one thing to ask everyone here(and elsewhere), if her results become worse, please don't make excuses like "She was already Broken before she left Eteri", "Eteri did spent all of her resources and she had nothing left in her" and etc.

Btw Alina also had 3 bad competitions during her second senior season, in fact, Arguably worse, She lost against Stasya (She btw, is real loser in this situation,poor girl) at RussNats and to Sonya (with 14 points) at Euros, she was patient and it worked for her wonderfully. There have been and there will be many great talents, but only few of them made right decisions, they are called great champions will Alexandra be one of them? I guess soon we will find out.

 

[Edwin]

Yes, the position of Konstantinova withing the entourage of Plyushchenko's Angels is a bit precarious. If she is left off any FFKKR team, even dire from the competitive point of view when it comes to state stipends etc. For Challengers, Plyushchenko's sponsors can pay, but will they, thinking about a return on their investment? Does Konstantinova have any competitive future at all, she seems furloughed. Still, when she wants, Stanislava can become a wonderful skater in successful commercial shows, she has this 'it factor'.

There are a lot of ifs, buts and whens in Plyushchenko's "24/7 working with Trusova" statement. Plus he said that most of the academy's 120 pupils are 'second grade material', which might be true, but is at least impolite towards his upmarket clientele when it turns out the master is not working with their precious kids 24/7 anymore. Conducting recreational skating classes for kids from this particular layer of society is quite something different from preparing potential champions. The parents are into the Academy of Angels for different reasons.

The distinction made between working with one of world's top skaters and masses of kids from the wealthy and powerful will define the chances of Trusova towards real improvement of winning that Olympic Gold.

There are so many things that can go wrong with Aleksandra's career. But the dice have been cast. We can hope Mr Trusov keeps a tight grip on the situation and observes all arranged conditions are met and all contractual obligations are fulfilled.

 

[flanker]

If you want to create your own Russian drama, use this link to see what drama you will start

https://twitter.com/fran_klymydear/status/1258090528555573253?s=21

I insulted Max Trankov because of an interview on sports.ru :dev2:

I betrayed Danny G because the ghost of Alois Lutz told me to.

What have I done

 

[KOBOT37]

I secretly helped Lakernink to avange my Skater

sounds about right

 

[laybackrelaxspinfast]

i almost wonder if an American style environment would have suited her needs more. Group lessons are not popular in America and the norm is one on one coaching sessions daily with each skater, outside of that you work alone. if she is wanting more individualized and personalized attention, maybe this would have been more ideal

What? Are individual lessons not the norm in Russia? This is a first for me. I don’t pretend to be familiar with the operations of their training in terms of who gets what and when, but I’m shocked. In a lot of countries including my own the norm is you pay for your own 1-1 sessions which are a priority. You can do group lessons as part of a skating club for specific skills for a few hours each week and obviously there are group sessions for gaining your levels before you do the main testing route. That is a very interesting system, I think I understand why the girls eventually leave even more now.

 

[Reddi]

What on earth are you wittering about?

I'm talking about the professional sport. That's it. So far Eteri did nothing that would separate her from any successful coach in the professional sport ever. This includes focusing on the most promising students (I guess you meant this when you were talking about by "dropping the unsuccessful skaters"). Every big sports coach does this in figure skating (or whatnot).

But for some reason, it's a problem when one particular coach behaves like... duh! a coach and not someone's random beloved relative who do some unrelated business... Truly, the stuff people sometimes saying here dead serious is... amusing. Let's put it this way.

... or the pressure that comes from your coach training someone who is beating you. I think the struggle for these girls is the latter...

This. Several top tier skaters who are in direct competition with each other gathered in one skating group would have been trouble under any coaching system. The American system would do better in such circumstances? Honestly, we do not know. There wasn't ever a chance to test it.

 

[laybackrelaxspinfast]

This. Several top tier skaters who are in direct competition with each other gathered in one skating group would have been trouble under any coaching system. The American system would do better in such circumstances? Honestly, we do not know. There wasn't ever a chance to test it.

I tried to explain this a couple of pages back and people lost it and were quite angry at me for pointing out the obvious. It is why coaches don’t tend to do it.

 

[anonymoose_au]

If you want to create your own Russian drama, use this link to see what drama you will start

https://twitter.com/fran_klymydear/status/1258090528555573253?s=21

I insulted Max Trankov because of an interview on sports.ru :dev2:

Ooo bring it...

I insulted Averbukh because revenge is best served cold.

 

[KOBOT37]

People who are worried about Sasha getting hate,don't worry.

Apart of few very die-hard Khrustalny fans, no one is saying anything new about her and most wished her good luck. Amusingly,some people directly are saying that, now that she is no Longer Eteri's Skater, they look differently at her (good thing tbh, I value honesty)

Majority of comments about her goes from "Brave girl who defied evil" to "Poor girl, what did she do to her career" and everything in between, without any hate.

Hate in discussions (both by people involved in FS and fans) goes to 3 directions: Plushenko and his family, Evil factory manager Eteri and of course,like in case of any event,Anna but all these people are used to being hated, so I doubt that changed anything for them.

Pretty much one change at "Hate front" is Plushenko getting some heat from the coaches and FS related people, but I wouldn't be too worried about that.

 

[TallyT]

I'm talking about the professional sport. That's it. So far Eteri did nothing that would separate her from any successful coach in the professional sport ever. This includes focusing on the most promising students (I guess you meant this when you were talking about by "dropping the unsuccessful skaters"). Every big sports coach does this in figure skating (or whatnot).

Then you took offense where none was warranted. The point I was making (which no one else seems to have missed) was just that, she - like every other professional coach as you said - is running a business, not a Lost Home for Wayward Wannabe Olympians and she is not likely or required by them or anyone else to make vital decisions based on "the kindness of her heart" (being human, she probably does at times whether we see it or not (not that we are entitled to) and neither are the Wayward Wannabe Olympians so required.

I repeat - no one needs to be blamed in this sort of thing. For any of them, anywhere in the world.

 

[Azikin]

Wait, what? WHAT???? Is this really true? Sasha left Eteri for Plushenko? I didn't follow for a couple of days and now this??? OMG...
Well, I must say I'm glad it's not Anna or Alenka..

 

[Edwin]

Wait, what? WHAT???? Is this really true? Sasha left Eteri for Plushenko? I didn't follow for a couple of days and now this??? OMG...
Well, I must say I'm glad it's not Anna or Alenka..

Why is that?

Trusova changed rinks in the allowed time window to pursue her goals, which she and her parents think can be better served in a different training environment, arrangements and with less internal competitors.

A lot of the emotions come from the unannounced finalisation, which never sits well. And of course this particular choice of new rink and head coach raised a lot of doubts and even critique with a lot of fans and professionals in the sport.

But there have been doubts in #TeamTrusova for the whole of the season, Aleksandra not winning with her superior tech arsenal, over the way she was managed by #TeamTurberidzeForProgress.

We are still waiting for official FFKKR confirmation, which is a mere formality, and what this means for Aleksandra's status as a student and more, since she'll be switching from a state supported specialised sports school for children and youths to a private enterprise.

FFKKR is currently in the process of evaluating past season results and achievements, developments, of all its charges before it will draft the future team rosters, which then will be decided over by the Coaching Council. With the current health situation in Moscow, uncertainties over the start of internal preparation season, international competitive season, this can perhaps take a while, but the paperwork will usually will be done before the end of May.

There will be more transfers, expected or unexpected, and new team rosters and coaching groups in the state supported schools and rinks will be published for the world to study.

 

[nussnacker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaCatK2Qg2w
Some good moments of the team from the last season. :luv17:

 

[Edwin]

The Pocket Rocket in now in Plyushchenko's base, being prepared for her first launch into the competitive season.

It is up to Plyushchenko to make the transfer a success, and every single of his moves, decisions, actions, glances, media outings, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant will be relentlessly studied with a microscope and no detail will escape magnification in both the more serious dedicated press, social media and the yellow pages.

There is no turning back anymore, given the character of the main character now in charge over one of the best liked young female figure skaters, one can expect storms in the media like never seen before.

 

[anonymoose_au]

People who are worried about Sasha getting hate,don't worry.

Apart of few very die-hard Khrustalny fans, no one is saying anything new about her and most wished her good luck. Amusingly,some people directly are saying that, now that she is no Longer Eteri's Skater, they look differently at her (good thing tbh, I value honesty)

Majority of comments about her goes from "Brave girl who defied evil" to "Poor girl, what did she do to her career" and everything in between, without any hate.

Hate in discussions (both by people involved in FS and fans) goes to 3 directions: Plushenko and his family, Evil factory manager Eteri and of course,like in case of any event,Anna but all these people are used to being hated, so I doubt that changed anything for them.

Pretty much one change at "Hate front" is Plushenko getting some heat from the coaches and FS related people, but I wouldn't be too worried about that.

To be honest as a Plushy fan I'm more concerned about the hate he's gonna get. Like if he even looks away from Sasha T on ice there's going to be a pile on.

Plus if Sasha fails it will be entirely Plushy's fault, of course. But then if she does as well or better than before though it will be because of everyone but Plushy. Because he's a fake coach, obviously.

Incidentally, I feel a need to point out that previously Plushy mostly worked with the novices - being a new coach and all - and he went to most of Sofia Titova's competitions. So all the accusations that he doesn't do anything for the students at the Academy are rather off-base.