2020-21 US Women's Figure Skating
- Thread starter AshWagsFan
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That's my main question too, whether she was injured or not, Alysa clearly was't competition ready in Las Vegas. I don't know why her team decided it was a good choice for her to compete and be under so much public judgement and scrutiny when she was clearly struggling. I'm glad to hear that she's doing better now, and I hope that she will be much more prepared come nationals in a month.
One of the speculated reasons some people gave after the Vegas event was that it was a USFSA event and they wanted their 2-time national champ there. She is the most hyped female skater in the country at the moment so she had to be there, it was a matter of PR and publicity.
Honestly I haven't seen anything online (except posters claiming it on message boards) that suggests she is/was injured. I think she's just going through some growing pains and is trying to fight through it. That combined with trying to fix her technique and a new (and frankly odd and not practical) coaching situation. All of that at the same time can't be easy.
Honestly I haven't seen anything online (except posters claiming it on message boards) that suggests she is/was injured. I think she's just going through some growing pains and is trying to fight through it. That combined with trying to fix her technique and a new (and frankly odd and not practical) coaching situation. All of that at the same time can't be easy.
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- Dec 5, 2015
This. And, this is why we need to be moderate in our expectations for her. She has a lot of things to deal with. She needs time. Having unrealistic expectation for sudden improvement is not helpful for Alysa or her fans. By the Olympics, she might be the the undisputed #1 US lady again. However, it isn't likely to play out like that this year. Especially given , the less than ideal (for a single's skater) coaching situation.
This same type of hype happened previously with Gracie when she initially returned. People had unrealistic expectations for what she would be able to do, and overreacted when others tried to be encouraging but more moderate in our hopes and expectations. I wish the best for Alysa. She is an adorable girl and I love her charming personality and joy on the ice, but let's not expect more from her than reasonable. If there is a bit more speed across the ice this year great! Will that end up leading to the highest PCS of US nationals and winning her the title if she isn't rotating her jumps? Probably not.
Jeremy referenced the injury on Twitter.
One thing I don't understand is why her team took so long to add Jeremy (or anybody else) as a coach. Her situation with Lee was so unpractical and unwise. How could they ever think it would work? She was practically on her own for the most part and it's impossible for any top level athlete to train like that and stay on top of the game. Compared to other skaters who were forced to change plans due to the pandemic her team was VERY slow to act. It's like they were clinging to the idea that "normal" would return soon and were simply trying to hang on but reality finally hit them.
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I think this is pretty much the whole answer. The USFSA made team Alysa an offer they couldn't refuse. When you put on a show, people want to see the headliner.
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- Feb 17, 2010
Gracie's coach was largely responsible for the heightened expectations with the constant posting of 3A and quad attempts in harness, with statements suggesting she'd be doing them off the harness soon. Alysa's team seems to be a lot more conservative with expectation setting, so in her case I think it is more about her being our only hope for a ladies medal in 2022 based on past results, rather than anything her people are doing/saying. Still, it is going to be hard for some fans to accept that a Nationals bronze would be a good result for a two-time, reigning champion.
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It wouldn't have been so impractical given COVID hadn't happened and life went on without it messing everything up with moving around and coaching arrangements. Alysa isn't the first ever skater to look to coaches out of the country to assist with those in her training country, and she won't be the last.
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I'm not the one criticizing here, because I feel like her and her team are in a much better position to decide what she needs than me, but it is fair to point out that her coaching change was announced in June. Maybe they made the decision before that, but by the time they made it COVID was very much a thing. I would guess that they didn't think it would last this long and the border would stay closed, but that was already a problem. So I understand why some fans would question the decision.
But it's really besides the point now. They made the choices they felt were best with the information they had at the time, and now she has Jeremy to work with, which seems like a great fit.
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Since her body has changed so much, isn’t it true that she is basically having to relearn all the jumps? Her center of gravity has changed completely, as per the article cited above. I absolutely believe she can do this, especially since she added Jeremy Abbott to her team. After all, she has done it before. Jeremy does know how to land a quad, and Massimo Scali does not. Jeremy was a divine skater when he was “on,” so I can see how he and Massimo could be a very good team. In fact, this works, I can see her ditching Barkell.
If this is a true reworking of jumps due to puberty, doesn’t it take a bit of time to relearn jumps? Like, say, a year? If that’s the case, the timing is actually good. She could have everything back together and be an even better skater in time for the Olympics.
If this is a true reworking of jumps due to puberty, doesn’t it take a bit of time to relearn jumps? Like, say, a year? If that’s the case, the timing is actually good. She could have everything back together and be an even better skater in time for the Olympics.
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I agree 100%. This is a time when Alysa needs smart coaching. Her body may look the same but her muscles are growing and changing and she may have to dial things back until the process is complete. She is still young and I'd hate to see her have a career ending injury during this time.
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I know you aren't foolish and would understand and know that coaching changes rarely happen right before they are announced and this was a plan way before the whole COVID thing shut it all down.
You'll see upthread that I'm very much on the side of Alysa and her team and think it is doing her wonders a solely jumping team would not. And I will always applaud Jeremy's addition to anything and I know he's transforming and influencing her skating very positively.
But does Jeremy have any legid (technical) experience?
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- Jul 9, 2014
I think Jeremy was added to improve her Component Mark. He had great speed and flow across the ice as well as strong performance qualities.
No he was not. Scali is the dancer who doesn't know nothing about jumps. Jeremy is there for the jumps. This a strange decision
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- Jul 9, 2014
That is a surprise. I don't know much about Alysa. If she is changes coaches, does that mean she has a new jump coach as well?
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The daleman Canadian one, but only online due to covid. But obviously she needs to learn new techniques, difficult online...
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He doesn't have much coaching experience, but there aren't that many other US skaters who have landed quads and aren't competing currently.
