2020-21 US Women's Figure Skating

[bytheriver]

The lack of speed and 3-3 is the most concerning to me. The jumps are getting into that whippy wild technique that Amber has, but without the speed. I don’t see quads in her future with her adult body, and that’s fine. She will still be a top US lady as long as she can get up the speed and hold down a 3-3.
The 3A could potentially return, but maybe far down the road. Amber was able to get it in practice this year and has similar technique.

I think people are being too hard on her re: her body type. It’s like everyone expects Asian women and girls to be built one way, and that’s just not the case. People anticipated she would be short and that would help her vs. Kamila who will likely be quite tall, but she needs to work on being more like a Midori Ito power skater because whippy Eteri technique isn’t going to work here.

What saddens me the most is that she is lacking her typical charm here. She’s smiling but doesn’t have that spark in the video. I’m sure it’s just a result of not feeling super confident in her skating right now. It’s hard to be your usual bubbly self when there is a lot of pressure and things that were once easy for you are now difficult.

 

[GBs mom]

I'm rooting for the U.S. ladies, but I am concerned. I guess none of the top ladies I follow from any country have shown all their jumps, but I was not expecting Alysa to not have a solid 3-3. I'm hoping everyone will return to top form as the season progresses.

 

[theharleyquinn]

What worries me are the spins. Alysa is an amazing spinner and skaters usually leave out spins that cause pain due to an injury. Hopefully Alysa’s not injured but judging from the lack of a 3-3, donut spin, and such... I think she was either injured or is still injured. Hopefully this is all bogus analysis and she comes out guns blazing in November-December.

Yes this was the red flag for me too. Even if the quads and triple axel aren't back, and even if she's coming back from an injury and doesn't have her 3-3 back, it's pretty shocking to see her spins at that level.

Do we know what her injury might have been?

 

[Seren]

Writing Alysa off based on one early season exhibition performance is a little premature. She’s going through a lot of change right now. Give her some time.

And I will never get over how freaking mean figure skating fans can be. Some of the commentators on YouTube need to go look in the mirror and ask themselves why they have to be so nasty to a child.

 

[brakes]

The lack of speed and 3-3 is the most concerning to me. The jumps are getting into that whippy wild technique that Amber has, but without the speed. I don’t see quads in her future with her adult body, and that’s fine. She will still be a top US lady as long as she can get up the speed and hold down a 3-3.

I don't think 3-3s and better speed are going to beat Bradie or Mariah in top form.
Alysa needs 3A, quads or major overall improvements to beat them in my opinion.

 

[Thrashergurl]

I feel bad for all these young girls that are landing the difficult jumps before puberty and then struggling afterwards. They are rewarded young and then fall hard.
I hope she’s able to get her jumps back. If not, i hope she has a strong support system to help her through it.

 

[bytheriver]

I don't think 3-3s and better speed are going to beat Bradie or Mariah in top form.
Alysa needs 3A, quads or major overall improvements to beat them in my opinion.

I agree. I just mean that she’ll still likely be held up to be top 3 if she can get her triple-triples back consistently. Without it, she’s looking at falling behind Amber Glenn and potentially Starr Andrews, because Amber has speed and power for days and Starr has...star power.

Mariah is likely the one to watch for nationals. The Phil Hersh article mentioned that Alysa was in Delaware with her father from March until mid-May, and SF rinks reopened in June. This isn’t just the result of decreased training time, so I doubt we’ll see a drastic improvement in three months.

 

[natsulian]

Alysa Liu’s technique was always dependent on rocket fast rotations, pre-rotation, and having a petite frame. People who believed puberty would not affect her jumps were only asking to be deluded. HOWEVER, technique can be improved (as we saw with her during the later half of the season) AND once she has an actual in-person jumping coach, she will begin to improve drastically. Furthermore, once she gets used to her body and the body gradually gets back into tip-top shape, she will not only get back her 3-3s and 3A (potentially), but maybe even a better quad. She has 18 months to improve. In figure skating, when a day can make all the difference, that is more than enough to make the changes necessary for her to compete at the top level. I have faith and hope.

 

[mrrice]

Has Bradie performed either of her programs yet? I still have a lot of my eggs in her basket, so to speak. I'm wishing her the best

 

[Greengemmonster]

Has Bradie performed either of her programs yet? I still have a lot of my eggs in her basket, so to speak. I'm wishing her the best

I saw her LP. The music was a bit peculiar but she makes it work.

I think she's set PCS wise. Absolutely no worries there.

There were a lot of under rotations which is a bit concerning but she's trying the lutz-loop again. I think she's really keen to up her technical content. Only time will tell whether her jumps will settle.

It makes sense to me since she's I feel like she's nailing it performance wise. Now to truly compete with the others (beyond the US) she really needs higher tech.

 

[shine]

Her axel technique is really not good and was never going to allow her to continue whipping out those 3A's with an adult body; it always surprised me this wasn't talked about more (maybe due to fans' willingness to overlook since she's the only US skater that could even hope to compete with the Russians technically?). Same can be said (to a lesser degree) about her lutz too.

 

[readernick]

Her axel technique is really not good and was never going to allow her to continue whipping out those 3A's with an adult body; it always surprised me this wasn't talked about more (maybe due to fans' willingness to overlook since she's the only US skater that could even hope to compete with the Russians technically?). Same can be said (to a lesser degree) about her lutz too.

Everyone has talked about her bad technique. It was never ignored, (see the hundreds of comments under every one of her videos) and many people knew there was a risk of her losing her jumps at some point.

Anyway, Alysa just needs time to adjust to growth, make some changes to her technique, and gain strength. She is still tiny. She just doesn't have the muscle she needs to allow her to jump well with the natural changes. I also think injury is at play, spins would not be affected that way without some other issues.

 

[natsulian]

If you piece together the threads, Phil wrote in his article that Alysa trained by HERSELF and her dad (who I’m sure is no coach) was there with her during her training in Delaware. If we know anything about driven kids who are allowed to run free, it is that without a coach, many of them over-exert their body (Yuzuru, Trusova, Gracie, etc.). If an injury did occur, it was probably during the March-May timeframe in which she trained alone. Whatever the case may be, the team is definitely hard at work on protecting and honing her skills. Getting used to her new body will take time and a lot of effort which I am sure the team and Alysa herself are prepared for. I wish her the best of luck.

 

[Kittosuni]

OK am I the only who has issue with Alysa's of La Strada program??

It is such a tragic story that it feels weird seeing her all smiling and trying to be cute.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

OK am I the only who has issue with Alysa's of La Strada program??

It is such a tragic story that it feels weird seeing her all smiling and trying to be cute.

Honestly, just don't expect any La Strada programs these days to reflect any knowledge of the original film at all, that horse has left the barn.

 

[sheetz]

Alysa also performed a shortened version of her FS for Carnival On Ice. Looks like she still has her 3-3 combos but they're more of a struggle now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF9wV46JilO/

 

[Amei]

OK am I the only who has issue with Alysa's of La Strada program??

It is such a tragic story that it feels weird seeing her all smiling and trying to be cute.

Hopefully this will change but she's 1 note in her presentation of being cute and smiley, they either need to focus on adjusting that or give her appropriate music.

 

[askaterfan]

Alysa also performed a shortened version of her FS for Carnival On Ice. Looks like she still has her 3-3 combos but they're more of a struggle now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF9wV46JilO/

lutz toe looked clean to me. second combo looks ur. well, I think it was quite important for her to show in this long that she does have 3-3's and she did. it's not like they were squeaky clean even last year anyways. I believe what she needs is the 3a back to be competitive because others can quite outdo her in the ss department. I feel better seeing this though, it is not quite as dire as not even having her 3-3's like we all thought yesterday.

Just to add, she needs to be in canada with her jumps coach. She needs that 3a back!! come on alysa prove everyone wrong girl!!!! (and i hope the new costumes are pretty, not that these aren't )

 

[brakes]

Alysa also performed a shortened version of her FS for Carnival On Ice. Looks like she still has her 3-3 combos but they're more of a struggle now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF9wV46JilO/

That was definitely better skate.

 

[tosca]

Alysa also performed a shortened version of her FS for Carnival On Ice. Looks like she still has her 3-3 combos but they're more of a struggle now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF9wV46JilO/

I actually quite like the program!
So much pre-rotation. SO much. Alysa really is such a determined skater.
I worry that Lee Barkell can only do so much in year. The limited time between the now and the Olympics is not on Alysa's side. Retooling your jumps with new technique is a long arduous process. Look at Mao!