Alysa Liu announces Comeback

[macy]

i can't express my excitement over this. best skating news in a very long time. as others have said, i am surprised but not entirely shocked. i too felt there was more left in her and she just needed to step away for a while. this is incredibly exciting for the US women and i hope she stays true to herself this comeback and it brings her joy. go Alysa!

 

[TallyT]

Good for her! I just hope against hope that she isn't again buried under hype, pressure and overexpectations and can be allowed to blossom into the skater she was meant to be (I say against hope because looking at Isabeau it appears fed and fans haven't learned, but maybe, just maybe the load on each will be less than when they were The Only)

 

[Sjs5572]

I think that this will be an interesting challenge for Alyssa, and I greatly look forward to cheering her on.

Has she grown any taller and bigger in the last couple of years? Will her jumps come back naturally without interruption, or will it be a unique and different kind of struggle? She won't be able to get PCSs just for being cute any more -- I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch Scali (none better qualified) teach her the tricks of mature presentation.

The 3 Flip in the her Instagram video appears bigger than two years ago. She looks very fit. I would not be surprised if she's been spending time at the UCLA gym.

 

[Mathman]

^ Is Alyssa a student at UCLA?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

^ Is Alyssa a student at UCLA?

Yes.

 

[R.D.]

Hmm. Interesting development…and interesting timing as well as I recall getting an email that the World Championships was coming back to Boston in 2025. I figure that is a goal of hers that she wants to shoot for?

Best of luck to her Team. The success of “comeback” skaters has been mixed, generally speaking, but she is still young and I don’t foresee her having a real issue getting back into contention in the current US Ladies field. Barring injuries, of course.

 

[mrrice]

Does anyone know what coaching team they will be working with?

Good Question.....I loved Jeremy Abbott but, I think she needs a much more sophisticated look. I can't wait to see her.

 

[Gia_Sesshoumaru]

According to Phil Hersh, she will be working with Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali.

 

[Jammers]

According to Phil Hersh, she will be working with Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali.

Not sure who Phillip DiGuglielmo is but Massimo along with Jeremy did wonders with Alysa's improvement with her speed, flow and skating skills in the short time they had her as a student good to see a former Ice Dancer being one of her coaches who can keep working with her on those things.

 

[heyang]

THrilled to hear this especially since no US woman has truly risen to dominate this cycle in the US. I'm sure that a lot of factors were considered in her decision. I'm glad she took the time she needed to be a teenager and to decide if she loved skating and/or competing enough to try again.

 

[Skating91]

It makes sense. Amber is currently the best in the US but wildly inconsistent and wouldn't have too many more seasons left. Isabeau has likely peaked the jumps have become so laboured and most of them aren't rotated (this isn't reflected in her scores which is very fortunate). Josephine Lee will probably never surpass what she scored at the US championships (very generous scoring too as is typical at that event), junior world's showed it was just a once off performance.

Liu probably just needs to aim at being a consistent 200 skater and she can represent her country at international events.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

FWIW-Jeremy Abbott was a former Ice Dancer at one point in his career also. And Alysa's previous improvement in edges, etc was b/c of him. Massimo only did her choreo, which I think will be happening again with this new coaching team, so on the choreo side, I don't see much change coming to make her more "sophisticated" as @mrrice mentioned she needs to be. Unless Alysa's going to take control of what she wants to skate to and do so extremely, I see more classical boring Massi choreo's on the agenda. I hope they surprise me.

As for those asking about Phillip DiGuglielmo: He's a Master Rated Coach in FS, Coach Committee Chair with USFS, National Tech Specialist, and former Italian silver medalist and toured with Ice Capades for years. He currently coaches at Yerba Buena Rink.

 

[beepboop]

Alysa performed as a surprise guest at the Skating Club of San Francisco's annual fundraising gala this past weekend. One short clip of their performance has emerged on Twitter: https://twitter.com/n0lancarney/status/1779708223278247990?t=BvHQ88FNWQOLVPFtLUKzJQ

I have to say, she is looking good for having been back on the ice for four months. Next season is going to be very exciting for US women!

 

[momrk]

As I said before, I hope she and Isabeau really push each other- and of course, I hope that for any of the others who are fighting for those Olympic spots

 

[icewhite]

I'm not fond of the program, but how wonderful it is to see her skating again, she has an amazing style.

 

[Skater Boy]

Liu's return is good for her if that is what she wants. It is good for us skating. With Isabeau's world medal; Amber's triple axel, the US is looking great. LEst we forget Bradie Tennell - who is looking less promising as it has bee a rough go coming back With all these developments and up and coming ladies whether Gracie Gold returns or not doe sn no matter there is lots of excitement for the USA.

 

[macy]

wow she truly looks like she never took 2 years off.

 

[beepboop]

is this the first combo we've seen from Alysa? looking pretty good!

 

[Skater Boy]

As I said before, I hope she and Isabeau really push each other- and of course, I hope that for any of the others who are fighting for those Olympic spots

This is really exciting for US skating. Women's skating is where he money has been made (sorry Nathan). How exciting. Defending world silver medallist and teen sensation Isabeau. Comeback much hyped now a women Alyssa. Another comeback from constant injury in Bradie Tennell. Triple Axel Queen Amber. and the complete skater Ziegler. Forget the up and coming skaters or Starr Andrews there is just so much great competition. This is good for North American skating (Canada sadly has nothing, absolutely nothing in ladies).

 

[Skating91]

The judges used to really go after Liu, but the judging has all changed in the last two seasons and some skaters you wouldn't expect to get really high PCS are now consistently well into the 70's for PCS of the free skate. Liu used to get in the mid to high 60's. Looking at who was scoring in the 70's in the last two seasons (Sakamoto of course earns the high PCS she is excluded from this discussion), I think Liu will be getting in the 70's for PCS as a minimum now. Rotations were a bit of a problem for her, but the judges often overlook now. As long as you land it without stepping out and there's not an obvious twist of ankle they will give high GOE.

If Liu skates to a similar level as before, I think she will surely be number one in the US. In fact, quite easily.