Alysa Liu changes coaches and moves to Colorado Springs

[beepboop]

I don't really ascribe to the whole "Arthur is a narcissist who only cares about wins and glory and doesn't care about what Alysa wants" narrative. By all accounts from people who actually know them in real life, as well as Alysa's own statements and conduct, Arthur and Alysa have a healthy father-daughter relationship.

My best guess is that Arthur's urgency for Alysa to do well internationally stems from financial considerations.

Arthur is a single dad, working as an immigration attorney (so not necessarily rolling in money), raising five kids. Figure skating is an insanely expensive sport, USFSA funding is piss poor, and it wouldn't be fair to his other children for Arthur to bankrupt himself on Alysa's skating, especially as the children are getting older and college (another insanely expensive endeavor) is looming on the horizon. So if Alysa wants to keep skating, she will need sponsors, who don't tend to pour money into skaters who finish 4th and 5th at GP events. Being the top U.S. woman isn't enough anymore. Bradie was the obvious top U.S. woman for years and hasn't had any major sponsorships AFAIK. Perhaps, if the trade-off was between a more relaxed training environment and being able to keep skating long term, Arthur felt the latter was more aligned with his daughter's desires.

It's a terribly misguided decision for sure, IMO, but I don't think it's fair to make him out to be some sort of evil narcissistic crazy skating parent given the information that we have.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I think it's a good move overall.
(1) Better training environment. You want to train with elite skaters and learn from them (Vincent, Karen, Young You....)
(2) Jeremy will be on tour. He won't have time to train Alysa in Dec.
(3) Massimo is not specialized in fixing Alysa's under rotation. If Alysa can fully rotate just "one" jump in NHK, she could win Silver. I understand why her dad is pissed off.
(4) USFSA headquarter is in Colorado and they can provide all support that Alysa needs.

Jeremy isn't going "on tour" he's doing a few dates right before Christmas then back to training skaters. All big pros who still skate do it, it's not as big of a deal as being made here.

 

[LKGwennire]

So if Alysa wants to keep skating, she will need sponsors, who don't tend to pour money into skaters who finish 4th and 5th at GP events. Being the top U.S. woman isn't enough anymore. Bradie was the obvious top U.S. woman for years and hasn't had any major sponsorships AFAIK.

Alysa has had a deal with Toyota for quite some time though. (And they do seem to live a pretty comfortable life, but as an outside viewer I know that just doesn't mean anything)

 

[breadstal]

What have you seen that gives you “bad vibes?”

I’m asking that for informational purposes since obviously I don’t know him or his background.

His drastic and frequent changes and how he controls Alysa's career. I'm not talking about his personal life either, and of course, I don't know him in real life, but to me, he just seems like a very stereotypical sports parent.

 

[moonvine]

Obviously, you can’t predict the future, but having ambition, wanting to be challenged, and getting out of your comfort zone aren’t bad attributes for a sportswoman.

And yes, you kind of bury (ok, you actually bury) the people that coached you before, but this isn’t a charity.

And I respect them for being honest and saying that we don’t think who we gave now can take us to the next level.

Now if they go back to the old coaches at a later date….haha

Being ambitious and wanting to be challenged is not a bad thing. Changing coaches this close to Nationals/Olympics is unlikely to help her. Most athletes change coaches between seasons. Not 6 weeks before Nationals.

 

[skatingiscool]

Jeremy isn't going "on tour" he's doing a few dates right before Christmas then back to training skaters. All big pros who still skate do it, it's not as big of a deal as being made here.

You have to factor in the practice time, rehearsal time and travel time. It's not just a few days, it's way more than that. Alysa usually trains at least 6 hours a day, 6 days a week (if I remember correctly). Jeremy should not be gone even just for one day. I'm on Alysa dad side, fire Jeremy is the right thing. National is approaching and Alysa needs more intense training to fix her under rotations issues. Remember that, Alysa is super close in winning Silver at NHK. If Alysa just fully rotates one jump in NHK, she could win silver medal. Colorado is the best choice IMO.

 

[yelyoh]

We will all know in six weeks, won't we? Again, I cannot wait for Nats!!!

 

[Lamente Ariane]

I personally don't feel I have enough facts to definitively state whether this is the "right" or "wrong" choice for Alysa at this point in time. It is entirely possible there were issues with the Scali/Abbott team that we don't know about and that the Lius don't want to air publicly. It is also possible that Krall and Colorado Springs offered Alysa something that they felt was too good to pass up (whether that is more ice time, a chance to train with other high level skaters or something else). In any case, I certainly hope this works out but time will tell one way or the other. We'll have a better idea come Nationals, though I suspect even if Alysa URs every jump there the panel will pretend not to notice.

 

[elliana]

Why bash her dad? He's a paying customer. If it were my kid I would err on the side of safety send them to a coach with a track record of producing an Olympic medalist. I'm sure Scali and Abbott are lovely people and great skaters but Alysa is their first major client.

 

[rollerblade]

I'm on Alysa dad side, fire Jeremy is the right thing. National is approaching and Alysa needs more intense training to fix her under rotations issues.

Do you think UR issues can be fixed in 2 months?

 

[moonvine]

I don't really ascribe to the whole "Arthur is a narcissist who only cares about wins and glory and doesn't care about what Alysa wants" narrative. By all accounts from people who actually know them in real life, as well as Alysa's own statements and conduct, Arthur and Alysa have a healthy father-daughter relationship.

My best guess is that Arthur's urgency for Alysa to do well internationally stems from financial considerations.

Arthur is a single dad, working as an immigration attorney (so not necessarily rolling in money), raising five kids. Figure skating is an insanely expensive sport, USFSA funding is piss poor, and it wouldn't be fair to his other children for Arthur to bankrupt himself on Alysa's skating, especially as the children are getting older and college (another insanely expensive endeavor) is looming on the horizon. So if Alysa wants to keep skating, she will need sponsors, who don't tend to pour money into skaters who finish 4th and 5th at GP events. Being the top U.S. woman isn't enough anymore. Bradie was the obvious top U.S. woman for years and hasn't had any major sponsorships AFAIK. Perhaps, if the trade-off was between a more relaxed training environment and being able to keep skating long term, Arthur felt the latter was more aligned with his daughter's desires.

It's a terribly misguided decision for sure, IMO, but I don't think it's fair to make him out to be some sort of evil narcissistic crazy skating parent given the information that we have.

Gracie has sponsors. Adam went to the Olympics and finished 10th and, while I don’t pretend to know his financial situation, I do know DWTS is quite lucrative, he wrote a book, he’s working on a skating TV show (comedy) with one of the major streaming services, he’s coaching/choreographing, etc. I will bet a dollar that had he chosen to continue skating, he would have had sponsors. Starr has sponsors and doesn’t always have two GP assignments and has never medaled at Nationals.

Yes, if one wins the OGM there will be a lot of opportunities. But Alysa will not win the OGM. Changing coaches 2 months before the Olympics is not going to cause her to win the OGM.

Bradie is a lovely person and a wonderful skater. I believe she has a couple of problems when it comes to getting sponsors. Her skating doesn’t translate well to TV for whatever reason. One has to see it in person to appreciate. And she’s quite quiet and reserved. Is that fair, not even a little bit. But it is what it is.

Also Adam’s family was not wealthy at all, his mom famously drove the Zamboni to get ice time/money for coaching, etc.

Like I said I don’t pretend to know anyone’s finances. But the skaters I feel for are the ones who are out there fighting every year to make Nationals. They don’t and never will have sponsors, probably not even skate sponsorships, which all of the top US skaters, including Bradie, have.

 

[moonvine]

You have to factor in the practice time, rehearsal time and travel time. It's not just a few days, it's way more than that. Alysa usually trains at least 6 hours a day, 6 days a week (if I remember correctly). Jeremy should not be gone even just for one day. I'm on Alysa dad side, fire Jeremy is the right thing. National is approaching and Alysa needs more intense training to fix her under rotations issues. Remember that, Alysa is super close in winning Silver at NHK. If Alysa just fully rotates one jump in NHK, she could win silver medal. Colorado is the best choice IMO.

But it’s too late to fix her problems in 6 weeks. They’re coaches, not magicians.

 

[moonvine]

You have to factor in the practice time, rehearsal time and travel time. It's not just a few days, it's way more than that. Alysa usually trains at least 6 hours a day, 6 days a week (if I remember correctly). Jeremy should not be gone even just for one day. I'm on Alysa dad side, fire Jeremy is the right thing. National is approaching and Alysa needs more intense training to fix her under rotations issues. Remember that, Alysa is super close in winning Silver at NHK. If Alysa just fully rotates one jump in NHK, she could win silver medal. Colorado is the best choice IMO.

@Ic3Rabbit is a former elite skater. I’m pretty sure he or she knows what is involved in touring and performing in ice shows.

 

[skatingiscool]

But it’s too late to fix her problems in 6 weeks. They’re coaches, not magicians.

Got to give it a try. There is nothing to lose at this point. She doesn't get any medal at GP. Something needs to be changed. There is a risk, for sure. Nothing is worse than being 4th place at NHK (less than a few points from grabbing silver)

 

[lariko]

I hope Alysa Liu does well with her new club.

 

[moonvine]

Why bash her dad? He's a paying customer. If it were my kid I would err on the side of safety send them to a coach with a track record of producing an Olympic medalist. I'm sure Scali and Abbott are lovely people and great skaters but Alysa is their first major client.

How many Olympic medalists have Drew and Victor produced? It would have made more sense to switch to someone like BOrser, who actually does have a track record of producing Olympic medalists. Still at this point no matter where she goes it isn’t going to help her for Nationals. She has problems with the mechanics of her jumps.

 

[moonvine]

Got to give it a try. There is nothing to lose at this point. She doesn't get any medal at GP. Something needs to be changed. There is a risk, for sure. Nothing is worse than being 4th place at NHK (less than a few points from grabbing silver)

It’s hardly unusual for a skater to not medal at GP their first senior season. In fact I suspect it is the norm.

 

[kmw227]

As per her dad:

Asked why change, Arthur Liu wrote: "Alysa greatly appreciates both Massimo and Jeremy and I also thank both of them for taking care of her. I felt Alysa needed more intensity in her training and the coaches and I were not on the same page as to how the training should be."

This gives me weird vibes. It makes it sound like the change was completely Arthur's decision and Alysa had no say, which I really hope is not the case. However, Alysa always seemed very happy with Massimo and Jeremy and satisfied with her performances so I can't imagine she would want a change, especially at this point in the season.

From what I've read, Arthur seems to be your typical stage parent who will do whatever it takes for his child to win. I just hope Alysa's okay with all of this and that she continues to improve with her new coaches.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Got to give it a try. There is nothing to lose at this point. She doesn't get any medal at GP. Something needs to be changed.

Actually, considering she is the best US ladies now I think it´s pretty much to lose IMO. If she continues delivering the result she had this seasons she is a lock for Beijing, but what if this coaching change makes her skate bad at Nationals and she doesn´t place top 3? Should she still be send to OG when she didn´t deliver at Nationals because of a sudden coaching change? I think it´s a huge risk! No matter what coach she has now there is very small chances she will be on the podium in Beijing no matter what. The field is just too difficult. Better play it safe and know you have the spot. I would rather much see coaching change after OG.

 

[labgoat]

Jeremy will be on tour. He won't have time to train Alysa in Dec.

This is the best reason that I see for this decision. Skating with the others mentioned should help as will the altitude. Hopefully she will retain those improved skating skills. I just hope she can get help with the under rotations.