Coaches' Corner

[readernick]

I don't think she wants to be seen as a narcissist, and given that several of her students, including ones that she or her staff spoke negatively of in the press, have returned to her as students or coaches tells me she's not as evil as some like to believe her to be

I don't believe Eteri is evil. I also think women tend to get criticism for things more than men. Eteri gets blamed for the disrespectful/ stupid things her choreographers say. As mentioned above by @lopsilceci

However, having students return to a coach does not mean that coach is not abusive. This is not directed towards Eteri ( who I know very little about personally) but a general comment on this type of logic. Many times people use arguments like this to defend teachers, coaches, musicians, dancers who abuse those in their charge. In fact, those who are abused may return to or stay in abusive situations for many many reasons that those outside find hard to understand. The average abused spouse returns to their abuser 7 times before finally leaving. Returning does not mean abuse isn't occurring.

 

[Vemvane]

Here's a lovely post from an interview with Stéphane Lambiel, with his take on coaching and his vision of what figure skating is.




Copying the text from the post:

"I'm a perfectionist. Call me old fashioned, but I love very traditional skating. That kind of skating which is about figures, edges, long lines, with movements coming from deep inside. It might look a bit naive or maybe not athletic enough, but actually it is very complicated, because it requires much more finesse. And in order to teach that you need to be very precise, very stubborn... Everybody now tries to skip this part, but I love to teach that. It feels slow, but in my opinion it's essential and necessary. We're so lucky to have Peter (Grütter) who comes every Wednesday afternoon to help us and to teach my little ones. He has so much knowledge and it's important for me that this knowledge will remain.

Of course, I push my students to take risks. We’re a very competitive and difficult sport, and we need to take risks. But it should be a balance between the quality and getting out of your comfort zone. These are my values, this is why I love figure skating, this is what helps me to go to the rink and teach.

When I was younger I probably was more flexible, now I’m mature enough to go for less compromises because I know what I want. You asked me whether I’m a kind coach, I am kind because I’m understanding, but I’m not kind in the sense that you can do whatever you want. I have my vision and in order to skate according to this vision you need to work and you need to work very hard. And there are no compromises. Humble work is the key. And in order to do that efficiently, you need a lot of fundamentals, a lot of repetitions. And you need a fire. It cannot come from an external cause, it needs to be your inner fire. And I’m talking about any level [of skating].

I don’t need to be liked. I just want to be true to myself. Maybe when you’re younger you want to impress, you want people to say only good things about you. Of course, I’m happy if I get recognition and success. But first of all I want to be true to my values, to what I love, to how I think skating should look like. And to be true to that I’m not ready to compromise."

 

[theblade]

I remember watching Stéphane Lambiel while he competed, and am thrilled to see such an amazing skater coaching. So many do not (there's more money elsewhere except for very busy/top coaches). I loved his skating, I love his coaching philosophy - it just makes me so happy to have someone like him in the sport. (Reminds me of the skating that I grew up with and that was a part of building me as a human being.)

We really need a coach cam for competitions, and then an online channel where there's a split screen showing the skater and the coach during competitive numbers. I would watch the heck out of that.

(Also, I love that he's wearing a stylish coat and suit/tie combo at the boards. Classy in so many ways.)

 

[el henry]

"I'm a perfectionist. Call me old fashioned, but I love very traditional skating. That kind of skating which is about figures, edges, long lines, with movements coming from deep inside. It might look a bit naive or maybe not athletic enough, but actually it is very complicated, because it requires much more finesse. And in order to teach that you need to be very precise, very stubborn... Everybody now tries to skip this part, but I love to teach that. It feels slow, but in my opinion it's essential and necessary.

Stéphane

 

[Caliban]

source - https://tass.ru/interviews/17247849

Figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze, in an interview with TASS, assessed the ending of season, spoke about the condition of the athletes of her group and working with Italian Daniel Grassl.

— Eteri Georgievna, the season is almost over. Was it psychologically difficult to switch to a format closed from international starts?

— We, coaches and teachers, understand that our athletes are equal to us. It's like in a family — if something suddenly happens, the child always looks at the reaction of the parent to understand how scary it is. Of course, with our attitude to business we try to keep the level of motivation, not to show that we are deprived of something, and continue working.

Now there is a lot of talk about the problems of motivation among athletes, but it is not easy for coaches either. Subjective things do not add joy, psychological pressure — a lot of dirt is poured into the address of our team. It's not easy to create masterpieces in such an environment. But we are like a family — we live and experience it together, we take responsibility together, we help an athlete if he has a desire to be in sports. We haven't abandoned anyone.

— Is it probably a little easier for young athletes in this regard?

— Sonya Akatieva and Adelia Petrosyan are not much spoiled by international starts yet, each of them had only two Grand Prix stages. But with Kamila Valieva, it's a completely different story. When you go to international competitions over and over again — Grand Prix stages, European championships, the Olympics, the attitude towards domestic starts is slightly different. Only with the Russian Championship there is a separate story — these are qualifying competitions.

— It was incredibly difficult for Kamila this season in general.

- All things considered— yes. And none of us knows what will happen next. Maybe it will be even harder. But we were able to keep it at the proper level, we kept the elements of ultra-si (jumps of increased complexity — approx. TASS), and she showed her quads in the final of the Russian Grand Prix in the best possible way. She went to all the starts and became the first in the rating. Thank God.

— After the skate in St. Petersburg, she said that it was very difficult for her to skate. That the memories of the pre-Olympic championship stood up in a lump. And even after the free program was ended, all this was visible to the naked eye.

— After a short six-minute warm-up, something came over her. She came out and cried, "I can't skate here." We tried to reconfigure it as best we could. In general, she was much better prepared than we were able to show in the end. Well, who better than me to know that constant pressure cannot become part of a habit. And let's not talk about it anymore.

— Then I suggest we move on to the results of the final Grand Prix tournament. What tasks did you set before this tournament for the champion of Russia Sofia Akatieva and now the winner of the Grand Prix Adelia Petrosyan?

— They had a task to try to skate with new complicated content. Sonya, we put two triple axels in the first half and pushed the second quad into the second. But she started to grow a little, and when this happens, the functionality goes to zero, the body and muscles do not have time, the lungs and heart are still small. We thought to make the programs a little easier, but psychologically it would be a step back.

— How did Sonya meet the fourth place?

— In a quiet working mode — there were a lot of mistakes. But in general, I want to say that I don't see the point in moaning about the results from start to start. I have not been to Perm, but I have heard, for example, discontent about the fact that Sofia Muravyeva had to win against Elizabeth Tuktamysheva. These athletes have the same content, but Lisa, of course, has been more component for so many years, which means that it can only be more difficult to beat her with content.

And so scandal after scandal — they were deprived there, they were sued here. It was very annoying during the season and distracted from the competitive mood. The injustice of judging was sometimes enough for us, but our team never allowed itself to discuss the results of the competition. I think this is a question of education and permissiveness.

— Then I will not ask you to comment on the scores of your athletes and I will return to the results of the Grand Prix. At a press conference after the victory, 15-year-old Adelia Petrosyan said the phrase: "I want this win for a very long time," which made some people smile.

"But it's true. It was somehow underestimated in the components, because it is small. Not by age, by height, petit ("small" in French — approx. TASS). For Adelia at the Grand Prix final, we set the task to make a flip and an axel in the second half.

Her short program is very successful, it really turned out. I thought at the beginning of the season that she deserved higher scores. Everything coincided — Adele herself, and costumes, and skating. I know that if she rides with dignity, she will gradually earn her components. Ride beautifully, jump better and more stable. And in training, show that you are worthy of high scores.

— And emotional. Is this a plus or minus for progress?

— So far it has not helped.

— Have you already discussed the programs for the next season?

— While she wants "samba and mamba", "something fun". We'll see. She is very talented, but emotions really do not allow her to deliver the content that she could do. While we are waiting, we will fully assemble what we have now. She collects all the fours separately.

— For a long time nothing was heard about Dasha Usacheva.

— We tried to restore Dasha for a very long time, but she started jumping, and the pain returned. Perhaps this is a psychological moment, phantom pains. Every time I sent her back to the FMBA to consult, to be examined. She was with a variety of specialists, including Christian Schneider in Germany. It got to the point that the doctors no longer see the reasons for the problems, but it still hurts. I'm not a doctor, it's hard for me to say what it is. But she can't jump.

— According to her content for two pre-Olympic seasons, there is a feeling that the problem has been with her for years. Maybe I'm wrong, of course.

— In fact, Dasha has already come to us with this problem. For the last two or three years, as soon as they came to the training camp in Novogorsk and the loads began after the break, chronic pain manifested itself. We started to be treated, reduced the load and so, gradually, very carefully entered from season to season. Therefore, we simply did not have time to work on the elements of ultra-si, and we were afraid that this would aggravate her problem. Of course, we always took care of her, Dasha was under the supervision of doctors. Well, last season traditionally started the same way, only usually the pain went away by the beginning of the season. This time, the pain in her hip continued to bother her.

— So maybe she shouldn't have gone to Japan for that ill-fated Grand Prix? Although, as I remember, Sasha Trusova took off from him then, and this to some extent increased Daria's chances?

— Of course, it was the Olympic season, and Dasha really wanted to use her chance. Two days before departure, we had a conversation, which was attended by Daria's mother, an athlete and doctors. I was categorically against going to this start, because it seemed to me visually through her movements that the pain intensified. In this conversation, Dasha's mother insisted on her participation, and Daria herself cried and asked to leave her a chance and not take off from the start. Her main argument was that the doctors would be there, that she would try to take care. She didn't even train until that first six-minute warm-up. Everyone saw how it ended. For our part, we always try to give the athlete the maximum chance, but this time I myself regretted that I did not insist on a complete withdrawal.

Only recently, in a casual conversation, doctors found out that her older sister, who was also engaged in figure skating, finished exactly because of the same injury. Perhaps if we had known about this earlier, we could have handled this problem differently. But there is nothing to change here.

— There was information that she wanted to try dancing.

— She tried to pair up with the dancer Dario Chirizzano, but she needs to look for someone with whom she will calmly study. And Dario needs a ready-made partner, with whom you can already go out and compete. Dasha believes that she will succeed in dancing. We must try to move on.

— And Maya ? It seems to have recovered, and then disappeared from view again.

— Regained form, quad, and then a terrible injury to the arm. From the initial pose of the short program, I made one push, stumbled, caught the prong with my left hand, missed the ice, and the prong rested on my arm. It ended very badly, there was a lot of blood loss, convulsions. An ambulance took her away, then there was an operation. And not immediately, the doctors postponed it for a day to invite a special neurosurgeon, this injury was so difficult.

It took us a very long time to come back after all this — we took off the cast for a long time, developed the arm for a long time, Maya could not lift it even 45 degrees from the hip. During this time, unfortunately, the weight went up. But she came out and started skating. It is impossible to fight both loads and weight at the same time — it is dangerous for the back. Now she is not jumping yet, riding in a corset, now because of a back problem. So it turns out that Maya is sent test after test.

— The path in sports is not easy for Dani Samsonov either. Everyone remembers him well as a baby, who was barely visible from behind the side, and now he is already 17 years old.

— He was recovering hard after surgery on one of his knees. But as soon as I entered the competition, the second one began to bother me. He was also operated on. The rehabilitation process of Dan has already passed, now he is recovering. We have already returned all the triples, and I really hope that we will be able to perform a miracle with him and reach a decent competitive level.

— The high-profile theme of the season was the arrival to the "Crystal" (department of the school "Sambo—70", where Tutberidze's group is engaged - approx. TASS) by the Italian Daniel Grassl.

— He has been contacting us for a long time. Two years ago I wanted to come here with a coach, but I was not ready to share my experience with another specialist. Then we met him again, it was in Boston, where he was training. The guy is good, he is on the lookout, and I must give him his due — it was hard enough for him to come here to another country. We try to help him in any way we can.

— It was not easy for him at the European Championship because of the increased attention.

— I would even say "anti-attention". Daniel at some point really got depressed from endless criticism.

— Will Grassle be with us for a long time?

— I can't guess yet, we didn't make long-term plans. Trains, works, prepares for the World Cup.

— You didn't want to share your experience with Daniel's coach, but at the same time, many athletes from abroad have trained and are training in your team.

— I have always been very closed in terms of sharing experiences with other specialists. This has only happened a few times. When I took Sergey Viktorovich Dudakov into the team and when Daniil Markovich Gleichengauz came to us. And we became one team. Yes, I am zealous about sharing my experience with other specialists. But we have really trained and are training, including athletes competing for other countries. Lisa Tursynbayeva played for Kazakhstan, but she was as native to us as everyone else. Maurice Kvitelashvili and Nika Egadze have been riding all our lives.

— Just a couple of days ago, information about a new project was posted online — a series of master classes abroad with your participation. The news caused different opinions.

— This is what we are talking about now. We are artificially deprived of the opportunity to work internationally, and suddenly there is a chance to do something new. Let it be through master classes, why not? In my opinion, it's about time.

The idea, as far as I know, belongs to Alexander Rafailovich Lakernik (former vice-president of the International Skating Union — approx. TASS), and this is a private project with private funds. Our team was entrusted to conduct the first series of master classes, the next ones will be conducted by other specialists. I think that to some extent this is a way out not only for Russian, but for the whole figure skating. We must try to move forward in any situation.

 

[brakes]

Dang, these girls are modern times gladiators. Only the healthiest, luckiest and most determined survive.
Beautiful but also tough, tough sport.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

No answers about Eteri's faults and failures or her role in the Olympic scandal. But, I'm sure those questions weren't asked. While it's too bad that individual Russian skaters have been banned from ISU competitions, the fact remains that Russian gov't and skating fed have a lot to answer for around doping issue, yet they have gotten away with mild slaps on wrist for too long. It's bad when the entire sport is adversely impacted. I hope the truth eventually comes out about harsh shortcut methods Eteri has used to take her skaters to the top.

Yes, it's a difficult sport. That's a good reason why cheating and flouting the rules and unequal enforcement of the rules should not be allowed. I have sympathy for those who miss some of their fave Russian skaters, but they have still been able to see them with all the access to Russian series of competitions this season. And there are many Russian skaters representing other countries. There needs to be stronger enforcement, punishments, and safeguards against the illegal practices that have predominated in Russia.

Plus, when will the 2022 Olympic team athletes ever be rewarded their medals?! Valieva's participation and points should be disqualified based on the rules. They need to stop hiding behind the excuse of her age, especially if they aren't going to hold the adults around her responsible and investigate their role in the scandal.

Eteri's girls can be viewed as 'gladiators,' I suppose, with all the terrible abusive training practices and victimizing that entails. Just like during historic gladiator times. Such overdone and harmful training practices need to be eliminated from the sport. It's still tough enough to make it in figure skating. But shortcuts and ill-conceived training practices are not helpful in the long run, and should not be allowed.

 

[macy]

just more of Eteri pointing the finger at everyone else but herself. nothing new here.

 

[skatedreamer]

Dang, these girls are modern times gladiators. Only the healthiest, luckiest and most determined survive.
Beautiful but also tough, tough sport.

re: "gladiators," the last paragraph of @BlissfulSynergy's post pretty much sums it up:

Eteri's girls can be viewed as 'gladiators,' I suppose, with all the terrible abusive training practices and victimizing that entails. Just like during historic gladiator times. Such overdone and harmful training practices need to be eliminated from the sport. It's still tough enough to make it in figure skating. But shortcuts and ill-conceived training practices are not helpful in the long run, and should not be allowed.

No athletes -- especially young ones -- should be treated the way Roman gladiators were.

 

[Amei]

Well this confirms the rumors Usacheva is either going to switch to ice dancing or retire.

 

[mrrice]

I'm sorry but, I no longer have respect for this woman. I'll never believe she didn't know exactly what was going on with her athletes.... I think of this SNL Skit when I think about this situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7o4oMKbStE

 

[esteticlove]

just more of Eteri pointing the finger at everyone else but herself. nothing new here.

She literaly admitted her own mistake to let Usacheva compete...

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Even suggesting that Daria pains might be phantom pain, something in her head, and that is the reason she can´t jump.... Wow, putting the blame on Daria for ending the single career, so cruel This is just so incredible sad, I enjoyed Darias skating so much, she was excellent without ultra-c elements.

 

[surimi]

Fingers crossed for Usacheva's ID career, she is a charismatic girl and I'd hate to see her just disappear from FS. Too bad she had a condition that was incompatible with the jumping loads she needed to remain relevant in Russia.

I feel sorry for Grassl getting hate online. It's a strange time to travel to Russia for training, but perhaps he feels it's the last hope for his career. He does need more stability, and if he's cool with the means he achieves it (meaning harsh training only), then it's his life and his choice, who am I to judge him if I'm not in his shoes.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I think that to some extent this is a way out not only for Russian, but for the whole figure skating. We must try to move forward in any situation.

I realize this is an English translation from the Russian, but seriously? A way out? Eteri needs to be held responsible for whatever role she played in the doping scandal. They need to acknowledge their faults and culpability, and stop leaning on Lakernik's ISU power politicking tactics. There are many countries who have played an important role in fs development NOT just Russia! Too many Russian fans and apologists try to act as if the sport is nothing without Russians. Not true! That attitude needs to change as well. So no, Eteri! Do not try to lump what Russia is currently facing with "the whole figure skating."

Some Russian athletes participated historically when fs competitions first began. I'm going to start a new thread about some forgotten and little known historical revelations about fs. Yet, Russians soon disappeared due to the Russian revolution when the entire country went on lockdown from the rest of the world. Thus, during the sport's most active early development and growth, Russians did not play much of a significant role, aside from possibly a few who may have fled to other countries and gained citizenship. It wasn't until the early 60s that Russian balletic contributions took hold in pairs and helped evolve that discipline. But honestly that should be mostly credited to Belousova/ Protopopov who were actually considered old and slow by the Russian fed -- thus B/P eventually defected!

 

[brakes]

Eteri's girls can be viewed as 'gladiators,' I suppose, with all the terrible abusive training practices and victimizing that entails. Just like during historic gladiator times. Such overdone and harmful training practices need to be eliminated from the sport. It's still tough enough to make it in figure skating. But shortcuts and ill-conceived training practices are not helpful in the long run, and should not be allowed.

"Spiculus attended gladiator school in the Italian city of Capua, where he must have shown immense promise. In his first amphitheater match, he squared off against Aptonetus, a veteran gladiator and free Roman who had won 16 fights. In a stunning upset, Spiculus beat - then killed - Aptonetus. His triumph gained the attention of Rome’s then-emperor Nero. Taking a liking to Spiculus, Nero lavished him with gifts—including a palace."

- do you remember how Yulia and Alina received apartments after Olympics?

I did not exaggerate, these girls are like that free Roman gladiator, Aptonetus. They are free to go, but choose to fight every day against their bodies, minds and the ones beside them. For glory, wealth and for somebody bringing up their names 2000 years from now.

 

[skatedreamer]

She literaly admitted her own mistake to let Usacheva compete...

Of course, it was the Olympic season, and Dasha really wanted to use her chance. Two days before departure, we had a conversation, which was attended by Daria's mother, an athlete and doctors. I was categorically against going to this start, because it seemed to me visually through her movements that the pain intensified. In this conversation, Dasha's mother insisted on her participation, and Daria herself cried and asked to leave her a chance and not take off from the start. Her main argument was that the doctors would be there, that she would try to take care. She didn't even train until that first six-minute warm-up. Everyone saw how it ended. For our part, we always try to give the athlete the maximum chance, but this time I myself regretted that I did not insist on a complete withdrawal.

Yeah, right: blame the skater and her mother. Eteri's word is law in that camp. If she had put her foot down, does anyone really think that Dasha would have taken the ice?

 

[yume]

Who wanna bet on when this thread will be closed?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I feel sorry for Grassl getting hate online. It's a strange time to travel to Russia for training, but perhaps he feels it's the last hope for his career. He does need more stability, and if he's cool with the means he achieves it (meaning harsh training only), then it's his life and his choice

Yeah no it isn't right for anyone throwing hate at Daniel. He's a nice person, and a good figure skater. But seriously, what is he going to get from Eteri anyway? He already knows how to jump quads. Daniel needs help with jump technique and skating skills. These are not areas where Eteri excels! Why couldn't Daniel find help in Italy or France? If he's looking for aesthetic help, why isn't he still working with Benoit, or seek assistance from Lambiel?

I can understand Daniel not adjusting to the U.S., but I can't see what he's looking for from Eteri. She really can't help him with proper, safe technique. Plus, he's surely already disciplined and motivated. He needs dedicated technical assistance from the right coaches.

"Spiculus attended gladiator school in the Italian city of Capua, where he must have shown immense promise. In his first amphitheater match, he squared off against Aptonetus, a veteran gladiator and free Roman who had won 16 fights. In a stunning upset, Spiculus beat - then killed - Aptonetus. His triumph gained the attention of Rome’s then-emperor Nero. Taking a liking to Spiculus, Nero lavished him with gifts—including a palace."

- do you remember how Yulia and Alina received apartments after Olympics?

I did not exaggerate, these girls are like that free Roman gladiator, Aptonetus. They are free to go, but choose to fight every day against their bodies, minds and the ones beside them. For glory, wealth and for somebody bringing up their names 2000 years from now.

LOL! Yep focus only on what you think are the positives. There are always complicated, unpleasant things that happen behind-the-scenes, and under the surface in every area of life, under most systems. Yep, there were a handful of gladiators historically who somehow managed to survive without being mauled, torn to pieces and completely eaten up under a brutal system.

That Aptonetus happened to be free, was not necessarily the norm. Plus, in the case of victorious Spiculus, and every gladiator, there's always a price to pay for freedom, as well as for bondage mixed with quid pro quo luxuries. Glory and wealth are nothing without being motivated within oneself and actually loving to skate, which loving fs is not the case for some Russian figure skaters. No money in the world can trump love, respect, self-knowledge and real freedom of choice. Once we pass on, I doubt our essences really care about the names we were known by being on the lips of humans 2000 years in the future! Making a tangible difference for oneself and others in the present moment, to me, matters more.

 

[mrrice]

Who wanna bet on when this thread will be closed?

Me.......