Mikhail Kolyada

[vorravorra]

Uffff, i hope you are right. You know how the Russian Federation is and how they give their support to those landing the most quads. I am not ready yet to see Samarin as the Russian no 1 :.

Why are people worrying about Misha's position now when Misha has the third highest SB at 274, without being clean either, and the closest Russian is Aliev at 250? :think: And Aliev isn't going to be in the same GP events as Misha even. At Finlandia there is Yuzuru, and Boyang if he jumps what he plans to but he tends to struggle early in the season. The rest are hardly tech or PCS powerhouses that require a perfect skate by Misha to surpass.

The Fed isn't stupid and if Misha is scored the way he is now they won't dump him for someone with one more quad in the LP. And certainly not for Samarin after knee surgery.

 

[coldblueeyes]

Also, Misha skates the way he skates. He has to prove he can compete better than he did in the past, but I hope people aren't expecting miracles. He's not going to start landing three or more quads per program out of nowhere. If he lands his 3 quad toes in Helsinki it will be already something big for him.

 

[QueenOfTheRoad]

Did anybody think Misha's programs are actually quite nice compared to others? I mean in men's filed, I find it superior in some ways, and it kinda confuse me, 'couse I don't think it ever happened before.
I'm worried about him too. But it made me panic sometimes, so I decided to quit worrying. I hope we have better camera angles next week, and he won't mess up his twizzles again. Finger crossed.

I also think that his programs stand out this season. We still have not seen Yuzuru's program at the full power and also Fernandez's but for the rest i am quite disappointed this season. Probably it comes with nondescript pop-music or boring classical one (which bored me also as exhibition programs in the past) with nondescript choreography which has no special link to the music and no connection with the meaning of the song. After my initial complain about Carmen, i came now to the conclusion that he chosen smart. It is not unique, but he made the program his own. I can remember already some details from the program, while for the best of me i cannot remember something from the other (well....something positive).

 

[QueenOfTheRoad]

Why are people worrying about Misha's position now when Misha has the third highest SB at 274, without being clean either, and the closest Russian is Aliev at 250? :think: And Aliev isn't going to be in the same GP events as Misha even. At Finlandia there is Yuzuru, and Boyang if he jumps what he plans to but he tends to struggle early in the season. The rest are hardly tech or PCS powerhouses that require a perfect skate by Misha to surpass.

The Fed isn't stupid and if Misha is scored the way he is now they won't dump him for someone with one more quad in the LP. And certainly not for Samarin after knee surgery.

I worry:
- because many skaters can do technically what Mika does and even more. It is enough if they are clean at the right moment.
- because more and more skaters are closing the gap to the top, many of them are younger than Mika and can still add new quads and new difficulty.
- because Mika could keep it up with the youngster or with the top only when he would add the quads in his programs, quads which are still not reliable in competition.
- as much as i don't like Samarin's skating and find him overrated in PCS, he has the quads and some more stability in them. And he is younger (So, more prospect for Beijing 2022 than Mika).
- how much can his current coaching team improve his skating further.

 

[coldblueeyes]

I worry:
- how much can his current coaching team improve his skating further.

I think this is the most divisive point in your argument, yet, I don't think he should be anywhere else. Really, in men's there's just not one coach who has a fantastic track at making jumping beans, in the same way Eteri does. Even TCC is having problems left and right with skaters, Raf also has problems. I seriously don't see any place as the Holy Grail of men's skating. Maybe in the future Misha might want to move away? But not at the moment. Neither I think he should. After all, this is his best start of season yet.

 

[QueenOfTheRoad]

I think this is the most divisive point in your argument, yet, I don't think he should be anywhere else. Really, in men's there's just not one coach who has a fantastic track at making jumping beans, in the same way Eteri does. Even TCC is having problems left and right with skaters, Raf also has problems. I seriously don't see any place as the Holy Grail of men's skating. Maybe in the future Misha might want to move away? But not at the moment. Neither I think he should. After all, this is his best start of season yet.

I wouldn't want him to change either just for the sake of it - they cannot be bad if they teach him such gorgeous technique - this doesn't come from born talent. Going for a summer camp to other coaches could be however good for him to get other impressions and idea, other opinions on what he improve and how. Already going to Lambiel was good for his skating style getting more mature, we will see how his 4S has improved with Raf. Perhaps going to a summer camp with Mishin wouldn't be bad either. Going on the same way can make you blind on what you can change or improve.

 

[coldblueeyes]

I wouldn't want him to change either just for the sake of it - they cannot be bad if they teach him such gorgeous technique - this doesn't come from born talent. Going for a summer camp to other coaches could be however good for him to get other impressions and idea, other opinions on what he improve and how. Already going to Lambiel was good for his skating style getting more mature, we will see how his 4S has improved with Raf. Perhaps going to a summer camp with Mishin wouldn't be bad either. Going on the same way can make you blind on what you can change or improve.

I don't see a camp with Mishin happening, but I'm sure Misha is open to doing more in the off season, especially now that he's getting prize money and finished his studies. I doubt it's just a coincidence he decided to go to Lambiel again, and then Raf this season. He knows it's working for him, and he wants to improve. His SS has grown a lot in the last couple of seasons, and he's trying new approaches when it comes to his jumps. But the least the fed influences his training and decisions the best - we all saw how much they interfered in the past couple of seasons, and how much it affected him indirectly.

 

[rachno2]

Taking another look at the Helsinki entries, I’m not as nervous as I was before. He should podium easily barring disaster, with a clean Cha posing the biggest threat to kick him off. This is also assuming Boyang will go clean and/or not get attacked by the technical panel, deservedly or no. Misha rarely skates clean, but he also rarely falls apart (contrary to popular myth), and his GOEs and PCS should give him a clear edge over the rest of the field, Hanyu excluded. I think a silver is well within reach. *knock on wood*

 

[vorravorra]

I don't see a camp with Mishin happening, but I'm sure Misha is open to doing more in the off season, especially now that he's getting prize money and finished his studies. I doubt it's just a coincidence he decided to go to Lambiel again, and then Raf this season. He knows it's working for him, and he wants to improve. His SS has grown a lot in the last couple of seasons, and he's trying new approaches when it comes to his jumps. But the least the fed influences his training and decisions the best - we all saw how much they interfered in the past couple of seasons, and how much it affected him indirectly.

Yes, there seems to be some bad blood between Mishin and Valentina and/or Misha related to Misha turning him down, although people saw Mishin come up and shake Valentina's hand after Misha's skate at the open test skates, don't know what that was all about.

 

[QueenOfTheRoad]

Taking another look at the Helsinki entries, I’m not as nervous as I was before.

I am always nervous when Mika skates. I call it Kafelnikov-Sasha Cohen complex.

 

[rachno2]

I am always nervous when Mika skates. I call it Kafelnikov-Sasha Cohen complex.

To be fair, “Not as nervous as before” still means I’m really nervous

 

[Imov]

Goodluck Misha in Helsinki it going to be tough but I am sure you are up to the fight

 

[Tutto]

I also think that his programs stand out this season. We still have not seen Yuzuru's program at the full power and also Fernandez's but for the rest i am quite disappointed this season. Probably it comes with nondescript pop-music or boring classical one (which bored me also as exhibition programs in the past) with nondescript choreography which has no special link to the music and no connection with the meaning of the song. After my initial complain about Carmen, i came now to the conclusion that he chosen smart. It is not unique, but he made the program his own. I can remember already some details from the program, while for the best of me i cannot remember something from the other (well....something positive).

I so agree with you - I am really baffled at many music choices - nondescript is the word, there is no rise / fall, change of tempo etc just a background music
As much as I dislike Carmen in general I positively love Mika's FS - at least there is a character, drama, emotion (a pity about the botched ending!) and of course Mika's positions are gorgeous I can look at the pics all day long.

Also, Misha skates the way he skates. He has to prove he can compete better than he did in the past, but I hope people aren't expecting miracles. He's not going to start landing three or more quads per program out of nowhere. If he lands his 3 quad toes in Helsinki it will be already something big for him.

3 clean 4Ts is exactly what I hope and pray for but ...sigh ...

I worry:

- how much can his current coaching team improve his skating further.

I've got a feeling that at this stage Mika is coaching himself a lot. Of course there is always a room for improvement and his hard work on SS in particular is very evident after each off-season
The biggest problem is his mental preparation for competitions and I've no longer believe that his team can help him. What's good of having the best jumping technique in the world, excellent spins & gorgeous SS if you can't put it all together in competition? He was let down by his team last season and I don't see any change this season, well I was hopeful until I saw his face after he finished his SP at Finlandia and my heart sank , it was like a rude awakening from a nice dream...
Could anyone else help him more, Raf for instance? I don't know... can a self-belief be instilled somehow?
I don't see any tech issues even with his quads, Raf could I suppose tune it a bit but the truth is that practically every warm-up Mika was able to land his 4Lz and then fail to do so in the program. It is not hard to conclude where the real problem is ...
Just hoping that one day he will figure out what is it that holding him back

 

[rachno2]

I've got a feeling that at this stage Mika is coaching himself a lot. Of course there is always a room for improvement and his
The biggest problem is his mental preparation for competitions and I've no longer believe that his team can help him. What's good of having the best jumping technique in the world, excellent spins & gorgeous SS if you can't put it all together in competition? He was let down by his team last season and I don't see any change this season, well I was hopeful until I saw his face after he finished his SP at Finlandia and my heart sank , it was like a rude awakening from a nice dream...

Did his team let him down last season? I know they went about the technical content the wrong way (too much too soon), but I don’t think there was anything to suggest that they didn’t try and help him with his nerves. After the Olympics, he was able to come back with that sublime short program at worlds, the best he has ever skated—I’m sure his team had a hand in that, in addition to family support and personal willpower. I don’t think getting another coach would change the psychological situation; I think that’s just the way he is and we as fans need to suffer the uncertainty and emotional upheaval of every competition.

But I have a good feeling about this comp! Didn’t Misha say once that he likes competing with Yuzu because of the positive energy? A win isn’t expected here, so that should take the edge off the nerves, and the deep field will hopefully motivate him to prove his place among the top men.

 

[Tutto]

Did his team let him down last season? I know they went about the technical content the wrong way (too much too soon), but I don’t think there was anything to suggest that they didn’t try and help him with his nerves. After the Olympics, he was able to come back with that sublime short program at worlds, the best he has ever skated—I’m sure his team had a hand in that, in addition to family support and personal willpower. I don’t think getting another coach would change the psychological situation; I think that’s just the way he is and we as fans need to suffer the uncertainty and emotional upheaval of every competition.

But I have a good feeling about this comp! Didn’t Misha say once that he likes competing with Yuzu because of the positive energy? A win isn’t expected here, so that should take the edge off the nerves, and the deep field will hopefully motivate him to prove his place among the top men. ��

I thought it was quite obvious that Valentina was of little help during Oly if Nina Mozer had to step in ( I am sorry to bring this up I like Valentina very much but alas her inexperience of coaching at this level shows)

 

[coldblueeyes]

Well, with the planned content he's had during the season, getting to the Olympics and having a rough time at pretty much every practice session, it was bound to be a mess from the start, to be honest. I don't know what ayone was supposed to do at that point, though I'm not siding with Valentina on this. They watered down a bit his content for Worlds and it worked a lot better, which is what they should have done from the start, and I hope they keep doing this season. Also, the Fed with their wild whims should stop pushing the guys to skate programs they can't do.

 

[Tutto]

Well, with the planned content he's had during the season, getting to the Olympics and having a rough time at pretty much every practice session, it was bound to be a mess from the start, to be honest. I don't know what ayone was supposed to do at that point, though I'm not siding with Valentina on this. They watered down a bit his content for Worlds and it worked a lot better, which is what they should have done from the start, and I hope they keep doing this season. Also, the Fed with their wild whims should stop pushing the guys to skate programs they can't do.

I understand he skated an entirely clean SP (including 4lz) the night before Team SP in front of Russian Fed officials. But I still can't help but feel that Valentina could 1) to see the state he was in - a nervous wreck 2) he didn't know how the others skated before him but Valentina did and she should have thought on her feet and change the layout: 3lz instead of 4lz
I just wish he were spared that terrible experience

 

[Tutto]

According to his VK, Mika is already in Helsinki! A bit early considering the SP isn't till Saturday?!

 

[rachno2]

Yuzu already is too. I wonder if everyone is flying in early

Love the hair, love the smile! As always

 

[coldblueeyes]

I understand he skated an entirely clean SP (including 4lz) the night before Team SP in front of Russian Fed officials. But I still can't help but feel that Valentina could 1) to see the state he was in - a nervous wreck 2) he didn't know how the others skated before him but Valentina did and she should have thought on her feet and change the layout: 3lz instead of 4lz
I just wish he were spared that terrible experience

I never heard of that, from the reports I read during trainings Misha was all over the place, and after the Team Event he altogether stopped jumping the 4lz for days. Also, we all know how much the Fed and associates pressured him into going for more quads. It's a recurring theme for two seasons now, and I doubt there was no pressure to put on the quads. What I do fault Valentina for is not seeing how not ready he was for this content when in the entire season he had problems with his layout, and she didn't want to change/put her foot down and take responsibility for the change. But then, the SP in the Team Event was the worst program in the season, so the situation was a mess all over.