Rachael's PC's

[flying camel]

What does Rachael need to do to improve her PC scores. Does she need better spins, more stretch? Where is she falling short? How can she get those scores up to be more competitive?

 

[AwesomeIce]

She could stand up straight, for starters. I will never ever see her as a top skater until she fixes that horrendous posture of hers, it really distracts from her skating. And she definitely needs more stretch in just about everything she does.

 

[feraina]

I agree better posture and more stretch will help. But also more power and speed. Caroline has great posture and stretch, and still can't get very high PC's.

 

[gocaroline]

:agree:

I agree better posture and more stretch will help. But also more power and speed. Caroline has great posture and stretch, and still can't get very high PC's.

IMO speed definitely. I feel somehow skaters with great speed tend to get higher PCS. Both Rachel and Caroline need that. I wonder whether faster speed can help their jumps too.

 

[Bennett]

In addition to what people mentioned, I think that her PCS may naturally increase given that this was still her first senior year.

 

[mskater93]

Not to bash anyone here, but Miki Ando's PC marks are pretty high (usually) and her posture isn't much better than Flatt's. Flatt needs better speed and ice coverage for her PC marks to increase. She tends to be more middle of the road speed-wise for Seniors which is why she's not scoring higher.

 

[ManyCairns]

Not to bash anyone here, but Miki Ando's PC marks are pretty high (usually) and her posture isn't much better than Flatt's. Flatt needs better speed and ice coverage for her PC marks to increase. She tends to be more middle of the road speed-wise for Seniors which is why she's not scoring higher.

That was my first thought, too -- Miki's posture is a little improved now, but the year she won Worlds -- it was really pretty bad. Rachael definitely needs to improve hers, but I'd guess speed is as much an issue as posture.

ETA: But you know, I want to add a thought. Rachael seems to really love what she's doing, and although I want her to do well, I'm very content to let her develop at the pace that is comfortable for her, as I'm sure most of us are. And I'm saying that thinking that she's our best hope to place well at Worlds -- but if she doesn't, I can live with it. I'm not sure I can remember a lady with as much obvious joy in what she's doing since maybe Tara. And that was one thing about Tara, like her skating or not (and I did, but also loved Michelle, too), Tara EXUDED joy on the ice. Rachael is a little more subdued during her performances, but after a skate, she's always grinning ear to ear and practically bursting with happiness. I would hate to ever see that joy diminished -- and I want her to stay healthy a lot longer than Tara did, too -- another reason why I'm not in a rush to see her hit the top.

But, yeah, sure her PCS need to improve and I hope she can work on that.

Also think Bennett has a point -- her PCS is very likely to improve with time and exposure, too.

 

[chuckm]

Rachael was slow during the JGPs last year, but by the time she skated at Nationals and JW, her speed had increased greatly. I expect further improvements in her speed this year as well, and if she makes it to Worlds and can deliver a clean 7-triple FS the way she did at JW 2008, I think her PCS scores will go up quite a bit.

 

[dizzydi7]

I can't help but think that body type has something to do with this. Although Miki may have (had) poor posture, for me it is less noticeable because of her thinner body frame. Rachael, however, has a more compact body plus rounded shoulders which really brings attention to her poor posture.

Dizzy

 

[chuckm]

Isabelle Delobel has a poor body type for ice dance (she is short, short-waisted and has stubby legs) and it didn't keep her from winning World gold. The same is true for two-time World dance champs Denkova/Staviiski, both of whom are short and stocky and do not fit the perfect dance profile.

I do not think Rachael's "body type" is what keeps her PCS scores low. I think they are low because this is only her second year on the international scene and her first year as a Senior skater. If she keeps performing well in every competition as she has done so far this year, her PCS scores should go up.

 

[dizzydi7]

chuckm,

Perhaps you are right and Rachael's body type doesn't reflect in her PC scores. It was just an observation on my part. Truth be told, I like Rachael's skating, especially her enthusiasm, and hope she has a very successful career. In contrast, I don't like Miki Ando's skating at all. I've never been a fan.

Dizzy

 

[vlaurend]

I agree that her rounded shoulders detract from her look and probably hurt her PCS. Also, I suspect she might get higher PCS if she started skating to music that wasn't so soft and delicate. She keeps skating to the kind of soft, lyrical music that suits a wispy ballerina type like Caroline Zhang or Alissa Czisny when she would better show off her strengths by skating to something more powerful and energetic (a la Bebe Liang & Emily Hughes).

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

One has to remember that the spread sheet on PC does measure Artistry per se. Overall presentation has been replaced by program (think Tech) component.

 

[Tinymavy15]

Rachel seems to have good sense of the music, she uses her face and hands very well. I agree that she needs a little more speed and definitely better posture. If I were her coach I would see that she goes back to the basics (Caroline could use this advice too). Do stroking circles like 100 times, holding each push and extension. It also goes without saying that her camel and spiral positions need a lot more stretch.

But also it seems like PCS come with time. The "big names" will always get more PCS than the "up-and-comers."

 

[woshisunnya]

I think if she continue performance like what she did in COR, with more suited program, her PCS will go quickly. Her PCS is around 6 nowdays, it's not bad for the first senior entry. I remember Yuna Kim got the almost same PCS in her short in SC two years ago as Rachael in COR in this, We all know how far it increased later.

I really think that Rachael has good sense of the music, the LP from last Nationals really showed her feeling of the music, I just think this year's programs aren't very suitable for her.