Will a month of John Nicks be enough for Sasha to win?
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Vash01 said:
I have to disagree with you. The media keeps screaming "Sasha is the One!", and you can bet that ABC-Sports will continue with this drum beat. IMHO, Michelle will win this title until she retires from competition, assuming that she stands up and delivers strong performances, which I expect her to do.
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I have mixed feelings about this. I personally would never count Sasha out even after the bad season she's had. I think she hit rock bottom at Marshalls and from there, you can only go up. I don't expect Sasha to be in peak form at Nationals but I expect her to have her jumps under control even if everything else isn't ready for COP. This is the 6.0 system where jumps count the most so that's probably what Sasha's been training the hardest at. I do hope for a great skate out between Kwan and Sasha, and while i have my own wishes 
, I don't want the title to be simply 'handed' to either skater because the other screws up royally.
, I don't want the title to be simply 'handed' to either skater because the other screws up royally.
First of all, unless I am mistaken, Sasha announced the switch to Nicks just before Christmas. The Ladies SP is on 1/13, so that is a total of three weeks preparation time, not a month. Considering Sasha's lax training habits since the summer, and her need to take it easy because of her back, I don't think Sasha can make up for months of limited training in 3 weeks without risking further injury to her back.
What makes me skeptical about Sasha's chances to win Nationals are her expectations that she WILL win. I see Sasha's intense focus on winning as the main reason why she fails to win the major events. She does fine in the SP because there are only 3 jumping passes to be completed. But in the FS, she seems to see each jump as a possible end to her goal of winning, and the pressure becomes greater and greater as the program moves along. The end result is a tense, strained emotionless performance that doesn't stack up well against Kwan's passionate one.
What makes me skeptical about Sasha's chances to win Nationals are her expectations that she WILL win. I see Sasha's intense focus on winning as the main reason why she fails to win the major events. She does fine in the SP because there are only 3 jumping passes to be completed. But in the FS, she seems to see each jump as a possible end to her goal of winning, and the pressure becomes greater and greater as the program moves along. The end result is a tense, strained emotionless performance that doesn't stack up well against Kwan's passionate one.
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- Aug 4, 2003
People might be counting her out this time around but isn't it pretty obvious that the most pressure comes from Sasha herself? We can't control that aspect because we have little clue what will actually go through her mind once she steps out on the ice,nevermind what says to the press.
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- Jul 11, 2003
Yeah. That's always been the problem, imo. She takes the 'win' too seriously and doesn't think about skating for herself. Maybe Nicks will be able to instill this in her, but my personal feeling is that she likes figure skating but, she really doesn't LOVE it.MidnightNess said:
Joe
I agree, Joesitz. Sasha skates because it is her ticket to fame and fortune, not because she loves figure skating and the excitement of competition.
Her one and only goal at every event is to win it. At the less important events like cheesefests and individual GP events, she is often able to win because there's no major title involved so the pressure she puts on herself isn't that great. But when it's a major event, the pressure is so tremendous that for Sasha, it so far has been self-defeating.
Her one and only goal at every event is to win it. At the less important events like cheesefests and individual GP events, she is often able to win because there's no major title involved so the pressure she puts on herself isn't that great. But when it's a major event, the pressure is so tremendous that for Sasha, it so far has been self-defeating.
All you have to do is read the announcements about Sasha and Nicks on the USFS board. Right off the bat, the articles talk about Sasha challenging for the title. The media will always build up that Cohen/Kwan rivalry and the pressure will always be there, regardless of how Sasha is skating at the time.
Last year, the circumstances were eerily similar to today's. Sasha was going into Nationals off a disastrous performance at the winter cheesefest where she fell 3 times, then went on to unexpectedly lose her GPF title to Fumie Suguri. And she had just changed coaches from TT to Robin Wagner. But she was hailed as the next US champion in the media, and when she won the SP, she was all but crowned.
But media pressures aside, I agree with what other posters have said, that the real pressure comes from inside Sasha herself.
Last year, the circumstances were eerily similar to today's. Sasha was going into Nationals off a disastrous performance at the winter cheesefest where she fell 3 times, then went on to unexpectedly lose her GPF title to Fumie Suguri. And she had just changed coaches from TT to Robin Wagner. But she was hailed as the next US champion in the media, and when she won the SP, she was all but crowned.
But media pressures aside, I agree with what other posters have said, that the real pressure comes from inside Sasha herself.
I just don't get this either. I just don't feel that she loves skating. She wanted to do a Tara. Win the Olympics and move on. When she made that statement I said 'that's it'. I couldn't put my hand on what it was that was missing from Sasha until then. That's when I knew that she wasn't exactly in love with skating.
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- Jul 31, 2003
Had she gone to a brand new coach (like Robin Wagner last year), I would not have given her much chance of winning the USN. However, she grew up with John Nicks coaching her. IMO it will have a stabilizing effect on her. Whether she actually wins or not may depend on how Michelle skates. I don't see anyone else challenging her, even if she falls twice.
Vash
Vash
Nicks coached her at the 2000 and 2002 Nationals and she didn't win. The fall before the 2002 Nationals, she announced that she wanted to be #1 and she would do whatever it took to get there. She's still saying pretty much the same thing, but the tone is slightly less aggressive.
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- Jul 11, 2003
Has she mentioned the quad? This was the call back then when she was with Nicks. TT got that out of her head but now maybe she might be thinking of quadruple again. It would be a big plus for her especially if one of those Japanese Ladies hits it.
Joe
Joe
Joe-
If she has had to reduce her training due to her back injury, I can't see her having a quad for this year (or frankly for next year either). The amount of pounding her back would have to take in training to have a consistant quad might do serious harm to her.
If she has had to reduce her training due to her back injury, I can't see her having a quad for this year (or frankly for next year either). The amount of pounding her back would have to take in training to have a consistant quad might do serious harm to her.
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bronxgirl said:
Bronx - That makes sense, and I'm thinking about Tim's back and maybe it was the quads.
Joe
A.H.Black said:
I agree. Sasha leaves me impression that she is very emotional or impulsive person in life.
She was seen in Lake Arrowhead recently. Rumor was she was not able to bought ice time at either rink (her home rink and ice castle). She skates at both rinks where she can get slots of time. Not sure if it's pure rink time issure driving up to Lake Arrowhead takes long time and exhausting, so I heard, but fortunately her family was with her.
Sometimes I feel she pays too much attentions to what her competetor dose, such as borrow her competetor's signature moves: Sarah's change edge camel spin, Michelle's COE spirals, etc. IMO, too much concernning what your competetor doing is a sign of "lack of confidence". JMO.
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mzheng said:
With such short notice before Nats she probably could get the ice time. She may have better luck after Nats. I've heard she's leaving for Nats tomorrow probably because she can get more ice time up in Portland. Normally you don't see her till next Tuesday or Wednesday.
I agree about Sasha being emotional and having an emotional coach like TT or Robin wouldn't help. She needs someone to calm her down. Sasha of course had consistancy problems with Nicks as well but she didn't look like a deer in headlights as much. She may have bad performances but always seemed to have self confidence. That self confidence seemed to wither away to nothing when she broke up with TT. She would look at Robin with a "help me" look on her face. Nicks has known her since childhood and has been through lots and lots of competitions with her. Maybe looking at the boards and seeing Mr. Nicks there may help. They have had their differences but he always stuck by her.
One thing I look forward to are the Cohen/Nicks news conferences. They were always a hoot. Sasha is older and may not need him by her side anymore but I'm sure he'll get in a comment in there.
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