Czisny dealt with more than skating woes in 2010

[Jenny81]

Thanks for posting the good article.
Best wishes to both Czisny sisters.

[olympic]

The article makes it sound as if Alissa will retire after she has one personally satisfying season. Out of selfishness, I'd like her to stick around 'til Sochi.

[Oreo]

Could be, too, that Amber's cancer wasn't made public so the media wouldn't be all over it. You know it would have been used for one of those "Up Close and Personal" segments.

[pinky166]

The article makes it sound as if Alissa will retire after she has one personally satisfying season. Out of selfishness, I'd like her to stick around 'til Sochi.

It might be too tough on her body to do that. I mean, she's been skating for almost 22 years, it's gotta take a toll on her body at somepoint. Also, she may not want to risk not making another olympic team and all the disappointment that comes with it, because even if she does overcome her nerves and headcase ways, it's still going to be tough to make the team in 2014, especially as a 26 year old who will likely be past her prime who is competing for spots against teenagers in their prime who are hungry for success.

[RD]

You know, Czisny's career has just been strange. Up and down, extending nearly what- 8 years? And yet, after being around for so long, she seems to be hitting her peak right about now, even though it seemed she hit her peak years ago in 2005 before crashing down.

Again, though, she seemed to take the Olympic disappointment much harder than I imagined. She didn't SEEM all that crushed at least when the cameras were rolling. Typically extreme disappointment is pretty tough to hide. You saw it with Keauna McLaughlin, she took it hard and cameras caught her breaking down in tears leaving the ice.

...because even if she does overcome her nerves and headcase ways, it's still going to be tough to make the team in 2014, especially as a 26 year old who will likely be past her prime who is competing for spots against teenagers in their prime who are hungry for success.

While I agree, who would have thought that Czisny now at 22, and being written off by virtually everyone, would emerge as the leader when we have so much young talent coming up?

You never know, really.

[Sylvia]

You know, Czisny's career has just been strange. Up and down, extending nearly what- 8 years?

Her first Senior level Nationals was in 2002, so that's 10 straight years (her first trip to Nationals was as a Junior in 2001 when she won the silver medal). BTW, her twin, Amber, did qualify for Nationals before Alissa -- 11-year-old Amber went as a Novice in 1999.

[RD]

Her first Senior level Nationals was in 2002, so that's 10 straight years (her first trip to Nationals was as a Junior in 2001 when she won the silver medal).

10 years trying at Nationals. And now she's the reigning champ. Damn. Talk about a late bloomer...

But if Alyssa wants to continue on...mental toughness is key. Can't stress that one enough. She has shown that when she stays on her feet and delivers the goods, the judges reward her BIG. You've GOT to be able to perform under pressure, otherwise you may as well give it up. She seems to be getting SOME consistency at least- her "off" performances this year have not been complete meltdowns, so that's a step in the right direction.

But from what I've seen, and from my personal experience, she seems to have a good heart. I wish her the best.

[reese]

I can understand Alissa being so distraught after not making the Olympic team, but I wonder if she really thought she had a good shot at getting one of the two Olympic spots after her performance at Worlds in 2009? It seemed to me that the consensus in the skating world was that she'd be lowballed by the judges at Nationals to keep her off the Olympic team even if she skated well.

[Skittl1321]

10 years trying at Nationals. And now she's the reigning champ. Damn. Talk about a late bloomer...

Well, she did win it once before...

I think staying on until Sochi was tough. I couldn't imagine missing a third Olympics, and remaining a front runner would be tough. I do hope she skates again next year though.

[RD]

Well, she did win it once before...

...on her EIGHTH try.

(not to mention the controversy that came with that win, though. This time there was no doubt that she was the best.)

[Iceman]

If a twin has cancer, is the probability high the other twin will come down with the same cancer? Whether or not, that might have been a concern of Alissa's.

Too bad she stuck with the same coach too long. Her career might have been quite different had she changed earlier.

[Sylvia]

Too bad she stuck with the same coach too long. Her career might have been quite different had she changed earlier.

I think it's always easier to say something like this after the fact.

[RD]

Too bad she stuck with the same coach too long. Her career might have been quite different had she changed earlier.

I'm not convinced. Sure, maybe she wouldn't have crashed and burned at 2009 Worlds if she had a comforting presence...but it really wasn't until Kwan and Cohen left that Czisny really had a chance at podium if she performed to the best of her ability.

[reese]

I think it's always easier to say something like this after the fact.

Sure, but Julie was generally as big of a nervous wreck as Alissa before and after competitions. She would weep uncontrollably when Alissa did well. That kind of emotion never worked well with Alissa's already fragile self-confidence. I never got the impression Julie believed in Alissa the way that Yuka and Jason do, and even if she didn't, she could have at least pretended to. There's no way Alissa would have had the same season she's had this year if she was still with Julie. So who knows if this kind of season would have been possible four years earlier if she'd found better psychological coaching earlier in her career. I never at any point thought Julie was the right coach for Alissa.

[SmallFairy]

If Maria Butyrskaya could do it at 26,Alissa can too! You go girl

[mgobluegirl]

If a twin has cancer, is the probability high the other twin will come down with the same cancer? Whether or not, that might have been a concern of Alissa's.

They're fraternal twins, though, so the odds of Alissa developing the same condition aren't any greater than they would be between any two siblings.

[geod2]

Sure, but Julie was generally as big of a nervous wreck as Alissa before and after competitions. She would weep uncontrollably when Alissa did well.
That kind of emotion never worked well with Alissa's already fragile self-confidence.

Uh, except for all the medals Alissa won under Julie's coaching, including winning Skate Canada and U.S. Nationals...
...yeah, it "never" worked well....

I never at any point thought Julie was the right coach for Alissa.

I recall Julie's extensive outreach to fill in for where she might be less-than-optimal for Alissa.
But the introduction of a coaching and training entourage simply raised expections for Alissa's eventual success, IMO.

It seems likely that Julie was the right coach for Alissa for a period of time....but athlete's needs change over time, especially during periods of rapid physical and emotional development like teenage years.
It's easy to say, and a decent argument can be made, that Julie could never take Alissa this far.
OTOH, and without denying Alissa's incredible talent itself, who can say that any other coach could've gotten Alissa off to such a great start earlier in her career.
Without that start, Yuka and Jason become a moot point.
The only thing easier to say than "shoulda", and "coulda", is "woulda"....

The NYT article reminds me of how the disappointments and coaching issues were small in comparison to Alissa's own courage in dealing with them.
In the long run, adversity doesn't build character...it reveals it.


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[orbitz]

While I agree, who would have thought that Czisny now at 22, and being written off by virtually everyone, would emerge as the leader when we have so much young talent coming up?

You never know, really.

That's true especially considering that Flatt will probably be in college full time after this season and who knows when Mirai will consistently be able to string together back-to-back strong SP and LP performances. Nationals next year will also be for anyone to win.

[pinky166]

While I agree, who would have thought that Czisny now at 22, and being written off by virtually everyone, would emerge as the leader when we have so much young talent coming up?

You never know, really.

This is a very valid point, but at the same time, US ladies skating is currently in a bit of a lull right now, allowing Alissa to win nationals this year easily, but I don't think it will stay like that. This year at nationals, Rachael was fighting an injury, Ashley had the flu, and Mirai had lost most of her summer training due to her stress fracture, and making her more hot and cold than usual, and at nationals she happened to have a "cold" night in the FS. The youngsters like Gao, Zawadzki, Lam, Siraj have a lot of potential but aren't quite national champion material YET. Agnes or Christina maybe could have won if the favorites all faltered, but they didn't, and resultantly those two ended up 4th and 5th. In the coming years, the up and comers will likely make the transition from being promising youngsters to top US ladies very capable of winning nationals. I expect Ashley and Rachael will be replaced at the top by young skaters coming up - if they even continue to skate competitively until 2014, and Mirai will play spoiler if she continues to be inconsistent, or if she can become consistent will likely be the leading lady of US skating until the next Olympics. As for Alissa, if she continues skating until 2014, I think she can hang in there, but I doubt she'll consistently be the top US lady from now until then, she just doesn't have the technical content and judging from what we're seeing from the Russians, technical content is going to be very important come 2014. So I think she could continue to skate because she wants to, and if were her, if she can manage to medal at or win worlds before 2014, i'd just retire then and end her career on a high note.

[l'etoile]

I weeped like a baby My prayer's with her sister, and I surely hope for the best with Alissa!!