Natalia Mishkutenok & Artur Dmitriev

She said she didn't think she was skating well, so probably that's way she looked sad at times. It would have been nice to see her skating with her daughter in the Disson's family skating tribute. Or being invited to SOI.
 
She’s always been treated harshly if you ask me. I remember hearing people call her chubby at my rink and say that Artur was dragging her around. If you look back, skaters today still haven’t caught up to her in the elements outside of jumps. Their Liebestraum it in a class by itself, MAYBE accompanied by Vocalise by G&G.

MAYBE she’s not a dynamic coach? Maybe she is. I know that I’d love to see what she would do with some of the top USA pairs. I can’t see her hurting one bit
 
I also love her Russian accent. It's odd that I look at pictures of Katia Gordeeva now and can barely recognize her. Her hair is very blond, and while still beautiful she doesn't look much like she did when she was skating competitively. With Natalia I still see the exact same face. Older, but just as beautiful.
 
I'm not saying the USFS or anybody should encourage any of the U.S. pairs to change coaches or anything, but I can't help feel that there is a huge untapped resource with having Natalia in the U.S. coaching in Texas. She should definitely be consulted for a few sessions. If anything, she can at least pass down some of the basic foundations she learned as she was developing as a pairs skater.
 
arakwafan2006 said:
She’s always been treated harshly if you ask me. I remember hearing people call her chubby at my rink and say that Artur was dragging her around. If you look back, skaters today still haven’t caught up to her in the elements outside of jumps. Their Liebestraum it in a class by itself, MAYBE accompanied by Vocalise by G&G.

MAYBE she’s not a dynamic coach? Maybe she is. I know that I’d love to see what she would do with some of the top USA pairs. I can’t see her hurting one bit
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I still have NO IDEA why one US pair, not even one US pair has ever gone to her....

If you have her in your back yard I have no idea why NO us pair (including Knierims-Sap) go to her..... I feel like no US pair is serious about what they are doing sometimes..... they spend year after year after year after year learning how to jump even worse than they already do but have 0 interest in going to a Russian Olympic Champion.

NOT sorry here.

If I had financial resources (I can't see Nat's fees being any higher than any other coach) and could be coached by a guy who finished no higher than 12th at a Worlds or 2 time Oly medalist (and rockstar dynamo) Im gonna least try her/him out.

#NotSorryAgain lol

If you could learn to have the program chemistry of a Savchenko & Massot or a M&D or a B&S why would you not go to someone who could sculpt you a program that way? Sometimes I think the married couples are Sui&Han and Savchenko & Massot versus S/k & K.
 
AngieNikodinovLove said:
I still have NO IDEA why one US pair, not even one US pair has ever gone to her....

If you have her in your back yard I have no idea why NO us pair (including Knierims-Sap) go to her..... I feel like no US pair is serious about what they are doing sometimes..... they spend year after year after year after year learning how to jump even worse than they already do but have 0 interest in going to a Russian Olympic Champion.

NOT sorry here.

If I had financial resources (I can't see Nat's fees being any higher than any other coach) and could be coached by a guy who finished no higher than 12th at a Worlds or 2 time Oly medalist (and rockstar dynamo) Im gonna least try her/him out.

#NotSorryAgain lol

If you could learn to have the program chemistry of a Savchenko & Massot or a M&D or a B&S why would you not go to someone who could sculpt you a program that way? Sometimes I think the married couples are Sui&Han and Savchenko & Massot versus S/k & K.
Click to expand...


You held back nothing and told no lies!!! Sometimes coaches who’ve won Olympic medals don’t articulate the breakdown of those skills. Also, American skaters have WAY more control and say-so over their training than Russian students. In some ways, the damn clay is molding the potter. I’m
With you though. A summer with her can’t hurt.

Moskvina and Moskvin were directly honored by John Zimmerman and lauded for their coaching and they influenced him. I would imagine Natalia is similar but further along. To your point about American teams , they have nothing to lose. To me, they mostly look like solo skaters doing moves together. Even Valentina and her partner get that right.

Aliona and Bruno are so eager to learn and to reach their potential , mostly because she is likely the most motivated skater alive lol, that they draw excellence from their coaches. Their team isn’t like legendary except she literally absorbed their individual strengths and took them serious. My point, the skaters desire has a lot to do with it.
 
Hmm Natalia kind of underlined the reason for the lack of success in pairs skating in the U.S. in her interview. She said that in Russia when she skated it was like a "job." The fairytale love stories like Gordeeva and Grinkov were the exception, not the rule: most Russian pairs skated despite quarrels, difficulties, hardships, etc. Their excellence was a result of discipline and training.

In the U.S. I think very few adolescent skaters are willing to go through the difficult, harsh process of finding the right partner, and ignoring all personal incompatibilities to skate with this person hours every day. Virtue/Moir and Davis/White are exceptions. The truly talented skaters are pushed to singles skating.

Natalia was very open that she skated with Artur through depression, weight gain, self-doubts, quarrels with Artur and Moskvina, and she didn't even think she was that great. Now if she sees her darling daughter going through all the same issues with a pairs partner, would she be able to watch it happen? I sort of doubt it.
 
canbelto said:
In the U.S. I think very few adolescent skaters are willing to go through the difficult, harsh process of finding the right partner, and ignoring all personal incompatibilities to skate with this person hours every day. Virtue/Moir and Davis/White are exceptions. The truly talented skaters are pushed to singles skating.
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There are truly talented skaters that go into ice dance. But what you described makes a lot of sense, and probably explains why we have so many sibling teams, comparatively, than other federations. I bet siblings sharing a household and having similar goals and ideas of how to reach that goals due to them being family and having that sort of open communication early on that only siblings may have with one another takes away a lot of the logistical obstacles that result in early break-ups, etc.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
I bet siblings sharing a household and having similar goals and ideas of how to reach that goals due to them being family and having that sort of open communication early on that only siblings may have with one another takes away a lot of the logistical obstacles that result in early break-ups, etc.
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Not to mention just one set of parents to coordinate skating schedules, budgets, coaching decisions, etc.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
I'm not saying the USFS or anybody should encourage any of the U.S. pairs to change coaches or anything, but I can't help feel that there is a huge untapped resource with having Natalia in the U.S. coaching in Texas. She should definitely be consulted for a few sessions. If anything, she can at least pass down some of the basic foundations she learned as she was developing as a pairs skater.
Click to expand...
Totally. Same goes for Elena Betchke, who is coaching in Garner, NC. As far as I know, she hasn't coached any competitive pair skaters, and she has an Olympic silver medal. She was such a great athlete and must have a lot of knowledge to share.
 
livetoskate said:
Totally. Same goes for Elena Betchke, who is coaching in Garner, NC. As far as I know, she hasn't coached any competitive pair skaters, and she has an Olympic silver medal. She was such a great athlete and must have a lot of knowledge to share.
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Elena Bechke, please.

I liked Bechke and Petrov a lot, as a pair. As Moskvina's student, Elena must have a lot to pass on to her students.

I think good athletes don't always make good coaches.
 
Holy Cr*p.. EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Natalia Mishkutenok..

This is a meat-and-potatoes interview.... The most I have ever learned....

https://www.ifsmagazine.com/natalia-mishkutionok/

It has been 23 years since Natalia Mishkutionok and Artur Dmitriev took their final bow as a competitive pairs team and went their separate ways. Mishkutionok moved to the U.S. in 1995 and now coaches in Dallas, Texas. The 1992 Olympic champion looks back on her storied career, and her journey to the present.

ANL notes: So interesting that Tamara told them in those days they could make a decision mid-program if they go for a triple or a 2 axel or a single axel. Natalia says she would not tell her students to do that approach.

She loved her 91 Worlds performance and not her 92 Olys.....

I feel for her SO MUCH... Artur informed her he was becoming a father during the 92 Olys.

Who knew that Tamara gave them Swan Lake to skate to for 94??? I never knew that... And that they trained in Colorado Springs that summer?

Interesting that that she thought about continuing after 94.

During her career she skated for 3 different flags, and at one time didn't even know which flag would appear!

Irina Vorobieva gave me a one-one on skating lesson in Colorado Springs around 04. Interesting to see that Natalia had a relationship with her too.
 
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I heard that Natalia was in San Jose with/for her daughter during US nationals and was hoping to run into her but no such luck :(
As in regards to her coaching US pairs I think that Ashley Cain and Tim LeDuc are coached by Ashley's father (who is not a pair coach) in Dallas. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they sought out Natalia for pairs "coaching" (just my wish). May be they might have worked with her, they did very well at 4CC in Taiwan.
Btw the local news mentioned that lots of skaters nationwide are coming to Dallas to work with the Cains (Ashley's parents), hoping that Natalia would be in their team for pairs coaching.
 
That is an amazing interview! thank you for posting it! I knew about the Swan Lake music for their 93-94 LP. During the fall of 1993, Natalia and Artur competed in Piruetten, an event that took place in Hammar, Norway. According to Tracy Wilson (who was a commentator there) they did Swan Lake until August of 93 and then the two finally convinced Tamara to go with Rach. 2.
 
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nguyhm said:
I heard that Natalia was in San Jose with/for her daughter during US nationals and was hoping to run into her but no such luck :(
As in regards to her coaching US pairs I think that Ashley Cain and Tim LeDuc are coached by Ashley's father (who is not a pair coach) in Dallas. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they sought out Natalia for pairs "coaching" (just my wish). May be they might have worked with her, they did very well at 4CC in Taiwan.
Btw the local news mentioned that lots of skaters nationwide are coming to Dallas to work with the Cains (Ashley's parents), hoping that Natalia would be in their team for pairs coaching.
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Ashley Cain's father is a pairs coach. He and his sister were four-time Australian pairs champions who won bronze at the 1976 Junior Worlds. Natalia coaches at a rink that is owned by the same company as the one the Cains coach at. She does not seem too interested in coaching pairs at an elite level at this time.
 
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