Tennell announces coaching change to Zakrajsek

[Sylvia]

Agree with Colonel Green, a good get for Tom. He still has Ting, doesn't he.

No, not Ting Cui. The 2 other senior ladies he has now, AFAIK, are Paige Rydberg and Pooja Kalyan (switched to him in the off-season).

 

[VGThuy]

I mean, maybe this will work out?

But I think this was the single dumbest choice she could've made. Bradie's jumps are better than most US ladies. What she's critiqued on is her artistry or lack thereof - so she goes to a coach infamous for ignoring artistry in favor of tech content?

Bradie isn’t just eyeing the US Ladies.

 

[overedge]

Bradie isn’t just eyeing the US Ladies.

I think she might be wanting to reverse the downward trend of her US Nationals placings. It could be hard to get assignments to compete against non-US ladies if the national placements aren't there.

 

[annie720]

No, not Ting Cui. The 2 other senior ladies he has now, AFAIK, are Paige Rydberg and Pooja Kalyan (switched to him in the off-season).

Do you know who coaches Ting now?

 

[b-man]

No, not Ting Cui. The 2 other senior ladies he has now, AFAIK, are Paige Rydberg and Pooja Kalyan (switched to him in the off-season).

So where did Ting go to. One site told me Tom, but you are always 3 steps ahead of me.

 

[Sylvia]

Do you know who coaches Ting now?

I don't think Ting has confirmed anything herself yet? All I know is that she's been home (Baltimore area) for a while now and Natalia Linichuk shared a few clips of Ting on her Instagram earlier this summer (scroll down in this U.S. Ladies thread post here for links): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ing-with-adjusted-vision.107389/#post-5833476

 

[annie720]

I don't think Ting has confirmed anything herself yet? All I know is that she's been home (Baltimore area) for a while now and Natalia Linichuk shared a few clips of Ting on her Instagram earlier this summer (scroll down in this U.S. Ladies thread post here for links): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ing-with-adjusted-vision.107389/#post-5833476

Thanks. I remember seeing these but thought she was just staying within driving distance of home for the guarantine. Any further comments I'll put in the Ladies thread.

Good luck, Bradie!

 

[misskarne]

Jeremy Abbott, Josh Farris, and Camden Pulkinen want a word.

Josh had decent artistry under Z but he really blossomed once he left Z and started choreographing his own stuff with Damon Allen's help.

 

[Colonel Green]

But I think this was the single dumbest choice she could've made. Bradie's jumps are better than most US ladies. What she's critiqued on is her artistry or lack thereof - so she goes to a coach infamous for ignoring artistry in favor of tech content?

I mean, bluntly, if she gets the big artillery the PCS will sort itself out (and it's not like she can't still work on that with her choreographers, anyway). Going all-in on getting the big jumps makes sense, it's the surest way to another Olympics and any shot at making the podium.

 

[Lanie]

So, uh, my first reaction was Yikes and that's about it.

 

[Maximillian]

She worked with Mishin last Summer didn't she? Can't she just go train with him? (I'm being facetious...sort of)

 

[AxelAnnie]

I wonder if it has to do with $$$$. I remember that her family had to scrape money together to get to Nationals (or something). And an airline gifted the flight for them. Perhaps she was offered a deep discount.

I think she needed a new coach......but I don't get this choice. If she needs anything it is in the PCS scores. Her short last year was fabulous. Really suited her. She needs someone like Carolina Kostner or Alyssa C. to work with her. Someone who can show her how to make each move, a flick of the hand, pointed foot, a tilt of the head mean something.

If you look at Sasha Cohen, there is not a single position (except for her butt on the ice) that is not gorgeous. Bradie needs some of that.

 

[Colonel Green]

If she needs anything it is in the PCS scores.

From a competitive standpoint, no.

At the 2019-20 Grand Prix Final, the difference in PCS across both programs between Bradie and Alena (the highest-marked artistic skater in the world at the moment) was all of 6.45 points.

Give Bradie the same PCS as Alena and she moves up from 212.18 to 218.63 -- from fifth place into fourth, but still 14.55 points behind Alexandra (who is nobody's idea of a PCS skater, and only landed three of her planned five quads) and off the podium.

PCS can be the difference-maker between technically equivalent skaters, but the way it is currently judged it's generally not going to let a skater with markedly lesser technical content beat the mega-hitters.

 

[VGThuy]

It’s kind of amazing that people are still kind of stuck on 6.0 thinking. Any improvement on PCS she makes won’t be as rewarding as more ambitious tech content.

 

[overedge]

If you look at Sasha Cohen, there is not a single position (except for her bush on the ice)

 

[Lacey]

deleted

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

I wonder if it has to do with $$$$. I remember that her family had to scrape money together to get to Nationals (or something). And an airline gifted the flight for them. Perhaps she was offered a deep discount.

I think she needed a new coach......but I don't get this choice. If she needs anything it is in the PCS scores. Her short last year was fabulous. Really suited her. She needs someone like Carolina Kostner or Alyssa C. to work with her. Someone who can show her how to make each move, a flick of the hand, pointed foot, a tilt of the head mean something.

If you look at Sasha Cohen, there is not a single position (except for her bush on the ice) that is not gorgeous. Bradie needs some of that.

If the final paragraph isn't a recommendation for more proofreading and fewer Mai Tais before posting, I certainly can't think of one. One hopes you meant to use "tush" or "tuches".

 

[AxelAnnie]

If the final paragraph isn't a recommendation for more proofreading and fewer Mai Tais before posting, I certainly can't think of one.

OMG - you made me spit out my tea laughing!
I am in Nothern California with all the fires. Perhaps it was smoke inhalation!

 

[Colonel Green]

We all try to forget that incident because it prompted so many complaints to the FCC so as to near-singlehandedly end figure skating's dominance on US TV.

 

[Bellanca]

Go Bradie!

 

[euterpe]

Tom Z sure wasn't any help with Nagasu's URs.....

 

[Jarrett]

Go Bradie!

Yay someone finally supportive! Yes! Go Bradie, can't wait to see her skating again!

 

[Simone411]

Good for you, Bradie! You obviously wanted a new coach and now you have one. Way to go, and good luck!

 

[Vash01]

I am surprised. I didn’t think she needed help with her jumps. She did need artistic development but she had already shown improvement there. Is she going for the 3A like Mirai? May be even a quad?

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

As others have pointed out, Bradie was on a good trajectory last season, ending up with a medal against a tough Japanese and South Korean field at Four Continents.

Whether Tom Z can help her acquire the bigger technical tricks remains to be seen. Wanting and getting a triple axel and a quad toe are two different beasts. There is only so much the body can take.

 

[tony]

I think she might be wanting to reverse the downward trend of her US Nationals placings. It could be hard to get assignments to compete against non-US ladies if the national placements aren't there.

What??? She was third in US Nationals, still skating great programs but Mariah Bell had the skate of her life and Liu has the more difficult jumps. Bradie made the GPF. She was consistent all year, finishing on the 4CC podium.

Who exactly is going to push her off the international assignments team?


Anyways, I was always curious why there was a mass Zakrajsek exodus and I think he doesn't really do well with skaters that he trains from a young age in terms of their overall quality, but Bradie already has it, and continuing to work with Richaud should mean some more solid programs.

As was already pointed out by @VGThuy, the TES and the jumps specifically are where you can really run away with the points. If Tennell wants to be ambitious and take that next step, then good for her.

You know someone here was bound to call her a triple Axel-less journeywoman, after all.

 

[giselle23]

I wonder if it has to do with $$$$. I remember that her family had to scrape money together to get to Nationals (or something). And an airline gifted the flight for them. Perhaps she was offered a deep discount.

I think she needed a new coach......but I don't get this choice. If she needs anything it is in the PCS scores. Her short last year was fabulous. Really suited her. She needs someone like Carolina Kostner or Alyssa C. to work with her. Someone who can show her how to make each move, a flick of the hand, pointed foot, a tilt of the head mean something.

If you look at Sasha Cohen, there is not a single position (except for her butt on the ice) that is not gorgeous. Bradie needs some of that.

I don't necessarily agree she needs to up her PCS. Skaters get a lot more bang for their buck by upping their TES than by trying to figure out what will improve the more subjective PCS. Look at Sasha Trusova. Doesn't she have some of the highest scores on record with PCS mostly in the 8's? Or at men like Vincent Zhou or Boyang Jin, who are not considered artistic skaters (and in fact are widely criticized for it), but are both World medalists because they have high TES. Granted, Bradie is not going to get four quads (or even one) but adding a triple axel would make her more competitive than she is now. Trying to improve her TES, which is not capped like PCS, is a smart move.

 

[rfisher]

With the Russians, Japanese, Koreans jumping 3As, quads (multiple for some skaters) and the move to add the 3A and quad among the younger US skaters (don't think all the other 10-11 year olds aren't attempting what Liu did), if you want to win, you better up your technical skills. The artistry isn't going to do it unless you're on an equal playing field technically. If Bradie thinks Tom Z can give her that, good for her. He says they are working on both the 3A and a quad. This is an excellent time to do it since international events are iffy. It gives her extra time to work on the harder jumps before 2022.

 

[Coco]

Tom Z sure wasn't any help with Nagasu's URs.....

I disagree...her rotations were under an increasing microscope. They were always an issue, but starting around 2016, her rotations were noticeably improved, imo.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I mean, maybe this will work out?

But I think this was the single dumbest choice she could've made. Bradie's jumps are better than most US ladies. What she's critiqued on is her artistry or lack thereof - so she goes to a coach infamous for ignoring artistry in favor of tech content?

As I said in the Bradie fan page I disagree. Her PCS was higher or on par with the top three Russians. She had a transformation last season especially in short program. She already is a mature skater. She has some stiffness in her lower back but that’s just her body and won’t change no matter who works on her PCS. It’s just how her body moves.

If she wants to remain competitive and earn some world medals she needs a bump in the technical side, not the PCS side. I don’t see any argument there at all

When she has missed out on a medal or missed out on being in first place.... if you go back and if she had not had the under rotations she would have been a medalist or in first place. Never had I gone back and said wow if only her PCS was just a smidge higher…