Alysa Liu Switches to Colorado Coaching Team

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
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55,381
Isn't it odd to make a major change in the middle of a season? Not saying others have not done it, but this sounds like a knee jerk reaction to me. However, May be they were already planning to switch?
 

skatingguy

decently
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18,386
That's too bad. Things seemed to be headed in a good direction this season, and I don't see how a switch to Colorado improves her skating. We haven't seen any of the Colorado skaters really being successful, consistent, or improving their technique or artistry the way that Liu was this season. Do we know specifically who she will be working with?
 

aka_gerbil

Rooting for the Underdogs
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4,713
This feels knee-jerk to me as well. Yes, work needs to be done on the jumps, but the other aspects of her skating have improved leaps and bounds.

The jumps are going to take time to fix, rework, so doing this now just before the Olympics doesn’t seem like it’s going to do much good.
 

thvu

Usova's Apprentice
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8,515
Oh boy... Do we know WHO in Colorado? Tom Z & Tammy G have Bradie and Karen and, frankly, if Arthur was going to move Alysa to another coach, I'd rather he'd have taken her to Rafael.
I could see Raphael saying no if asked. Arthur very well may have tried. Raphael thinks improvements through his coaching takes 2 years to fully bake, and I would imagine Arthur is not okay with that timeline.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
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36,131
I could see Raphael saying no if asked. Arthur very well may have tried.
In the middle of the season, when he is focused on Nathan, yes, I could see him saying yes also. Which is why I'm stunned that TPTB at USFS would signal to Arthur that this is a good move, right now. It's a kneejerk reaction and it will take more time to fix her UR issues than the next 10 weeks or so until the Olympics.
 

Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
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43,982
If I had to guess -- probably all the hype got to her dad and he unrealistically expected her to be scoring much higher this season. But I'm afraid of this backfiring. I hope it doesn't end up making things worse.
 

jiejie

Well-Known Member
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884
Yep, my guess is Broadmoor/Christy Krall. She worked with Patrick Chan back in the day. Possibly Damon Allen will do a tag team.

This may not be a disaster. Neither Scali nor Abbott struck me as the ones to help her cure those underrotations.
 

Rukia

A Southern, hot-blooded temperamental individual
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21,724
Think about all the hype she got early season. They were probably thinking Olympic podium was at least possible. Not medaling in the deep SC field was one thing, but they must have really panicked when she didn't medal at NHK with no Russians.
But surely someone (USFSA even) would step in and say, "Hey, I know this isn't great, but also switching coaches 2 months before nationals doesn't usually work out the way you want." Idk it makes zero sense to me. Work your rotations and then wait until next season if you think you have to switch.
 

Debbie S

Well-Known Member
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15,485
Housing is available at the US Olympic Training Center. USFS seems to want Broadmoor to be a go-to training center for top skaters, either summer or full-time. I have no idea why they steer their top women to Tom Z et al....other than Mirai's 3A, how have they helped anyone improve?
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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35,793
Swapping coaches, when things are not going well for only a couple of months, doesn't give me a lot of confidence in whoever is calling the shots for her career. Not sure if it's Alysa herself or the people around her, but this could be more disruptive to her than helpful.
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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58,281
Oh, great, another figure skating dad deciding he knows best for the skater. Michelle Kwan 2.0...
I got the impression that was more Kwan flipping out before the Olympics and her dad not being able to talk her out of it. He sometimes had that look in the KnC that I get when my children tell me they want to do something crazy, but I want to be supportive and not crush their dreams. :lol:

This seems more like the Dad flipping out as Alyssa seems to have a really good relationship with her coaches. I also can't see USFS being happy about this.
 

misskarne

Handy Emergency Backup Mode
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23,456
But surely someone (USFSA even) would step in and say, "Hey, I know this isn't great, but also switching coaches 2 months before nationals doesn't usually work out the way you want." Idk it makes zero sense to me. Work your rotations and then wait until next season if you think you have to switch.
They either didn't stop Gracie or outright encouraged her in 2013 to switch to Frank Carroll...so it's not like they don't have form in this area.
 

Mayra

Well-Known Member
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9,004
What? It's awfully close to an Olympics to be making such a huge change.
The goal for her always seems to have been to peak at the Olympics. She's not improving fast enough for those pushing her and those jumps aren't getting better. They're short af.

Reality is, with her growth spurt and the changes she has gone through, her current trajectory had her peaking sometime circa Worlds or IMO next season. Not good enough for some.

Hope it works out for her in the long run. :yikes:
 

centerpt1

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,323
Alysa looked fatigued at NHK. Altitude training should help with stamina. To me, she seemed to be improving more before she started going to Italy. Maybe they thought she needed OTC support? Maybe Scali et al didn't want to push her as hard as her Dad wanted? I just hope she doesn't get injured. She made rapid improvement.....we'll see where it goes from here.

It also makes me think the rumors are true, and she will retire after this season.
 
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jiejie

Well-Known Member
Messages
884
I got the impression that was more Kwan flipping out before the Olympics and her dad not being able to talk her out of it. He sometimes had that look in the KnC that I get when my children tell me they want to do something crazy, but I want to be supportive and not crush their dreams. :lol:

This seems more like the Dad flipping out as Alyssa seems to have a really good relationship with her coaches. I also can't see USFS being happy about this.
I never got that impression. Michelle wasn't the "flipping out" type. I will always be convinced that the reason was money--that Frank C. gave Danny Kwan an ultimatum that he wanted a percentage of Michelle's future earnings, as a condition of coaching her the rest of the way to the Olympics and beyond. Danny said no way and adios. The protagonists' lips are sealed so we will never know.

This feels like a completely different situation, and yes, Papa Liu s probably beyond anxious that Alyssa couldn't even manage to medal at a competition with no Russians.
 

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