TAHbKA
Cats and garlic lover
- Messages
- 20,871
Elena Vaytsekhovskaya's interview with Elena Ilinykh `I do boxing at the weekends' for sport-express.ru
We set the interview date in advance, while Elena was training full time in Detroit, understanding it's probably her last chance to change her sport life. This is what we started the conversation with.
EV: Formally your and Ruslan's move to the USA at the end of Februaty was put as a short term camp. Did you and Ruslan feel in any way you might not come to terms with the new coach?
EI: More like we both understood how hard it will be. I knew where I was going, after all I skated in Igor's group as a kid and was familiar with his system, but the reality was completely different. Perhaps because as a kid you don't take things as seriously.
EV: Talking about your work with Spilband you mentioned several times the system there is very different from what you are used to. What is the difference?
EI: First of all the schedule - starting with having to wake up at 5.45. When Ruslan and I came to Detroit Igor was working full time towards the Worlds, his skaters were running through their programmes at 6-6.30am. For us the sheer skate is a stress. It is supposed to be something to set yourself for, to be prepared. People there just go out there and do their job. 6am? Fine, 6am it is.
Igor has a very detailed plan for each practice day for each pair, working with many specialists. There are 4 of them on the ice, besides them there is a shape coach, lifts coach, ballroom dancers, ballet and we also had a choreographer from France. I.e. from 6am till 5pm during 3 months we had every minute scheduled including an 1.5hours rest in the middle of the day.
EV: Did you have enough time to go home?
EI: We realized fast in that scheduled going back and forth was a waste of time. We rested on the rink in a special room, brought the food there from home. Igor said in advance he'll try to give us as much as he can in these 3 months and the fact we were able to do all he had in mind was quite cool.
EV: There are plenty of schools in Russia with various specialists, but all and all they are not even nearly showing the results as they do in the USA and Canada.
EI: I've been thinking quite often recently the coach can give the pupils as much information as they can: the knowledge, the experience, but if the skater is not ready to absorb it and look for a new sources of perfections outside the training circuit there will be no outstanding result. I think that's the core difference between the Russian and the American approaches. I.e. in understanding what do you want to achieve in the sport. I can see the other Spilband's groups: they are trying to milk the specialists for all they can every practice. Besides everyone study outside the rink. One is painting, one is learning a foreign language, someone take additional dancing classes. And it's not only Igor's pupils.
It's not that the Russian skaters don't want to work or don't know how to work. It's just that the system is such that the skater comes to the rink and in the best case does all the coach ask them to. The practice is over - everyone exhales and go to their separate business. In the USA I found myself really enjoying the work for the first time, and that while Ruslan and I had a really hard training schedule. We had breaks on Saturdays and Sundays and I was missing the practices so badly I went to a boxing group. And most importantly - I started living the ice and was surprised to realize the more I work the less tired I get.
EV: Are you worried your partner might not take all that stress?
EI: I spoke about it with Ruslan one weekend. I was interested what he thinks of the state of the affairs. I was saying something along the lines it's so hard in the USA, we have to work so much, and he suddenly replied `But it's great!'
EV: What have changed for you in these 3 months?
EI: First of all the way I think and treat the work. In other words I understood how I should be working if I want to progress and develop as an athlete. And win, of course.
EV: When you came to Bratislava to talk to Spilband in January did you mind he was not ready to guarantee he would be 100% working with you?
EI: I did deep down. It was the main reason for hesitation whether we'll stay or leave the USA after 3 months. Will we have enough of the coach's attention? When we were working with Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova in Moscow we got used for the coaches giving us as much time as if we were their children - it's something we will always be grateful for.
As for Detroit - we didn't feel a lack of attention even once. Igor's system is very professionally built: even when he goes to a competition or is not in Detroit he is in touch by email or a phone with all his skaters and changes the schedule if needed. And as I already mentioned he works with many specialists. For example Igor's wife Adriann is working on the twizzles and spins for an hour every day. She is making a video of every element and we are having a detailed talk after. There is another coach for gliding.
I'm also so thrilled we had a chance to work with Fabian Bourzat. In the past when he and Nathalie Pechalat trained together with Nikita Katsalapov and I in Alexandr Zhulin's group he always helped us with the lifts. He did the lifts so great and he was explaining it so well - I was always curious whether he'll become a coach when he retires. He is an amazing specialist. He knows such things about figure skating no one even notices. And, most importantly, he can explain the elements which he never even did himself. He once said to me: unfortunately you start understanding many things after you retire and when it's too late to change anything. Hence he is so strict to Ruslan and I now.
EV: At what moment have you decided to stay in Detroit and keep working full time with Spilband?
EI: We had that conversation at the end of our state in the USA. Of course Ruslan and I spoke of our future during these 3 months, but not so much - there was no time for talks.
EV: Have you thought even once what would you do if you run out of money?
EI: Frankly, no. We understood the work is going well, Igor is satisfied and if that's the case we should not worry about the finances. We saw that no one is trying to save on our trainings: we needed a choreographer from France and it was done. So the decision about us staying with Igor and keeping working together was an obvious conclusion.
EV: What is the next `check time'?
EI: None. I don't see a point thinking in advance - the athlete's life is rather unpredictable, and we still have so much to learn?
EV: Who came up with the LP idea and would you reveal it?
EI: I can't yet reveal it and it was Igor's idea. It was quite out of blue: we were thinking of the LP but there was no idea yet. One was written off because of the not expressive music, another - too overused, the 3rd we were worried it might not suit Ruslan and I. It went on for so long that I was almost in tears - the elements were done, the transitions were done and there was not even a hint of the dance! When Igor came back from Boston he put a music on and said he can see us doing that theme.
I was a bit uncomfortable at the beginning, frankly. After all am used to usually be the one to come up with the dance idea. But after some thinking I came to a conclusion Igor is right. Should we experiment with the themes - when if not this season? So we'll see how that will work out.
EV: As far as I know your SP was choreographed quite fast, but then a question: having 2 ready programmes, what do you need Antonio Najarro for?
EI: I would really love to work with Antonio on the moves, to get an additional set of choreographing emotions. Perhaps add some moves to both programmes. Blues is a very interesting dance after all. Once Antonio and I were dancing on a ship when he came to Moscow and while I was showing him a city - it was then that I understood what is this dance about.
EV: What?
EI: Everyone around has to want to be one of the dancers: all the ladies should envy the female dancer and all the men - the male. But for that the dance shouldn't even be taken as a sports programme, right? And that's not every choreographer can teach.
Of course working with Najarro was decided together with Igor and he was very supportive about it. And it's not as if we would change the training schedule to work with Antonio - Ruslan and I will spend part of our vacation in Madrid. Antonio is the head of Madrid ballet and is now working there on a new show, so we will be working with him in the theatre. We found an ice rink we can work on there, so it's all set and scheduled.
EV: Are your programmes a secret for those who work in Spilband's team?
EI: Of course not.
EV: So what's the point not revealing?
EI: I know from my experience once the Russian fans know what is the theme the internet explodes with mainly negative remarks. People start discussing how bad is the music, how bad the programme will be, that we'll fail, that we should had chosen more obvious pieces etc. We don't want all that negative in advance. In the USA the athletes usually don't keep the music in secret. Madison and Evan, for example, already revealed their music and received many supportive replies. In general those who are not afraid something new are supported here. Even the judges when they come to the rink to see the programmes are saying positive things to the skaters. Everything that they disliked or needs to be worked on they tell the coaches only. I think it's the right approach.
EV: I still don't understand how is that the same coach can work with several good teams in the USA or Canada, while in Russia it's never a case?
EI: I think it's about the way they take the practices. When the athlete understands they need to develop themselves and the coach is an instrument for their development, who cares who skates alongside you? Everyone gets the same amount of the coach's attention: everyone receives a daily plan for the next day, every thing can be corrected or discussed, no one is bothering the others: some work on the ice, some on the dance floor and some with the acrobats.
EV: Speaking of which - how is your work with the acrobats is going?
EI: Much better than previously. During these months we worked with the same specialist we were working in Moscow. It's just a huge difference working on the lifts for 2 weeks a year vs working on acrobatics systematically for an hour a day. This is what we start the day with : acrobatic work out and working on the lifts off the ice, then on the ice with Fabian. He always first tries a new lift himself with me, to make sure all the moves are comfortable and not dangerous.
EV: Have you decided which competitions you'll participate at the beginning of the season before the GP?
EI: Yes. We have all the practice skates of both programmes scheduled for the next 2 months and then we'd love to go to a B competition and try out. But first we have to be ready for the test skates in Sochi.
EV: How ready do you plan to be there?
EI: As ready as we can. Of course it will be hard, but it's one of our goals. Besides, all the `challenger' and B competitions will be taking place more or less that time.
EV: Did you settle down? I mean the medical insurance as well.
EI: We have the medical insurance, we have masseurs and physio. Being in the USA, by the way, teaches treating your health differently. In Russia we are used to having the physio and a masseur on the ice all the time, but it's not the case here. Your health is your business. If you need a specialist you have to make a call and set an appointment. Hence you must be able to explain what bothers you. It disciplines and teaches listening to your body.
As for the rest... I was really afraid leaving Moscow. After all my mom, brother, grandmother, friends, the usual routine, which everyone gets into are here. When I got on the plane I kept repeating a line from Vladimir Vyssotski's song `There might be big changes ahead, but I will never be fond of them' in my head. Yet once Ruslan and I landed in Detroit and people started leaving the plane I was smiling. Perhaps it's the reason even when things are hard they are not really much of a problem.
We set the interview date in advance, while Elena was training full time in Detroit, understanding it's probably her last chance to change her sport life. This is what we started the conversation with.
EV: Formally your and Ruslan's move to the USA at the end of Februaty was put as a short term camp. Did you and Ruslan feel in any way you might not come to terms with the new coach?
EI: More like we both understood how hard it will be. I knew where I was going, after all I skated in Igor's group as a kid and was familiar with his system, but the reality was completely different. Perhaps because as a kid you don't take things as seriously.
EV: Talking about your work with Spilband you mentioned several times the system there is very different from what you are used to. What is the difference?
EI: First of all the schedule - starting with having to wake up at 5.45. When Ruslan and I came to Detroit Igor was working full time towards the Worlds, his skaters were running through their programmes at 6-6.30am. For us the sheer skate is a stress. It is supposed to be something to set yourself for, to be prepared. People there just go out there and do their job. 6am? Fine, 6am it is.
Igor has a very detailed plan for each practice day for each pair, working with many specialists. There are 4 of them on the ice, besides them there is a shape coach, lifts coach, ballroom dancers, ballet and we also had a choreographer from France. I.e. from 6am till 5pm during 3 months we had every minute scheduled including an 1.5hours rest in the middle of the day.
EV: Did you have enough time to go home?
EI: We realized fast in that scheduled going back and forth was a waste of time. We rested on the rink in a special room, brought the food there from home. Igor said in advance he'll try to give us as much as he can in these 3 months and the fact we were able to do all he had in mind was quite cool.
EV: There are plenty of schools in Russia with various specialists, but all and all they are not even nearly showing the results as they do in the USA and Canada.
EI: I've been thinking quite often recently the coach can give the pupils as much information as they can: the knowledge, the experience, but if the skater is not ready to absorb it and look for a new sources of perfections outside the training circuit there will be no outstanding result. I think that's the core difference between the Russian and the American approaches. I.e. in understanding what do you want to achieve in the sport. I can see the other Spilband's groups: they are trying to milk the specialists for all they can every practice. Besides everyone study outside the rink. One is painting, one is learning a foreign language, someone take additional dancing classes. And it's not only Igor's pupils.
It's not that the Russian skaters don't want to work or don't know how to work. It's just that the system is such that the skater comes to the rink and in the best case does all the coach ask them to. The practice is over - everyone exhales and go to their separate business. In the USA I found myself really enjoying the work for the first time, and that while Ruslan and I had a really hard training schedule. We had breaks on Saturdays and Sundays and I was missing the practices so badly I went to a boxing group. And most importantly - I started living the ice and was surprised to realize the more I work the less tired I get.
EV: Are you worried your partner might not take all that stress?
EI: I spoke about it with Ruslan one weekend. I was interested what he thinks of the state of the affairs. I was saying something along the lines it's so hard in the USA, we have to work so much, and he suddenly replied `But it's great!'
EV: What have changed for you in these 3 months?
EI: First of all the way I think and treat the work. In other words I understood how I should be working if I want to progress and develop as an athlete. And win, of course.
EV: When you came to Bratislava to talk to Spilband in January did you mind he was not ready to guarantee he would be 100% working with you?
EI: I did deep down. It was the main reason for hesitation whether we'll stay or leave the USA after 3 months. Will we have enough of the coach's attention? When we were working with Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova in Moscow we got used for the coaches giving us as much time as if we were their children - it's something we will always be grateful for.
As for Detroit - we didn't feel a lack of attention even once. Igor's system is very professionally built: even when he goes to a competition or is not in Detroit he is in touch by email or a phone with all his skaters and changes the schedule if needed. And as I already mentioned he works with many specialists. For example Igor's wife Adriann is working on the twizzles and spins for an hour every day. She is making a video of every element and we are having a detailed talk after. There is another coach for gliding.
I'm also so thrilled we had a chance to work with Fabian Bourzat. In the past when he and Nathalie Pechalat trained together with Nikita Katsalapov and I in Alexandr Zhulin's group he always helped us with the lifts. He did the lifts so great and he was explaining it so well - I was always curious whether he'll become a coach when he retires. He is an amazing specialist. He knows such things about figure skating no one even notices. And, most importantly, he can explain the elements which he never even did himself. He once said to me: unfortunately you start understanding many things after you retire and when it's too late to change anything. Hence he is so strict to Ruslan and I now.
EV: At what moment have you decided to stay in Detroit and keep working full time with Spilband?
EI: We had that conversation at the end of our state in the USA. Of course Ruslan and I spoke of our future during these 3 months, but not so much - there was no time for talks.
EV: Have you thought even once what would you do if you run out of money?
EI: Frankly, no. We understood the work is going well, Igor is satisfied and if that's the case we should not worry about the finances. We saw that no one is trying to save on our trainings: we needed a choreographer from France and it was done. So the decision about us staying with Igor and keeping working together was an obvious conclusion.
EV: What is the next `check time'?
EI: None. I don't see a point thinking in advance - the athlete's life is rather unpredictable, and we still have so much to learn?
EV: Who came up with the LP idea and would you reveal it?
EI: I can't yet reveal it and it was Igor's idea. It was quite out of blue: we were thinking of the LP but there was no idea yet. One was written off because of the not expressive music, another - too overused, the 3rd we were worried it might not suit Ruslan and I. It went on for so long that I was almost in tears - the elements were done, the transitions were done and there was not even a hint of the dance! When Igor came back from Boston he put a music on and said he can see us doing that theme.
I was a bit uncomfortable at the beginning, frankly. After all am used to usually be the one to come up with the dance idea. But after some thinking I came to a conclusion Igor is right. Should we experiment with the themes - when if not this season? So we'll see how that will work out.
EV: As far as I know your SP was choreographed quite fast, but then a question: having 2 ready programmes, what do you need Antonio Najarro for?
EI: I would really love to work with Antonio on the moves, to get an additional set of choreographing emotions. Perhaps add some moves to both programmes. Blues is a very interesting dance after all. Once Antonio and I were dancing on a ship when he came to Moscow and while I was showing him a city - it was then that I understood what is this dance about.
EV: What?
EI: Everyone around has to want to be one of the dancers: all the ladies should envy the female dancer and all the men - the male. But for that the dance shouldn't even be taken as a sports programme, right? And that's not every choreographer can teach.
Of course working with Najarro was decided together with Igor and he was very supportive about it. And it's not as if we would change the training schedule to work with Antonio - Ruslan and I will spend part of our vacation in Madrid. Antonio is the head of Madrid ballet and is now working there on a new show, so we will be working with him in the theatre. We found an ice rink we can work on there, so it's all set and scheduled.
EV: Are your programmes a secret for those who work in Spilband's team?
EI: Of course not.
EV: So what's the point not revealing?
EI: I know from my experience once the Russian fans know what is the theme the internet explodes with mainly negative remarks. People start discussing how bad is the music, how bad the programme will be, that we'll fail, that we should had chosen more obvious pieces etc. We don't want all that negative in advance. In the USA the athletes usually don't keep the music in secret. Madison and Evan, for example, already revealed their music and received many supportive replies. In general those who are not afraid something new are supported here. Even the judges when they come to the rink to see the programmes are saying positive things to the skaters. Everything that they disliked or needs to be worked on they tell the coaches only. I think it's the right approach.
EV: I still don't understand how is that the same coach can work with several good teams in the USA or Canada, while in Russia it's never a case?
EI: I think it's about the way they take the practices. When the athlete understands they need to develop themselves and the coach is an instrument for their development, who cares who skates alongside you? Everyone gets the same amount of the coach's attention: everyone receives a daily plan for the next day, every thing can be corrected or discussed, no one is bothering the others: some work on the ice, some on the dance floor and some with the acrobats.
EV: Speaking of which - how is your work with the acrobats is going?
EI: Much better than previously. During these months we worked with the same specialist we were working in Moscow. It's just a huge difference working on the lifts for 2 weeks a year vs working on acrobatics systematically for an hour a day. This is what we start the day with : acrobatic work out and working on the lifts off the ice, then on the ice with Fabian. He always first tries a new lift himself with me, to make sure all the moves are comfortable and not dangerous.
EV: Have you decided which competitions you'll participate at the beginning of the season before the GP?
EI: Yes. We have all the practice skates of both programmes scheduled for the next 2 months and then we'd love to go to a B competition and try out. But first we have to be ready for the test skates in Sochi.
EV: How ready do you plan to be there?
EI: As ready as we can. Of course it will be hard, but it's one of our goals. Besides, all the `challenger' and B competitions will be taking place more or less that time.
EV: Did you settle down? I mean the medical insurance as well.
EI: We have the medical insurance, we have masseurs and physio. Being in the USA, by the way, teaches treating your health differently. In Russia we are used to having the physio and a masseur on the ice all the time, but it's not the case here. Your health is your business. If you need a specialist you have to make a call and set an appointment. Hence you must be able to explain what bothers you. It disciplines and teaches listening to your body.
As for the rest... I was really afraid leaving Moscow. After all my mom, brother, grandmother, friends, the usual routine, which everyone gets into are here. When I got on the plane I kept repeating a line from Vladimir Vyssotski's song `There might be big changes ahead, but I will never be fond of them' in my head. Yet once Ruslan and I landed in Detroit and people started leaving the plane I was smiling. Perhaps it's the reason even when things are hard they are not really much of a problem.
It was a very interesting read, especially the part about the differences between the Russian and US training system.
I hate his approach to constructing programs more than anything in this sport. It drives me nuts and brings out resentment. 
), but I thought together they gave these pairs some sort of look that worked for them with the judges. BelGosto OTOH were a pair that, beyond their technical issues, never found a clear artistic voice for themselves. Same for Punsalan/Swallow, except Oblivion. And I think it's telling that Oblivion seemed to happen as a sort of last ditch effort, where he desperately threw something together after their usual cringeworthy Latin wannabe FD had flopped. But by then their career had basically stalled at least in part because Igor gave them subpar program after subpar program. The same seems to be happening with C/B now, a pair who can't make the last step to the top because they can't find an identity. None of that is an issue for I/Z yet of course, they need clean up more than anything.
