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Elena Vaytsekhovskaya's interview with Polia Tsurskaya for ria.ru
EV: In one of your comments after switching to Buyanova you mentioned, that you had to face a completely new approach to the training process. What is it about, if it's not a secret?
PT: The work is much more individual. In my previous group we were in a constant competition. I.e. you saw what one person does on the ice, and try to do at least the same. In TSKA the coaches separate the athletes so they can work individually with each. Working individually on the jumps, the gliding, the choreography. Frankly, am not very fond of working on a competition. It doesn't suit me.
EV: It makes sense: when a lot of little girls are doing the same job and when the adult athlete who differs height and body type like you stood out. I can imagine only that would cause you problems.
PT: It did. I also had injuries. The coaches tried to pay some attention to my condition, sometimes I would do less, sometimes they allowed me to work the way it felt right, but when you in the group all the time you want to keep up with the others. You understand you should stop but you can't always. Hence sometimes it was my false the injuries became worse. You go out on the ice after the injury, see hwo everyone works, all in great shape, all jump and you start rushing. As a result I was never able to recover completely, it accumulated and became a snow ball
EV: How did the injury that prevented you from competing at JW 2016 happen?
PT: I was in a really good shape going into the competition, I won both JGP and the JPGF, the Russian junior cup and was 4th in the Russian nationals, but about 5 days before the JW I pulled my leg in off the ice while warming up and slightly tore the ligament. My leg swell so badly that for a couple of days I couldn’t' even skate. The coaches were doubting whether I should go to Drebecen and together with the ice rink management put the question to me: if am ready to skate - off we go, if not - we are withdrawing. But when you are getting ready for the competition, were on the 1-2 places the whole season it's really hard to give up the competition. I said I'll suffer it. In the practices before the SP I was jumping the usually, but there were a couple of bad landings, after which I realized I can hardly walk. So we had to withdrow.
EV: The decision to switch coaches at the end of the spring - was it yours or your parents'?
PT: Mine. I realized I have to change something fast. Perhaps not only the coach, but myself, the way I treat the practices, the general work approach. It seemed no matter what would be the decision I would have to leave the group. The parents were hesitating and were trying to prevent me from taking that step. I kept coming to the practices but one day came home and said `that's it'
EV: Didn't you mind you'd have to cross the whole Moscow to get to the practice?
PT: It doesn't matter much if there is a result. Many athletes don't live right in front of the rink and don't have the ideal conditions. But you do sacrifice things for the result.
EV: The injured back still causes problems?
PT: The back is such a thing that once it starts hurting it's for the rest of your life and you just have to keep it under control. It's not a broken bone that will heal. I have to pick the right exercises, work on my muscles, have massages. When it became bad the doctors created a list of moves I had to do every day. For a while I have been following their instructions. Am used to the fact I have to come 20-30 minutes earlier to the practice so I'll have time for the right warm up, work on the muscles and stretch. I also work for about 10 minutes on my back before the 2nd ice session. After the practices I try to stretch my back really well, so the muscles will be back to the right state. In the breaks I can go to a massage, sometimes to a manual therapist. Besides, my mom is a doctor, so she keeps an eye on my bac
EV: How smooth the programmes choreographing go?
PT: Quite the opposite - it was quite hard. I switched to the new coach at the end of the season when the schedules which skater choreographs when were tight, hence there was no spare time window for me. Elena Germanovna was also considering for a while whether to accept me to the group or not. She knew I was injured and was afraid I will not be able to work full force and take the stress. So there were no talks about the new programmes at first at all. Later we decided we'll do the programmes in a training camp in Courmayeur, but it happened that Tarasova and Nikita Mikhailov, who I planned working with couldn't come to Italy. Hence we were working on my strength - I would do the run through of the old programmes, worked on the jumps and the technique so I would have in a good shape entering the season.
EV: A tough situation.
PT: True, sometimes I was really worried everyone were working on the new programmes and I was nowhere near. I was also worried before going to choreograph with Tatiana Tarasova. The great Tarasova herself! I never worked with her before and didn't know how it would be. It turned out to be very simple. Nikita was showing the moves, Tatiana Anatolievna was correcting and explaining what she wants to see.
It was a different thing I had a hard time to get used to. In the previous group we were working on the element entrances with the jumps. It's the process that took an hour and half in the morning and in the evening and after a couple of days we were done. Here the choreographing went on on a different ice, without the jumps and took about 4-5 hours. The first 3 days my muscles hurt so badly I was almost limping to the rink. I was comforting with a thought it might hurt, but at least am working on my muscles.
EV: I know Buyanova always works a lot on the gliding
PT: That's right. But I do love the gliding. I love skating. I think I improved a lot in the gliding and the programmes presentation. We'll see how it will work on the test skates.
EV: What do you think about when you see the little girl jump the quads? Here is my sports death?
PT: No, why? We can compete with everyone. The key word is not the quads, but the little girls. Who will grow up and mature. Then we'll see the results.
EV: Was the puberty hard for you?
PT: I was always rather tall for my age. When I first came with my parents to Eteri Tutberidze's group she looked at me, at my mom and my dad and even asked `you sure you'll cope?'. So well, we did cope for all that time. It never happened to me I grew 15cm a season. I always grew in stages. Hence there was no fear I would not be able to control my body. Now for the 2nd season my height remained the same. I also don't have to starve to keep in shape.
EV: Does your mom take care of your diet as well?
PT: She used to. She trusts me with it now.
EV: Does your mom come to your practices?
PT: It's not common in TSKA. She used to come, especially since we live right in front of my old rink. But since she works coming to the practices to TSKA is not really convenient. Perhaps to the competitions
EV: I know there are skaters who hate it when their loved ones come to their competitions - it's an additional stress.
PT: Am used to it, even though I do try talking about it from time to time. Though it's not really serious. I know mom loves watching figure skating even when am not on the ice- she just loves it. And I shouldn't pay attention to it. My goal is to go out and do my job. It shouldn’t matter who is watching.
EV: In one of your comments after switching to Buyanova you mentioned, that you had to face a completely new approach to the training process. What is it about, if it's not a secret?
PT: The work is much more individual. In my previous group we were in a constant competition. I.e. you saw what one person does on the ice, and try to do at least the same. In TSKA the coaches separate the athletes so they can work individually with each. Working individually on the jumps, the gliding, the choreography. Frankly, am not very fond of working on a competition. It doesn't suit me.
EV: It makes sense: when a lot of little girls are doing the same job and when the adult athlete who differs height and body type like you stood out. I can imagine only that would cause you problems.
PT: It did. I also had injuries. The coaches tried to pay some attention to my condition, sometimes I would do less, sometimes they allowed me to work the way it felt right, but when you in the group all the time you want to keep up with the others. You understand you should stop but you can't always. Hence sometimes it was my false the injuries became worse. You go out on the ice after the injury, see hwo everyone works, all in great shape, all jump and you start rushing. As a result I was never able to recover completely, it accumulated and became a snow ball
EV: How did the injury that prevented you from competing at JW 2016 happen?
PT: I was in a really good shape going into the competition, I won both JGP and the JPGF, the Russian junior cup and was 4th in the Russian nationals, but about 5 days before the JW I pulled my leg in off the ice while warming up and slightly tore the ligament. My leg swell so badly that for a couple of days I couldn’t' even skate. The coaches were doubting whether I should go to Drebecen and together with the ice rink management put the question to me: if am ready to skate - off we go, if not - we are withdrawing. But when you are getting ready for the competition, were on the 1-2 places the whole season it's really hard to give up the competition. I said I'll suffer it. In the practices before the SP I was jumping the usually, but there were a couple of bad landings, after which I realized I can hardly walk. So we had to withdrow.
EV: The decision to switch coaches at the end of the spring - was it yours or your parents'?
PT: Mine. I realized I have to change something fast. Perhaps not only the coach, but myself, the way I treat the practices, the general work approach. It seemed no matter what would be the decision I would have to leave the group. The parents were hesitating and were trying to prevent me from taking that step. I kept coming to the practices but one day came home and said `that's it'
EV: Didn't you mind you'd have to cross the whole Moscow to get to the practice?
PT: It doesn't matter much if there is a result. Many athletes don't live right in front of the rink and don't have the ideal conditions. But you do sacrifice things for the result.
EV: The injured back still causes problems?
PT: The back is such a thing that once it starts hurting it's for the rest of your life and you just have to keep it under control. It's not a broken bone that will heal. I have to pick the right exercises, work on my muscles, have massages. When it became bad the doctors created a list of moves I had to do every day. For a while I have been following their instructions. Am used to the fact I have to come 20-30 minutes earlier to the practice so I'll have time for the right warm up, work on the muscles and stretch. I also work for about 10 minutes on my back before the 2nd ice session. After the practices I try to stretch my back really well, so the muscles will be back to the right state. In the breaks I can go to a massage, sometimes to a manual therapist. Besides, my mom is a doctor, so she keeps an eye on my bac
EV: How smooth the programmes choreographing go?
PT: Quite the opposite - it was quite hard. I switched to the new coach at the end of the season when the schedules which skater choreographs when were tight, hence there was no spare time window for me. Elena Germanovna was also considering for a while whether to accept me to the group or not. She knew I was injured and was afraid I will not be able to work full force and take the stress. So there were no talks about the new programmes at first at all. Later we decided we'll do the programmes in a training camp in Courmayeur, but it happened that Tarasova and Nikita Mikhailov, who I planned working with couldn't come to Italy. Hence we were working on my strength - I would do the run through of the old programmes, worked on the jumps and the technique so I would have in a good shape entering the season.
EV: A tough situation.
PT: True, sometimes I was really worried everyone were working on the new programmes and I was nowhere near. I was also worried before going to choreograph with Tatiana Tarasova. The great Tarasova herself! I never worked with her before and didn't know how it would be. It turned out to be very simple. Nikita was showing the moves, Tatiana Anatolievna was correcting and explaining what she wants to see.
It was a different thing I had a hard time to get used to. In the previous group we were working on the element entrances with the jumps. It's the process that took an hour and half in the morning and in the evening and after a couple of days we were done. Here the choreographing went on on a different ice, without the jumps and took about 4-5 hours. The first 3 days my muscles hurt so badly I was almost limping to the rink. I was comforting with a thought it might hurt, but at least am working on my muscles.
EV: I know Buyanova always works a lot on the gliding
PT: That's right. But I do love the gliding. I love skating. I think I improved a lot in the gliding and the programmes presentation. We'll see how it will work on the test skates.
EV: What do you think about when you see the little girl jump the quads? Here is my sports death?
PT: No, why? We can compete with everyone. The key word is not the quads, but the little girls. Who will grow up and mature. Then we'll see the results.
EV: Was the puberty hard for you?
PT: I was always rather tall for my age. When I first came with my parents to Eteri Tutberidze's group she looked at me, at my mom and my dad and even asked `you sure you'll cope?'. So well, we did cope for all that time. It never happened to me I grew 15cm a season. I always grew in stages. Hence there was no fear I would not be able to control my body. Now for the 2nd season my height remained the same. I also don't have to starve to keep in shape.
EV: Does your mom take care of your diet as well?
PT: She used to. She trusts me with it now.
EV: Does your mom come to your practices?
PT: It's not common in TSKA. She used to come, especially since we live right in front of my old rink. But since she works coming to the practices to TSKA is not really convenient. Perhaps to the competitions
EV: I know there are skaters who hate it when their loved ones come to their competitions - it's an additional stress.
PT: Am used to it, even though I do try talking about it from time to time. Though it's not really serious. I know mom loves watching figure skating even when am not on the ice- she just loves it. And I shouldn't pay attention to it. My goal is to go out and do my job. It shouldn’t matter who is watching.
So Polina is basically talking about training while at Sambo-70, and that "coaches/Eteri/etc." paid attention to her injuries, tried to reduce her load, or to allow her do what felt right, but Polina was eager to compete against the others, took on a greater load than health and, as she says it "was never able to recover completely".
