If Arakawa is being coached by Tarasova

[Gingi1976]

What light does this shed on the REAL reason why Sasah and Tatiana split. Obviously there is more to the "illness" story.

[Samskate]

I was thinking the same thing and wondering about the real story too.

[fadedstardust]

Was it at Nationals this year that she started to talk about how it just wasn't working out rather than really focusing on the illness part of the story (Tarasova)? They had a quick interview with her...maybe it was Europeans. But I think everyone knows (or assumes, no one can REALLY know the truth) it has nothing to do with illness. Maybe she was too "sick" to put up with the temper Sasha seems to have when she's training (because unlike what I first thought before I met her, in social situations she's a sweetheart). Who really knows, and in the end, who really cares. I don't honestly think Robin is a good choice for Sasha simply because of the fact that it seems Robin isn't all that strict and it may be working now to keep Sasha calm but in the end Sasha will run the show and we all know she still needs a coach, every skater does. So who knows. But it looks pretty obvious that a) Tarasova was sick of Connecticut and b) her and Sasha weren't working out professionally. It keeps the skating gossip interesting though!! I think Tarasova is such an intense coach and Sasha is such an intense skater that it was bound to explode between the two of them. You gotta feel bad for these skaters bouncing around from coach to coach though, it must be hard when you are that good to find someone who can make you better, when none of those coaches probably ever got to the level these skaters are at. It will all work out for the best though, Sasha's got a clear head about what she wants. Who knows what it will be next?? Maybe she'll take the world for a spin and go back to Mr Nicks! ;)

-FadedStardust

[SkateFan123]

Originally posted by Bondo
I think it is tabloid mentality that keeps this discussion going. No one has any proof that Sasha and Tatiana were anything but amicable in their part. It is just a lot of people stepping up who want there to not be a simple explaination to a simple happening. Instead they try to make it some big deal, an indication about the individual skaters saying they are too stubborn or tempermental. I think this issues should just be forgotten about, the change has happened, get over it.

Bondo, aren't most posts here "tabloid mentality"???

[Gingi1976]

Then why not just say so? Why be so evasive? Not being honest is what sparks gossip in the first place.

Personally, I thought Tarasova was good for Sasha's skating and I don't think Robyn is the disciplinarian that she needs.

[sashathegreat]

Originally posted by Gingi1976
Then why not just say so? Why be so evasive? Not being honest is what sparks gossip in the first place.

Personally, I thought Tarasova was good for Sasha's skating and I don't think Robyn is the disciplinarian that she needs.

Personally, I don't think Sasha needs a "disciplinarian" - coach. Tarasova have praised Sasha's work ethics numerous times, and marveled that only true Olympic material - athletes work as hard, as Cohen.

Also, if break up happened because of Cohen being too temperamental, why won't Tarasova simply say so? On the contrary, Tatiana never uttered single bad word about Sasha, and refused to take a bait from Peter C., when he interviewed her at Europeans, when he (as it seemed to me, anyway), tried to pile up some dirt.

Think about it this way, Tarasova parted with quite a few students in the course of the past couple of years. Have anyone actually tried to suggest that skaters themselves were to blame? Also, quite obviously, TT was mostly absent from Simsbury in the past 2 months. She has a student, whom she accompanied to Russian Nationals and Europeans, and as a huge Sasha fan, I'm glad that Cohen have made a timely move to another coach, who was here in the US, personally preparing her for Worlds Championship.

It appears now as if both TT and SC have moved on with their lives, why can't some fans just do the same?

P.S. Here's an idea for those with "tabloid mentality." Start speculating, which Arakawa's character flaw have pushed Callahan to "dump" her in favor of Onda. (Just kidding).

[danibellerika]

More and more I actually believe Robin is an excellent coach for Sasha. The CoP already showed that Sasha is definately a dominant all around skater with the goods to be the best. Sasha's capable of landing everything physically. In practice she's perfect perfect. It's just some mental block that she has which allows her to crumble under pressure. You can see it on her face sometimes like for the Nats lp this year. But in the short, she looked unbelievably calm and centered and put out one of her best most solid performances of her career. She never skated like that with TT or even Nicks. Robin is onto something and I think her degree in psychology is going to be a big help in trying to get Sasha where she needs to be mentally allowing those practice skates to show through at the right time. Living with Robin is good b/c Sasha's closer to her and that builds trust and you get to know the person a lot better. Not to mention, Sasha's been having fun. I think that's just what she needs. She's already driven and disciplined. No coach needs to harness that rather just make it even better in the sense that those qualities will get her where she wants to be, which is on top.

Also, from the get go when Sasha went under TT's wing, Sasha was mainly focusing on impressing TT I believe. She wanted to skate up to her standards. With Robin, Sasha can just relax and focus on herself(at least that's what Robin wants her to do).

[skatepixie]

I dont think Sasha's problem in the LP at nats 04 was mental at all. It was clearly exaustion and illness. She had just had shingles...the doc didnt even expect her to be jumping yet. She did the short, but said she was really wiped out after and didnt even jump the next day. Id say the program she did was the result of *huge* willpower and mental prep, not mental weakness.

[danibellerika]

Exhaustion could contribute, but I'm sorry. When you see the look on her face before she performs sometimes, it's really hard to make me think that her inability to skate clean is soley physical. YOu have some people that run marathons. They can be absolutely tired by the end, but one thing that helps them get through it is the mental toughness.

[Roma]

Originally posted by Gingi1976

Personally, I thought Tarasova was good for Sasha's skating and I don't think Robyn is the disciplinarian that she needs.

Sasha Cohen is an adult and therefore should not have a 'disciplinarian.'

As a more general point, I can't understand why the public thinks we are owed any explanation of why a coach and athlete split. It doesn't matter to me if it is Sasha and Tatiana, Michelle and Frank, or anyone else. As far as I'm concerned it's a private matter between the 2 parties involved.

I thought this was going to be a thread about Arakawa.