Sasha's whole family to move to TT

[AxelAnnie22]

U.S. Olympic Skater changes coaches
story.news.yahoo.com/news...en_coach_2

OK - I am impressed. What a family!! I am really quite moved.

And, One thing I was worried about was an 18 year old kid striking out on her own 3000 miles away. I know kids do it all the time to go to college------that was my concern: PARTY FREEDOM FUN! Not only will she have access to some of the best skaters and coaches in the world, she will have the love, support and guidance of her family right there! UNSTOPPABLE is the word that comes to my mind

:P

[loveskating]

Hi AxelAnnie:

My thought as well.

This also means I might get to see Sasha skate more...its not that far to Connecticut!!!!

[AxelAnnie22]

Originally posted by loveskating
Hi AxelAnnie:

My thought as well.

This also means I might get to see Sasha skate more...its not that far to Connecticut!!!! My loss is your gain! I guess I will actually have to come visit my daughter in New York now!! :lol:

[pink roses]

There must have been many tears from everyone over this. It was obvious that Sasha loves John Nicks and he adores her. They have handled this move well.
It gives me chills to imagine how Sasha will do with TT, especially in a year or two. She will be unbeatable is my guess .What a loving family she has !

[Mayra]

I'd imagine that sacrifices are the norm in a skating family.

[loveskating]

I agree, skating families make lots of sacrifices to support their kid's dreams, but in this case, it could be that the family will be happier in this area. Galina Cohen will be close to a large Russian, Russian Jewish community in the NYC area, and I'm sure Mr. Cohen has gotten himself a wonderful job.

[Scott]

Believe me they won't have to go to NYC to be near a large Russian Community. North Central Connecticut has a very large commnity of Russians. The question is which rink will be hosting this skater. I have heard that the rink in Newington is closing due to financial issues. Someone once reported that T.T. and her skaters were moving to another rink in the area. Does anyone know what is going on with that?

[kar5162]

A few people now have reported seeing Tarasova and team training in Danbury. That could end up being a great opportunity. Danbury has a brand new (just opened last September) 2 rink facility. The rinks are clean and well maintained and the facilities are fairly spacious. In addition, since their programs are still in the development stages, they still have quite a bit of dead ice so there should be plenty of time to hold several elite sessions. On a selfish note - it's near NYC and I have relatives just outside of Danbury so I could go and watch quite easily.

Kim

[adrianchew]

Danbury is nearer to NYC indeed - that's the rink that I've heard about too - but I sure hope it gets sorted before they move in... if not there's a commute from Newington to Danbury daily.

[loveskating]

ROFL, Scott, we in NYC regard all of the lower half of CT as part of our "area"...and most of NJ and even a lot of PA.

[Anjelica]

I don't think this is anything many, many other skating families haven't done. Tanith Belbin's entire family for instance relocated from Canada to Detroit in order for Tanith to train with Igor. There are many other examples of families relocating.

[kara]

How far from NYC (or Philly) is Danbury? Thanks:) .

[adrianchew]

Danbury is probably about 1.5 hours from NYC (with traffic it can be ugly though).

[Scott]

Originally posted by adrianchew
Danbury is probably about 1.5 hours from NYC (with traffic it can be ugly though).

There is always traffic and it is awful! I've traveled that route many times and I would venture to say that the actual commute time from NYC to Danury would at best be 2 1/2 hours. Traffice into and out of Fairfield county from NYC area is mean and ugly. BTW Danbury is a very nice little City and is located near some of the most beautiful areas of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

[kar5162]

Well, I've driven it several times in under and hour, but not as part of the mornings into the city and evenings home...at those times it will take you forever. I would say 2.5 hours is more the max than the norm though. You can also take the Harlem line to Brewster (1 1/5 hours and about 10 miles away) or take connecting trains to Danbury (2 hours and the train station is right near the rink).

[adrianchew]

Well it took me 6 hours on a Friday afternoon/evening to get from home to Marlboro, MA (about an hour west of Boston)... and like 3-4 hours of that was bumper-to-bumper. And I thought 7 hours back in blinding snow in the middle of the night from Boston once was bad.

So far I've gotten lucky heading south - Newark, DE and Philly, PA seem easier to get to. I-95 southbound on the NJ turnpike does have traffic problems though especially during the day.

Trains are a good way to get around if you don't want to drive.

[skateflo]

Well I am in the Hartford area and Newington is one of the burbs. I have a close friend in Danbury and we have been following the whole saga of that rink.

While TT talks about NYC and music, the logistics of other things must be taken into account; housing and transportation to skating competitions. I would much rather fly out of Bradley/Htfd than have to deal with JFK, Lagardia, and Newark directly. When I go to Scotland, I fly Hartford to Newark and then overseas. Much less hassle.

I would love to see them go into ISCC in Simsbury as they would have an olympic surface, a huge ballet room, work-out room, etc. Maybe they are just city folk at heart.......ISCC could use some major talent there.

[adrianchew]

Isn't ISCC a little crowded though (coaches)... I'd guess that's probably going to be of concern for a coach with big name skaters under them... how much say they're going to get, etc.

All the airports are accessible - I can seem them using car services... probably the easiest way rather than trying to deal with traffic oneself. I would avoid JFK and lesser so La Guardia (which is mainly domestic though) but Newark is easy enough to deal with... especially if you're flying international.

I imagine they could still do Danbury to Bradley and then fly from there if they wanted to.

[Scott]

Flying wise Danbury is much more of a hassle. I agree that Simsbury would be a great choice. Near an Airport and great ice and training facilities and from what I hear a very supportive community.