Chapter 110 The Opportunity to Win a Gold Medal While Absent Has Arrived
"One more time."
Xia Yuezi raised the bar in her hand and exerted a little force, preparing Yang Yiyan to jump 3A again.
After the finals, Xia Yuezi revised a short-term development plan based on the strengths and weaknesses of the children in her group, aiming to help them reach their best form in the second half of the season.
For example, Feng Simai would practice his emotions, and sometimes when he was in a good state, he would try the 4S consecutive jump. Yan Rui would focus on the theme of "girlish heart" and help her to transform her original emotions more.
As for Yang Yiyan, Xia Yuezi consulted with the contestant herself and helped her gradually resume 3A training.
The purpose of having her practice the triple A jump now is not to make her regain this jump this season, but to help her get back into the feel for the triple A jump. Xia Yuezi is being given a lot of time; as long as she regains it before the Olympic season arrives, that's fine.
After all, Yang Yiyan will be taking the college entrance examination in June this year, so her mother has tightened her schedule. Half of the evening self-study time that she usually uses for training has been cut to study. She even squeezed in time to participate in the National Championships at the end of December, without any deliberate preparation.
If it weren't for the fact that the National Championships determined the spots for the later events, and Yang Yiyan's current form and performance weren't good enough to warrant an exception from the leadership to give her a spot, she probably wouldn't even want to participate in this competition.
Yang Yiyan supported herself on her knees, her forehead damp with sweat, but upon hearing the coach's words, she immediately rallied.
Her current muscle mass is sufficient to support her in completing this jump, even a full rotation, during land training, and she can also do a full rotation on the ice, but she hasn't yet been able to land on the ice.
As Yang Yiyan took another step forward, Xia Yuezi gripped the bar tightly. In the instant she flew out, she tightened her grip, and then with a "whoosh," she lost her balance and veered to the right. Finally, she was pulled back by the bar and turned to stand still. The ice marks were short and deep.
Xia Yuezi glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost six o'clock in the evening. She gripped the hoisting equipment with one hand and said, "That's enough for today. Your mother said no one is home right now, so you should eat at the cafeteria before going back."
Yang Yiyan let out a breath, then wiped the sweat from her forehead, took off her equipment, and slid to a bench outside the arena.
Xia Yuezi finished tidying up her things next to the barrier, picked up the massage gun, and prepared to relax Yang Yiyan's muscles. When she turned around, she saw Yang Yiyan sitting in a chair, slowly taking off her ice skates and putting them aside, looking like she was in a bad mood.
She walked around to Yang Yiyan's back, placed her hand on her head, and asked softly, "Do you feel the training isn't working well?"
Before Yang Yiyan could answer, Xia Yuezi continued, "It's normal that you can't train well now. You haven't had systematic training for almost a year. Even if your muscle mass increases, you'll have to rebuild your footwork."
Xia Yuezi had Yang Yiyan put one leg on the bench and began to massage her regularly. Yang Yiyan's upper body hunched over, making her look a little hunchbacked.
"Actually, I didn't think the training was bad. I was just tired, so I cleared my mind and looked like I was in a bad mood."
Coach Xia looked up at her. The girl was completely different now than when she had her head down earlier. Her other free leg was still swaying slowly.
"That would be even better. By the way, the dumplings the cafeteria made today are like celebrating the New Year in advance."
Yang Yiyan propped herself up on the bench, craning her neck with a grin: "Do you have mushroom and pork filling?"
Xia Yuezi was focused on what she was doing and didn't even look at her when she heard this: "It's good enough to have something to eat, why be picky?"
That's what they say, but Yang Yiyan has eaten in the cafeteria quite a few times and has long been on good terms with the cafeteria ladies, who know her tastes by heart.
When the aunties were making dumplings in the morning, Xia Yuezi made a special mention that she guessed the bowl of dumplings she would get from the cafeteria was specially saved for her by the aunties.
“Oh,” Yang Yiyan pulled her leg back, but the smile on her face didn’t disappear, “Then you’re pregnant.”
Xia Yuezi put the massage gun aside, sat down next to her, and took a sip of water from her thermos.
Yang Yiyan moved the massage gun to a different position, closing the distance between the two: "Coach, you mentioned the Four Continents, should I use the more difficult free skate routine?"
Shortly after the finals ended, Japanese media reported that Ria Yumikawa was seriously injured and would soon undergo ligament repair surgery, which might cause her to miss the Four Continents Championships and the World Championships.
Even though all the women's singles players are striving for 3A, and some have even made some impressive moves, there are still not many who can consistently deliver high performances.
According to Xia Yuezi's memory, at that time in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Polina and Yumikawa Ria were still the only ones who could successfully land a 3A.
Aside from that, Vivian did land a triple A in the short program, but she couldn't hold it. Based on the week number, this jump would have been downgraded, but the American judges saved it.
Therefore, it can be seen that female singles players still have a long way to go in terms of technical difficulty.
Xia Yuezi glanced at her sideways: "No, let's go with your current setup."
There are only a limited number of top competitors from the four continents, and only Yumikawa Ria can completely outclass the other competitors in terms of difficulty.
Yang Yiyan wanted to attempt more difficult moves, simply to win the gold medal. However, Xia Yuezi believed that this approach would not only fail to improve her score but also increase the risk.
Especially the triple jump in that routine, if she can land it smoothly, the base score she gets in the second half can be comparable to a quadruple jump.
"Calm down. We can't take any risks now. You don't want to take the college entrance exam in a wheelchair, do you?"
The moment the college entrance examination was mentioned, Yang Yiyan's bright eyes immediately dimmed, and she slumped weakly onto the bench.
The day before yesterday, she was dragged to the teacher's office during evening self-study to take a math test. It was supposedly an exam she missed during the final competition. Not only did she not get a good score, but she also dreamed about solid geometry that night.
Xia Yuezi couldn't help but laugh: "Keep going, you'll get through these next few months."
………
With her coach's instructions in mind, Yang Yiyan returned home and worked for another half month before the Chinese delegation finally set off for the Four Continents Championships.
This year, the Four Continents Championships were held in South Korea. Xia Yuezi didn't even need to remind them; the team leader had already prepared food before departure because South Korea had recently experienced a gastroenteritis outbreak caused by norovirus.
Not only the Chinese delegation, but all the countries participating in the competition brought food with them. Yang Yiyan and the other athletes moved their gathering from the usual restaurant to her room, with each person bringing a box of salad or chicken breast.
The order of appearance this time was still based on the world rankings. Chinese figure skating fans were surprised to find that Zhang Mengyi was placed in the last group without Yumikawa Ria. In this group, Asian skaters and European and American skaters each accounted for half.
When Xia Yuezi saw the order of appearance, she joked with Meng Xin: "The first person to benefit from Meng Chuan's absence is actually Zhang Mengyi."
Some judges like to score according to the group in which the players appear. Zhang Mengyi is now in the last group, so her P score might increase a bit. If she can improve her performance, she might have a chance to break her career high score again.
Meng Xin replied with a smile, "I heard that Meng Chuan's surgery has been completed and went smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to return next season. Although it is not very kind of me to say this, it is a good thing for these players to have one less competitor."
On the day of the women's singles short program competition, the atmosphere in the venue was enthusiastic, with most figure skating fans still immersed in the pairs skating competition that had just ended.
The Cao-Lu duo did not attempt the highest difficulty level due to injury, but their performance skills improved further, earning them first place in the short program. Another Chinese duo, the He-Qi duo, also made it to the last group, with their scores within a decimal point of the top three.
The entry requirements for the Four Continents Championships are lower than those for the World Championships, and there are fewer athletes. The first two groups of athletes, as well as the penultimate group, all performed triple jumps, which led to more problems. It wasn't until some well-known athletes appeared that the figure skating fans gradually perked up.
I don't even know when Zhang Mengyi last appeared in the last group. It was probably when she was in the youth group or when she had just been promoted to the group. However, her performance and condition now are not comparable to those days.
Just as Xia Yuezi predicted, Zhang Mengyi seized the opportunity, achieving a score of 67 in the short program for the first time, and will still perform in the last group in the free skate.
Xia Yuezi stood next to the waiting area, a genuine smile on her face. Watching Zhang Mengyi gradually shake off the shadows of the past was a comforting thing for her.
However, when facing her students, Xia Yuezi put away her smile and reverted to her "cold-faced coach" persona.
Yang Yiyan was the last to appear. Meng Xin helped her adjust the clips on her head and smoothed her bangs. Yang Yiyan took a deep breath and looked up at the waiting area, where the current number one and one of her strongest opponents were sitting.
Xia Yuezi pressed her forehead against Yang Yiyan's, put her hands together on the backs of Yang Yiyan's hands, and felt her body gradually tense up.
"Go ahead, just follow the training routine, don't be reckless."
Yang Yiyan looked up at the two coaches. Although they didn't have any expression on their faces, she felt her emotions were slightly calmed down and she returned to her training state.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
