Chapter 67 Let's see the new coach – a test of his abilities.
On the final day of the Grand Prix Final, the senior women's singles free skate was the first event to start, followed by the junior men's singles free skate.
Before Meng Xin and Yang Yiyan went on stage, they ran into Diaz, who was warming up. Meng Xin waved to him, and the Kazakhstani boy was very sweet, wishing them good luck in the competition and that they would definitely have a clean free skate.
Everyone loves to hear nice words, and Meng Xin returned the blessing to him in kind.
Even though there's still some time before the competition officially starts, the stands with better views are already full of people, and the camera unexpectedly spotted several well-known Chinese players.
Zhang Mengyi was positioned in the center of the camera, wearing a hat and mask, completely covering herself up. When she saw her face appear in the center of the screen, she reached out to greet the ice skating fans.
Sitting next to him were two players: one was Yin Yunrong, who had already retired, and the other was a men's singles player from the Beijing team who was still in the youth group. He had come to watch the upcoming youth group matches.
In addition, the camera spotted another female singles player watching the match on the other side of the stands.
Yan Rui is a women's singles player who trains at her own expense at a club. She recently showed her talent in the provincial competition, and many provincial teams have tried to recruit her. She will be promoted to the youth group next season.
Yan Rui's family wasn't wealthy. She discussed it with her parents, and joining the provincial team for training could ease the family's burden. If she could get a good coach, she might even have the chance to go out and broaden her horizons.
They accepted the invitation from the provincial team in their current place of residence—the Beijing team—and will wait for the National Championships to conclude before conducting a unified team selection.
According to information on the provincial team's official website, they did not choose Wang Can, who has more coaching experience, but instead chose Xia Yuezi, who has already trained a 3A player.
The reason is quite simple: no women's singles player can resist the allure of the 3A tournament. Moreover, besides Yang Yiyan, Xia Yuezi has also coached women's singles players who have reached the National Youth Championships and the National Junior Championships. This precisely demonstrates that it is no accident that this coach was able to cultivate a player like Yang Yiyan.
It just so happened to be the weekend, so Yan Rui wanted to come with his parents to watch the finals live and also to find out more about the coach.
As the last in the short program, Nina was the first to go on the ice. She stood behind the barrier and bumped fists with her coach, then held her breath and rushed onto the ice.
Although Nina is going through puberty, her body shape hasn't changed much. In addition, she lowers her body very low with each point jump to make her center of gravity more stable.
Therefore, she falls relatively few times in international competitions, and this consistency is one of her greatest strengths.
As soon as she stepped onto the ice, Xia Yuezi keenly noticed that Nina's temperament was off. Compared to her previous performance in "The Legend of 1900," this version was more obsessive and insane.
Reality is like a cage, where everyone is drifting along, gradually losing and eroding the purest things in their hearts, but these things are the most precious to humankind and the things we are most reluctant to let go of.
To be honest, the core of this performance is good, but Nina seems to have forgotten that the character she is portraying is the girl 1900 loves, representing what people want to hold onto in real life but have to let go of. In other words, the current performance has a rather serious disconnect from the show.
Meng Xin frowned and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with her? She's been acting strange since the short program started."
Xia Yuezi turned to look at the American coach, who was touching his bald head with a look of frustration on his face, appearing even more devastated than the athlete herself.
"I don't know, I was probably swayed by my emotions in reality."
Although many people felt that the program contradicted the original meaning, the judges still gave it a score of 70 for content, and Nina's total score reached 203.04.
Lyubov, who came on next, was not affected and regained her original state. She even showed more emotion than Nina and, with the slight advantage of having a shorter program, she put up a better spot.
Xia Yuezi stood to the side, watching the rankings of the two on the big screen. As expected, neither of them would make it to the podium.
When Yang Yiyan stepped onto the ice, the cheers from the audience grew even louder, and several Chinese athletes clenched their fists, holding their breath for her.
The two coaches standing off the court also looked very heavy-hearted. Last night, they had analyzed the situation of the women's singles in their room.
While the men's and women's singles in Europe and America are generally less competitive, the difficulty level in women's singles is not significantly different. As a player with a super center, Yang Yiyan's 3A and consecutive 3Lo can offset some of the score difference, provided that she can clean up.
Although Yang Yiyan was able to adjust her short program in time, the free skate was more complex, and she had to stay clear-headed at all times if something unexpected happened.
Yang Yiyan patted her face and raised her hand, searching for the axis. When she stood in the center of the ice rink, the camera gave her a close-up.
Through the large screen, fans could clearly see Yang Yiyan's rapidly trembling eyelashes, the prominent sternocleidomastoid muscle on her neck when she turned her head, and her constantly rising and falling chest.
As the music began, Yang Yiyan slowly opened her eyes, her demeanor becoming calm and composed. Then, she stretched out her arms and silently left.
Her opening jump was still a 3A, which, while not particularly high or far, was still a full-foot landing and drew a long arc on the ice.
Yan Rui, who was sitting in the audience, couldn't help but stand up and applaud when she saw the jump, and watched her next jump intently.
Her strict father and mother sat on either side of her. They also saw the jump, and subconsciously exchanged glances, both seeing satisfaction in each other's eyes.
They are not professional figure skating coaches, but in order to train their daughter, they have read a lot of figure skating textbooks, and they have a good idea of what an excellent move should look like.
Putting everything else aside, none of Xia Yuezi's students have made any technical mistakes so far, and every program she presents matches the contestant's own temperament and conditions. These two points alone are enough to make them look at her with more respect.
In an interview, another contestant mentioned that Coach Xia would help them make changes on the show, maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses, and adding more advanced elements to their signature moves to achieve a high GOE, something that other coaches rarely do.
Take Yan Rui's current coach, for example. He only provides the song selection. After the program is choreographed, even if the contestants feel something is wrong, he just tells the contestants and their parents to discuss it with the choreographer. It's as if he, as the coach, is only responsible for teaching the technical moves, and the contestants have to solve everything else themselves.
The next move was supposed to be 3LZ+3LO, but Yang Yiyan made a mistake on 3LZ in her short program. After discussing it with her last night, the coaching team temporarily changed it to 3F+3LO.
This isn't a major change; it's just a modification to one combination jump and one single jump, which is common in figure skating.
Xia Yuezi supported her waist with one hand and held the knife sheath in the other, gradually relaxing and slowly exhaling a breath, but her eyes never left the ice rink.
Yang Yiyan's state gradually merged with the sound of the violin, expressing the emotions she wanted to convey through her body, and also keeping some words she wanted to say to herself.
Perhaps because the show itself carries a depressing tone, it resonated more with Yang Yiyan's current tension, making the show more cohesive than the Japanese episode.
Aside from foreign athletes, Zhang Mengyi is probably one of the athletes who pays the most attention to Yang Yiyan. At this moment, she is sitting in the audience, and her lips are slightly upturned, as if she is thinking about something.
This young girl who just joined the team has gradually matured. With her around, the pressure on my shoulders will be lighter. If I go out to study and really can't get back to my original state, I won't have to worry about no one taking over.
This popular show was cleaned up again, and Yang Yiyan remained in the ending pose, her chest heaving violently.
Out of the camera's view, she raised her hand and gently wiped her eyes, then smiled broadly and looked up at the waving national flag.
"That's fantastic, she held her nerve!"
Meng Xin jumped up excitedly offstage and hugged her partner like a koala. Xia Yuezi didn't refuse and hugged her back. Just as Meng Xin was about to lose her composure, Xia Yuezi patted her shoulder and told her to be mindful of her image.
Coach Meng received this hint, turned his head and saw his own child, and immediately had someone else hold him.
Holding a Kuromi gift from a figure skating fan, Yang Yiyan had just stepped into the aisle and wasn't ready when her coach tackled her and hugged her.
She blinked, hugged Meng Xin back, and turned her head to look at the other coach with a pleading look.
While suppressing a laugh, Xia Yuezi pulled the two apart, saying, "Alright, alright, let the child get dressed first, so he doesn't catch a cold."
She draped her coat over Yang Yiyan's shoulders, said nothing, but her expression said it all, and led the girl toward the waiting area.
As soon as the performance ended, Yan Rui carried the doll to the empty stands, trying to get it as close to Yang Yiyan as possible.
Mother Yan moved to the side and looked at the three masters and disciples waiting in their assigned areas. Even from a distance, she could imagine a scene filled with laughter and joy.
"Old Yan, I heard before that Coach Xia's team has a very good atmosphere with the students, and they discuss things directly with the parents and players."
The father nodded. Ever since his daughter decided to join the Beijing team, they had secretly inquired about all the famous coaches currently in the Beijing team.
"Indeed, but Coach Xia already has two famous players under her command, as well as other players in the group. I'm afraid she won't have enough energy to spare for Xiao Rui."
Yan's mother had a different opinion: "Do you think the good atmosphere of the coaching team has nothing to do with the coaches' character? It's just like school teachers. If you do well, the coach will pay more attention to you. If you don't do well, the coach won't kick you while you're down. He'll treat you like an ordinary student."
After saying that, her gaze drifted towards the stands, and her tone became somewhat worried: "I'm afraid Xiao Rui won't be able to seize this opportunity."
Yan Rui, who was being nagged by his parents, leaned on the railing with both hands, his eyes fixed on Yang Yiyan, revealing a hint of longing and yearning. His hands gradually clenched into fists, as if he had made up his mind.
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