Chapter 82 Life is Enduring, Don't Lack Self-Confidence
As the saying goes, good children are praised into being good, and Xia Yuezi, as a coach, is well-versed in the "art of praise".
From the moment Yang Yiyan started mentoring the children, she scolded every single one of them. After each scolding, she would spend a few days analyzing the children's subsequent behavior and then praising them.
She also secretly inquired about the children's recent situation from Meng Xin and found that from the day she praised them, the children had been behaving exceptionally well for several days in a row.
Several female singles players, led by Yang Yiyan, discussed this privately. Coach Meng is always gentle and rarely scolds the children, so her praise for them isn't very effective. Coach Xia, on the other hand, is extremely fierce. Even just standing on the ice rink watching them train makes one feel uneasy. A word of praise from her makes one feel that their efforts have been recognized.
Regardless of what the children were thinking, Xia Yuezi felt that her motivational methods had never failed her.
Yan Rui ranked third in the short program with a score of 59.31. After the score was announced, the little girl herself looked incredulous.
Xia Yuezi glanced at her, then immediately changed her prepared statement, telling her all the advantages and disadvantages of her jumping and skating movements, while also encouraging her to keep up the good work in the free skate.
Back at the hotel, Xia Yuezi first escorted the energetic Yan Rui back to his room, and then took a moment to deal with the messages from China on her phone.
Aside from a few female singles players who are still developing, her biggest concern is Feng Simai's 4S (four-sixth skill level).
Before she went abroad, Feng Simai had fully recovered her 4T and 4T+2T skills, and her success rate with 4T+3T was over 50%. On the contrary, she always crashed with 4S.
He didn't fall because of the impact, but because he couldn't get a foot circumference.
Feng Simai's height has reached a terrifying 1.8 meters, which means that the joint pressure will be very high when he does quadruple jumps. In addition, due to his height, he cannot lower his center of gravity and cannot reduce his weight too much. He cannot rely on rotation speed like women's singles, and can only rely on muscle to slowly endure the process.
Xia Yuezi looked at the latest data reported to her by the other coaches, calculated the time difference, and made a phone call. The call was answered quickly.
"Wow, you got picked up so quickly? No training today?"
Meng Xin leaned back in her office chair, pinching her brow: "Big sister, look at the time. The ice rink is about to close. Even for the provincial team, there's no reason for them to have evening training sessions."
Meng Xin has been under just as much pressure as Xia Yuezi these past few days. One of the men's singles players she was coaching was almost at the level of a triple A when he sprained his ankle during training. Coupled with the chronic injuries he had sustained from previous training, his parents were heartbroken for him and insisted on his retirement. They even went to Li Tan's office to demand an explanation, but the boy absolutely refused to retire.
This incident also affected the other children in the group, especially the women's singles player who was about to participate in the next leg of the Youth Grand Prix. Meng Xin and several coaches could only try their best to calm the children down.
Hearing Meng Xin's slightly tired voice, Xia Yuezi also stopped joking and got straight to the point: "I saw Coach Xu tell me that Simai's weight has reached 70 kilograms. I was thinking, should we add some strength training to his recent training and reduce his body fat by another 1% before the competition?"
If Feng Simai heard this, she would burst into tears on the spot.
He has to do a 15-kilometer morning run as soon as he wakes up, and then he has to come to the team for equipment training in the afternoon. All in all, he spends six hours a day on this, not counting ice training.
The sound of turning pages came from the other end of the phone: "I think it's okay. We can discuss the specifics when you get back. I didn't dare let him practice the quadruple jump too much. He's been holding back his quadruple jumps for the past few days, and his axis is a bit off. After training today, he stayed on the ice by himself for an extra ten minutes. To be honest, I'm a little worried that he'll get stuck on it."
Xia Yuezi was silent for a moment, then asked, "The B-level competition is about to start, it's normal for him to be anxious. I'll talk to him when I get back. By the way, have the team doctor's diagnosis of his knee come out yet?"
"He's out. His synovitis is under relatively good control, but the doctor still recommends reducing the amount of quadruple jump training. After each quadruple jump training session, I apply ice to his skin, and his mother massages him when we get home."
"Okay, I understand. Please take good care of me back home."
After exchanging words for a while, Xia Yuezi hung up the phone. She sat at her desk by the window, cleared her mind, and then refocused her attention on the current match.
On the day of the free skate, the organizers will set aside time in the morning for skaters to have pre-competition music practice.
Before Xia Yuezi could react, she saw Yan Rui jump with his legs crossed, fall heavily onto the ice, and then crash into the barrier due to inertia.
Coach Qiandao, standing nearby, clicked her tongue in amazement; she had clearly seen the jump. Yan Rui fell not because he slid too tightly like the previous 3LZ, but because his timing for the jump was wrong.
She had followed the women's singles team coached by Xia Yuezi. Resources for domestic competitions in China were hard to find, but she had watched all the ones she could find.
While these female singles athletes may not all have their own strengths, they are all technically sound. However, there are a few female singles athletes with exceptionally rare talent like Yang Yiyan. Even the notoriously difficult Lo-shaped jump is performed with great elegance by several female singles athletes.
This led Coach Qiandao to believe that Xia Yuezi was very good at teaching the LO jump, but the 3LO jump in this women's singles was actually unstable.
Coach Qiandao looked at Xia Yuezi with suspicion. Was she sure she wanted to put this singles skater on such a risk in the free skate?
It's no wonder that Coach Chishima thinks that way. Jumps performed before the competition are usually the moves that will be used in the competition. Often, when a skater presents a new program, you can roughly guess the specific program configuration just by looking at her pre-competition chorus and the configuration she submits for the free skate.
Yan Rui rubbed his buttocks, feeling that half of his body was numb. He slowly slid back to the coach's side, picked up the thermos cup on the partition, and took a sip.
Xia Yuezi handed her a tissue: "Don't do the 3L jump during training later. First, get your technique down."
Yan Rui took it, blew his nose, and nodded listlessly.
As the last group of free skaters began, Yan Rui skated onto the ice after the previous skater finished their closing remarks.
Her free skate costume was unusual, featuring a yellow torso and black limbs, with rhinestones embroidered on the shoulders and outlined with silver thread, shimmering under the lights.
She bent down to adjust her black gloves, then slowly slid to the center and stood still.
Many children in the youth group choose Disney songs for their repertoire, and even some contestants in the adult group do.
Yan Rui's free skate is based on the song "Circle of Life" from The Lion King.
When it comes to famous songs, most people think of Simba and Nala's love song when they hear "The Lion King." Even in Xia Yuezi's era, many young people could sing it. As for "Life Never Ends," most people may only be familiar with the beginning of the song.
"The Lion King" was proposed by Yan Rui, and Xia Yuezi also hesitated between the two songs.
One is a love song that Yan Rui can't quite sing yet, and the other is grand and majestic, full of primal and wild vitality. No matter which one they choose, it will be a challenge for the children in the youth group.
Xia Yuezi looked up at the ice rink. The equally young girl had already taken her opening pose. She placed her hands on her chin, like a crouching lion cub.
Since she wants to play this piece, let her give it a try.
As the music began, the desolate and distant African dialect voices filled the air. Yan Rui swiftly turned around, his movements clean and decisive, and faced the camera with a burning gaze.
With a chant-like incantation, Yan Rui landed the first jump of the opening, leaving a long arc on the ice. Then he raised his left hand, his fingers slowly closing to form a claw, like a young lion completing its first hunt and proving its ability to remain in the pack.
If an adult did this, it would look rather fierce, but the little girl's features haven't fully developed yet, so she can only look like a lion cub with its teeth still incomplete, baring its teeth and claws at its handler.
Many ice skating fans were charmed by this scene and wished they could go back and take a screenshot of it.
She completed 2A+3T, 3F, 3lz+2T+2lo in sequence to the music.
The second half begins with a series of steps. In order to imitate the migration of lion prides on the African savanna, in addition to steps such as inward hook, loop, and blade change, the choreographer added movements such as three turns and twisting steps, creating a series of four-level steps.
Yan Rui gradually became more immersed in his performance, his expansive hand movements were full of tension, and he also carried the imposing presence of a lion gradually entering adulthood.
Xia Yuezi didn't initially intend to choreograph it so complicatedly. She even wanted to simplify the steps and add a single jump in the second half. However, the choreographer's actions took up a lot of Yan Rui's energy.
As the music gradually reached its climax, just like the song title suggests, everything came back to life. Yan Rui started with a small jump into a side squat turn, and while maintaining the original rotation speed, gradually moved into a back squat.
This represents Simba, a young man who wanders from place to place. He gradually grows through repeated hardships, transforming from "escape" to "responsibility," and becomes a qualified heir.
Xia Yuezi unconsciously clenched her fists; she could feel the gazes from the other coaches around her.
Yan Rui's legs are in a V-shape. At the moment of takeoff, his hands come together upwards, his axis tightens immediately, and he lands on the ice in 3 seconds.
This was the last jump of the entire program. Xia Yuezi raised her arms and shouted, joining the audience in applause.
As the music gradually came to an end, the chanting resumed, but it was not as powerful as at the beginning, like the afterglow of sunset on the grassland in a movie.
Yan Rui stood on the ice, arms outstretched, chest heaving, but his eyes shone with a dazzling light.
The scores came out very quickly.
With a technical score of 65.82, a program component score of 53.64, a free skate score of 119.46, and a total score of 178.78, he is currently in first place.
Xia Yuezi looked at the score and gave the little girl a high five. Getting a medal in her first time participating in a regional competition was already a huge breakthrough.
Thinking this, Xia Yuezi began to praise again.
"Your execution was excellent today, especially in the second half of the program. You completely mastered that sequence of steps. Don't lack confidence in yourself; you are a very promising athlete."
So we should be like Simba, endlessly regenerating.
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