Re-watched Ashley's Oct. 2015 TSL interview yesterday. I was struck by several things she talked about for this season that she had a plan for and that, as we see in retrospect, worked well for her. She's so self-aware and smart!
1. Ashley has always been an independent person, but she realized at 2015 Worlds ("in the exact same situation that I've found myself in so many times") that she needed to rely more on others to help her alleviate stress. She said in this interview, "I realized that I need to start letting other people help me out ... not just doing everything by myself because that's comfortable." Over the next season, she reached out to Adam when she had doubts (notably after GPF SP); and she trained before comps at the Olympic Ctr. in Colorado, where she could be an athlete 24/7.
2. Coach: Ashley always gives Rafael credit for improving her technique (and he gives her credit; he said once she was the first skater he'd taught who was willing to work so hard to change her technique in her twenties). But further, there's a clip where Raf asks her: "Why do you want to make me happy? .... You need to be happy for yourself .... I'm here to help you." He struck me as insightful and brave if not blunt. Also, it made me think about the unique student/coach situation in figure skating. The figure skater (or parent) hires the coach to be her/his boss! And it must be trickier because it's Ashley hiring him, not her parents. In hockey, for one example, the team mgmt. hires the coach so it's completely different.
3. Choreography: Ashley said that in the coming year (2015-16) she was making sure to meet with Shae-Lynne regularly so that Shae could vary the transitions in the program, to keep Ashley interested, and to make sure that Ashley kept at the transitions rather than sort of letting some of them go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=artNPmPC1u8
1. Ashley has always been an independent person, but she realized at 2015 Worlds ("in the exact same situation that I've found myself in so many times") that she needed to rely more on others to help her alleviate stress. She said in this interview, "I realized that I need to start letting other people help me out ... not just doing everything by myself because that's comfortable." Over the next season, she reached out to Adam when she had doubts (notably after GPF SP); and she trained before comps at the Olympic Ctr. in Colorado, where she could be an athlete 24/7.
2. Coach: Ashley always gives Rafael credit for improving her technique (and he gives her credit; he said once she was the first skater he'd taught who was willing to work so hard to change her technique in her twenties). But further, there's a clip where Raf asks her: "Why do you want to make me happy? .... You need to be happy for yourself .... I'm here to help you." He struck me as insightful and brave if not blunt. Also, it made me think about the unique student/coach situation in figure skating. The figure skater (or parent) hires the coach to be her/his boss! And it must be trickier because it's Ashley hiring him, not her parents. In hockey, for one example, the team mgmt. hires the coach so it's completely different.
3. Choreography: Ashley said that in the coming year (2015-16) she was making sure to meet with Shae-Lynne regularly so that Shae could vary the transitions in the program, to keep Ashley interested, and to make sure that Ashley kept at the transitions rather than sort of letting some of them go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=artNPmPC1u8