Laura E. Nelson

On Sasha Cohen and Consistency

Sasha Cohen is arguably one of the best female figure skaters of this generation, if not THE best, based on raw talent alone. Her flexibility is unparalleled, her artistry is absolutely exquisite, and her jumping technique is strong. When she’s “on”, she is unbeatable, even by the likes of Michelle Kwan and some of the Japanese and Chinese upstarts currently dominating the Grand Prix and World Championships circuits. The problem, though, is that Cohen is only occasionally “on”…. and, even then, only for half of a competition–the long program or short program…. but very rarely for both.

The scoring system governing figure skating events is unforgiving of small errors. Competitors are granted only two chances to claim the top spot of the podium. Though championships cannot be won in the 2.5-minute short program, they can be lost in just split seconds with miscues on any of the required elements. Skaters must then deliver the goods in a 4-minute free skate (4.5 minutes for men). You could argue that there is more room for error in this longer program… but your competitors will surely see that the opposite is true.

Michelle Kwan and the very underrated Kristi Yamaguchi are known as much for their artistic contributions to the sport as they are for their consistency. Though each of them endured a tough year at some point in their careers, they were nearly militant about consistency–in practice and in the composition and execution of their programs. You would rarely hear a commentator guess as to whether they would attempt a certain jump or combination in the next pass. The commentator would know better… Michelle and Kristi have executed this next move flawlessly in practice all week and in every competition this season. This time will be just like it. More often than not, it was.

Perhaps I’m nostalgic for the days when American ladies dominated figure skating, or cynical about Cohen’s chances on her return to amateur status after a three year absence… but I’m also realistic. Cohen’s career has been marked by inconsistency time and again, whether she is plagued by injury or her own mental game. She has placed impressively at the U.S. Nationals, World, and Olympic events in years past, but I believe that sometimes she was fortunate to rise up on nights when others made even more mistakes than she had…. and that she was able to cover her deficits and score bonus points on her artistic merits alone.

So it should be interesting to see whether time has helped Cohen develop that mental edge she has so lacked in years past. She recently announced her withdrawl from the Cancer.net Skate America competition, the kick-off to the Grand Prix series, so her triumphant return is already off to a shaky start. Cohen announced that she intends to rehabilitate and prepare for the U.S. Nationals / Olympic trials in January. Could she possibly be ready and pull it together without the benefit of the pre-season? If history is any indicator, I’m skeptical… but I will not discount her ability to pull off the unexpected.

– Excerpted from personal blog.