Daria Usacheva: “In my childhood, I thought, “No, I don’t want to be a coach.” Now I like it. I enjoy passing on my experience, and I have a lot of it.”
Daria Usacheva about coaching and trying herself in ice dance.
source: MatchTV dd. 21st August 2023
Figure skater Daria Usacheva, in a conversation with “Match TV,” stated that she enjoys working as a coach and would like to realize herself as both a choreographer and a coach for jumps.
Currently, Usacheva is trying her hand as a coach at the training camp of the International Skating Association (I.S.A) alongside Morisi Kvitelashvili, Denis Khodykin, Stanislava Konstantinova, and Olga Filipova. In early August, it was announced that she had left Eteri Tutberidze’s group.
How do you feel in the role of a coach?
Daria Usacheva: Surprisingly confident. I really like it. In my childhood, I thought, “No, I don’t want to be a coach.” Now I like it. And it doesn’t matter what age group of athletes I’m coaching. Of course, it’s a bit easier with older ones, they grasp things more quickly. Little ones often don’t understand it with their heads. It’s more fun with them: they goof around, you often have to ask them to be serious.
I enjoy passing on my experience, and I have a lot of it. I also did some ice dance. I’ve already choreographed a couple of programs. Since I’ve just started, I have many ideas, and I want to realize them all. To do that, I need to find students.
You recently posted on your social media that you’re ready to take on students. Do you want to become more involved in coaching now?
Daria Usacheva: For now, yes. Well, not just for now, but I still want my life to be connected to this. It’s not just me who likes it, but the feedback from parents and children are very positive. Everyone likes it, they say they understand everything. With the older kids, I’ve taught triple jumps. With the little ones, I’ve taught spins. We’re all working as a team to get the little ones to do double jumps. Me, Morisi [Kvitelashvili], Stasya [Konstantinova], Olga Anatolyevna [Filipova].
Would you prefer to be a coach or a choreographer more?
Daria Usacheva: I don’t have a desire to separate the two. I know jumps, I know the technique, and I can explain it. Overall, they said I skated well. I also gained a lot of knowledge from a trip to ice dancers. I would like to be both a choreographer and a coach for jumps. Our coaches were also somewhat divided, but at the same time, each of them spoke about everything. If you’re a good coach, you have knowledge in all areas.
Did you ever consider pair skating?
Daria Usacheva: No. I never wanted to do pairs, it’s scary for me. Having a girl thrown, that’s very scary for me.
And are you not afraid of lifts in ice dance?
Daria Usacheva: Those are lifts, but they don’t throw you (laughs). When I was in winter shows with Ilia Averbukh, we learned a lot of lifts: overhead lifts, support lifts. At first, I was really scared, but then I got used to it. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to throws and twists.
How were the training camps in the United Arab Emirates, where you tried pair skating with Dario Cirisano?
Daria Usacheva: For single skaters, it’s a completely different experience. It was very difficult for me at first to skate in a pair. Towards the end, I started feeling how to do it, where to go. I learned a lot in terms of steps; I was doing them before, but now I do them much easier.
I learned hacks on how to do it better, correctly, and more easily: about positions, about pushes, about body placement. They break it down in more detail there, a lot of time is devoted to it. We had a lot of training sessions there, it was difficult for me at first, but by the end, I got into it, I liked it.
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