Rafael Arutyunyan: “If Samodelkina, with her current physical condition, is already handling all her jumps, imagine what she could do once her condition improves. Quad and triple axel? This is a completely achievable goal.”
Rafael Arutyunyan about coaching Sofia Samodelkina.
source: RT dd. by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya
Sofia Samodelkina, representing Kazakhstan, finished in 14th place at the World Championships in Boston. Throughout the season, she trained in Kazakhstan and attended training camps with Rafael Arutyunyan in California. In the interview with RT, Rafael Arutyunyan spoke about coaching Samodelkina. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Q: I can’t help but ask about Sofia Samodelkina, for whom this season was her debut. Were you upset that her scores were so low?
Rafael Arutyunyan: I was more upset that she missed her final jump combination. I can explain why it happened.
Q: Why was that?
Rafael Arutyunyan: In all her previous competitions, her combination jump was downgraded because of an unclear edge on the lutz. I kept telling her, “Don’t worry about it.” It’s impossible to fix technical flaws in the middle of a season, especially those developed over several years. In Samodelkina’s case, her unclear edge on the lutz has always been an issue. We had agreed to address it after the season was over, but in Boston, Sofia didn’t listen to me and tried to fix her edge during the competition.
When she went for her final jump in the free skate, I could tell from her preparation that she was going to attempt the lutz with the correct edge, despite not having mastered the necessary skill. During competitions, old mistakes tend to resurface automatically, and this led to a failed combination. This mistake resulted in a loss of at least eight points. Without it, Sofia could have been very close to the top ten, which would have been a decent result for her debut.
Q: Samodelkina wrote on her social media that she is moving to California to train with you full-time. Is this true?
Rafael Arutyunyan: It depends on whether the Kazakhstan Figure Skating Federation can provide her with this opportunity. From my side, I’ve given my approval for such an arrangement.
Q: In other words, Sofia has convinced you that she deserves your attention?
Rafael Arutyunyan: Yes, absolutely. I have no complaints about her work on the ice. There are, however, a few psychological nuances we are working on. This includes how to behave in certain situations, how to communicate, how to respond to different circumstances, and how to properly rest.
Q: How realistic do you think it is to increase the technical difficulty of her programs?
Rafael Arutyunyan: 100%. If Samodelkina, with her current physical condition, is already handling all her jumps, imagine what she could do once her condition improves. It should improve because, first of all, we are actively working in this direction, and second, we have no other choice. To be honest, physical condition is the only thing I truly need from Samodelkina.
Q: Will you immediately begin working on restoring her quadruple jumps?
Rafael Arutyunyan: Along with the triple axel. With a skater like her, this is a completely achievable goal, not an impossible task.”
Related topics: Rafael Arutyunyan, Sofia Samodelkina
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