Thanks for your comment. I think every coach has a different way of approaching training. With Evy and Mary, I generally did multiple repetitions during one of their lessons. Evy was a big fan of double and triple run-throughs, which were great for my stamina, but by the third run-through I was usually dying and more susceptible to making stupid mistakes and getting injured. I think the period of my career when I trained with them I was quite young and held a belief that I could train, and train, and train and never get injured. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Mr. Callaghan did a great job of making sure I never over-trained. He would only allow us to do a single run-through of our short and long programs per training day, and usually he limited the number of repetitions of a particular jump to one or two. In addition, he did a really good job of monitoring me even when I wasn’t in a lesson with him and would usually call me over to him if he felt I was over-training an element. Frank, like Mr. Callaghan, was great at keeping my repetitions under control, and he would always listen to how I felt on a particular day and catered our lesson around that.

I can’t speak for Naomi/Sasha/Tara, but I know the addition of triple triples to my training regiment added a lot of strain on my body. I think it’s easier to learn these difficult jumps before a skater has reached puberty, but perhaps putting so much strain on one’s bones before they have fully matured isn’t the best thing.

In terms of American’s training being different than skaters from other countries, I think from what I’ve seen there are differences in our training methods compared to some European skaters. Many of the Russian skaters don’t complete as many repetitions as we do, and they are known for practicing their programs in sections as opposed to full run-throughs. I don’t know if their training methods have prevented more injuries, however.

I think the loop jump puts a TON of stress on a skater’s hip. For most skaters the majority of the pressure from the jump is placed on the right hip, which for a loop takes the brunt of both the take-off and the landing. Although I don’t think loop combinations will ever be avoided, they do place a lot of strain on a skater’s body and probably should be practiced in moderation.

Hope I answered your questions!

What do you think a proper training session should look like?

You trained with Evy and Mary Scotvold, Richard Callaghan and Frank Caroll. How did each of them feel about the numbers of jump repetitions and the number of run throughs one should do in a practice?

Yourself, Naomi Nari Nam and Deanna Stellato all suffered hip injuries from jumping within a few months of one another. This was right on the heels of Tara Lipinski’s debilitating hip injuries. Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan have also had hip injuries. Yu-Na Kim has dealt with a hip injury for quite some time. Due to the depth in the US during the 2000-01 season and the necessity to stand out to make the Olympic Team, do you think that there is a difference in the training methods of American skaters vs. the Russians, Europeans, etc. Skaters from other nations didn’t suffer the same injuries. Do they learn jumping later on? Are skaters learning to jump before they develop the necessary strength of edging and power? Many Russian skaters typically skater with more speed and other develop more height on their jumps.

Due to the necessity of triple-triple combinations to be competitive, at what point in a skater’s develop should they learn these? Should triple-triple combinations with a loop on the back end be avoided? Many skaters underrotate or become injured while performing loop jumps.

Just curious about your thoughts.