#I am not tagging rika or deniss here

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

Hiii! First of all I want you to know that I love your blog. I have a question about something I saw on twitter about Stephane not being a good coach because of the Rika situation and something that happened with Dennis, but like, i really don't understand and i really dont know what they mean i haven't hear anything bad about Stephane before and now i am curious. Do you know anything about that?

Thank you

Thanks for liking this blog. 😊

I think to put Stephane Lambiel on a pedestal is wrong because no human - skater or coach - is perfect and without flaws.

One thing is for sure there is no skater who ever has come forward with any allegations against Stephane, but tbf that doesn't say much. I think though that we actually don't know that much about how he is in training behind closed doors. We know a lot about abusive methods when skaters or coaches are open about it like Team Tutberidze and don't even find fault in that, but with Stephane we know his approach which I find no fault in and the outside view he gives off at events

That being said first I don't know what situation exactly the "Deniss situation" is referring to, but Deniss has been coached by Stephane Lambiel for the most of his senior career and I know perspectives that say that Stephane is maybe too invested into his skaters to not have the best coach-student professional distance and I can understand this perspective from an educator point of view. For example to let a skater live at your home even if it is shorttime. I have no direct example with Deniss Vasiljews I could name that was problematic, so I can't help much with that.

Rika Kihira is a different case in my opinion. The criticism is that Stephane contributed to aggravating Rika's injury by letting her train and compete when she was under Stephane's supervision. Some also said his methods were wrong like practicing with weights. I think there was no explicit discription of her training though, so it's hard to judge whether those weight lifting methods harmed her or not. Rika fans give Stephane fault for her poor outcome at Worlds 2021 and competing at WTT 2021 with an injury.

Rika came to Champery for a training camp, it was never meant to be a long time solution, it happened because of the pandemic and Stephane was just an interim coach for Rika. Mie Hamada was still her coach and imo still the one with the most say in decisions and until this day she is still listed as her coach. Rika was already injured when she went to Stephane for that camp. And injuries don't just disappear. Did Mie Hamada let her rest and recover from her injuries before she went to Stephane? No she didn't. Rika has been dealing with injuries for all of her senior career. So at this point I don't how much you can blame her injuries aggravating on Stephane. Still training with this much load certainly didn't help but show me any skater who isn't dealing with some kind of injury, it's a side effect of elite sports. It doesn't make it better though or excuses that the injury couldn't heal.

But I think we have to consider some things. Here comes the part with unpopular stuff that lots of ppl don't mention, that I do think have played a big part as well and makes putting blame not that easy: Rika is not a child who can't decide for herself. Rika has always emphasized how much she decides on her own about her training, a thing many Rika fans are proud of btw. It was her decision this season also to return to competition despite doctors telling her she would need 6 months off ice to heal. Now she is with Brian Orser and I don't see those complaints ppl had with Stephane with Brian. It's the same situation. I don't say that because I want ppl to blame Brian as well, but because she is making her own decision despite knowing the doctors advise. So it's on you to decide whether Stephane would have had to keep her off ice and if he would have been able to do that. 2nd and this is something that a lot of ppl don't even ever adress, she didn't spend much time in Champery between Japanese Nationals which she won with the first quad by a Japanese women (and she didn't seem to be badly prepared or more injured than before) and Worlds 2021. After JNats she stayed in Japan to do ice shows, she went to a training camp in the US with Mie Hamada, she just returned to Champery one week before Worlds. So who was in charge of her well being at this point and for her preparation, Stephane? Well...partly... We know the outcome at Worlds and it was pure heartbreak. She really didn't seem to be herself at all in the free skate. Rika, just like the other Japanese competitors, had to go to Japan right after Worlds because of the covid protocols. Stephane didn't accompany them, but came later with the rest of the teams. She should have withdrawn from that competition, but I am not sure if she was able to because she would have had to make that decision directly after Worlds to let someone else take her place. Already at the event it was impossible due to the covid protocols to just bring someone else in. So I am almost sure she wouldn't have wanted for Japan to place last because they would get 0 points for one women. It's a team competition you cannot just think about yourself. There's also a lot of money at stake for everyone competing there. We also don't know if she got pressure by sponsors etc. So again the question remains how much influence Stephane really had on those decisions about withdrawals.

I think we should consider those things for a final judgment. Btw it's not about blaming Rika at all, even if it may sound like it, I am aware that Rika is influenced by her surroundings and upbringing and this sport expects you to perform even if you're unwell. The sport career is too short to wait for injuries to heal. So I do understand why Rika competed and practiced. I just think the plan for her 2020-2021 season - no matter who had the final say in that - was not a good one and mismanaged on all sides.

Was there mismanagement in Rika's case? For sure. On Stephane's part? I won't say it's got nothing to do with him. But I actually blame mostly Mie Hamada. She is the reason Rika never healed from injuries, she is the one who had most influence on Rika's mindset about competing while injured. Rika was in Stephane's care for a while, so he is not free of any faults, maybe he should have not agreed to be her coach or insisting on her rest. It's always easy to blame without all information on our part. I just think it's not as black and white and easy like "Stephane destroyed Rika" or "he's a bad coach"

Is Stephane a good coach? I think there is no entirely good coach anywhere. And not every coach no matter how good they are for one skater may do the same good coaching on another skater. I think certain styles and methods work for different ppl for some they are right and for some they are wrong. So I don't even have an opinion about if Stephane is a good coach. I just know that he is a good match and coach for Shoma,but that doesn't necessarily mean he is a good coach for everyone and it doesn't mean he couldn't have been a better coach for Rika. (Rika herself never said any bad word about Stephane and praised training in Champery, but I am not sure of the value of such statements as no one knows what is really going on between a skater and their coach behind closed doors unless your name is Eteri Tutberidze and your not even ashamed of your methods to even let camera film them

Not sure if this was the answer you were hoping for, but this at least is as far as I know about the situation with Rika and shows my not knowledge about a Deniss situation.