training under eteri

pt.2. junior season- 2017

sasha and i walked for an hour, and then walked back to the dressing room. our moms were in there sitting with the coaches talking. since sasha and i were such good friends, our moms also became best friends. they both didn't have much of an issue with the coaches. we were very lucky since our moms were allowed to sit on during practice, when other moms couldn't. i think it's because neither of our moms ever got upset with the coaches, or what they did. both of our moms became pretty good friends with all 3 coaches, obviously, since they were able to talk and laugh for over an hour without sasha and i.

around 3 ish my mom started to do my hair. my mother forced me to keep my hair long. she says it's apart of our culture, but i don't believe her since i never learned that in school.  i think she likes it long because it's fun to play with, and because it's easier to put in a bun for practice and competition.

mom likes to make sure my hair is slick and secure. she parts it down the middle, and then puts it into a pony tail in the middle of my head. she uses clear elastic since it's easier to hide. she likes to braid the pony tail, and then put it into a bun. once done with the bun she bobby pins it, and uses gel to keep it in place. by the time the competition is over, i have probably 200 bobby-pins in my hair. it's crazy.

once my hair is done, my mom does my make up. she does it the dramatic russian way, with the bright blush, and dramatic eyeshadow eyeliner look. it's not the prettiest on real life, but on camera it looks good. once she is done making me look " beautiful", it's time to warm up.
" nastia. change into leggings and a normal shirt. the sweatshirt and sweat pants make it hard to jump." my mom says.
" okay." i reply.
i grabbed my leggings and t-shirt from my bag, and change in the bathroom. i walk out,
" better." my mom says.
mom hands me advil to take since my feet had been hurting.
the locker room we got was very big. it had a full bathroom, and an attached shower. there was enough room for sasha and i to both jump, and still have room, which is very nice.

i started stretching, and warming up. one of my favorite things is my jump rope and spinner. i always jump rope before getting on the ice because it gets my legs ready, and makes me warmer, so i'm not so cold on the ice.
the spinner is good because it helps me practice my rotations and spins off ice.

it was around 4 ish now, and we had over and hour until we got on the ice. i kept jumping, and trying to keep my body warm. i was getting corrections from the coaches, which really helped. normally, i wouldn't like getting corrections since i get them so often, but today, i needed to be perfect.

at 4:40, i changed into my costume, and put my skates on. i put my tights over the back end of my boot, and put my guards on. i then made sure i have my stuffed animal, and jacket.

sergei and daniil called eteri at 5, 25 minutes before we got on the ice. she gave us words of encouragement, and so did our team mates back at home. she told us that they will take a break from the ice to watch us preform in the commons area. it made me even more nervous knowing everyone was watching. our teammates wished us good luck, and we hung up the phone.

i sat alone until 5:20. we had 5 minutes til warm up. i got up, and started running in place to get a little warmer. at 5:24 i gave daniil and sergei my guards, and stuffed animal. sasha and i talked for the last minute, trying to calm each other down.

" please welcome to the ice, bianca vinarao from the philippines, su been jeon from japan, eun bi ko from japan, anastasia pankova from russia, and alexandra trusova from russia."

as the announcer says our names we could skate onto the ice, and bow to the crowd.
once she was done calling all the names we could begin warming up. for the 10 minute warm up, i did a condensed version of our warm up which took a minute, and started jumping. first i jumped a 2A, and then my 3A. the axel was looking very good, so i moved on. i did the rest of my jumps, and did a few spins.
as soon as the timer started, it had ended. i met sergei, daniil and sasha by the boards. they handed me my guards, and i put them on.
sergei gave sasha corrections, while daniil gave me corrections.
" не забывайте изображать историю. вы должны показать судьям, что вы - офелия. покажите им силу, но и грусть."
( don't forget to act out the story. you must show the judges that you are ophelia. show them strength but also sadness.)
—
" мы все верим в тебя. ты так далеко продвинулась за пять лет. покажи стране, почему ты здесь, а не другие девушки." daniil said.
( we all believe in you. you've come so far in five years. show the country why you're here and not the other girls.)
he gave me a hug. his words meant a lot, i knew i had to prove my worth. i thought about my program over and over again.