Della Monica/Guarise: "We want to think big"

ITALIAN VERSION

The last time you did an interview with Neveitalia was before the Olympic Games, at the Budapest European Championships. Matteo, unfortunately you got injured before leaving for Sochi.

Matteo: "Three weeks before the Olympic Games, on January 7th if I remember correctly, I hurt my knee. Right after Sochi I underwent surgery at the Galeazzi hospital in Milano, where our Team Doctor Davide Tornese works. After walking with crutches for a week I did five days of hydrokinesitherapy , therefore Nicole and I trained for the World Championships for just three weeks, here at Forum di Assago. Naturally we weren't on top of our shape, but despite that we were able to qualify for the Long Program and with all the retirements of the off-season we could obtain two Grand Prix events this season.

At the beginning we were quite undecided whether to compete at Worlds in Saitama or not, as we didn't know if we were ready enough and if we could make it through such an important competition. Actually that event turned out to be crucial for our Grand Prix assignments. In this way we could start well this season, moreover we trained hard this summer – we spent a month in the USA with John Zimmermann, while we skated for the rest of the summer with Cristina Pelli and Cristina Mauri in Milan. Paola Mezzadri is as always our choreographer, and she created for us two beautiful programs, that's what we have heard...I am not the one who said it! (laughs)

We are not yet on top of our shape, but in every competition we have attended this season, from Nice to Trophée Bompard, we have improved more and more. We hope we'll approach the World Championships in a perfect shape".

 

What kind of injury did you have?

Matteo: "At the beginning the meniscus in my knee was just torn, but as I kept skating on it, a part of it tore off and went into the joint. During the competition I felt discomfort because the meniscus fragment was stuck between the two head joints. I was a bit afraid because before Sochi we had never skated a full run-through and when I was putting too much stress on it, it got blocked and I couldn't move it. I was very nervous before the Short Program in Sochi, in fact I tripped after a few steps: during the previous weeks I couldn't train almost at all, I had mainly done rehabilitation on a bike...

A few days ago I was talking about this with a person, who told me to feel sorry for our last season because we had had so many problems. Thus I replied that despite those we were quite satisfied; we didn't skip any competition: University Games, Olympic Games, World Championships. And we did all of that in spite of my injury.

It has been a very tough season and we fought a lot through it, but it has also given us many satisfactions".

 

What did you work on in the USA?

Nicole: "Mainly on the Twist".

Matteo: "We had already worked on the other elements in Milan with Cristina Pelli, especially on the lifts".

 

Actually the elements which in my opinion looked more improved are the lifts, besides the side-by-side jumps.

Nicole: "Well, compared to last year we are working much more on gaining a higher confidence in our jumps. We have now strengthened all of our elements; the problem is to execute them perfectly during the program".

Matteo: "We are definitely working a lot here in Milan, we train so much. Additionally, we have a jump session three times a week, where we jump a lot of triples and try new ones. Nicole has got back almost all of her triples and once in a while I have fun by doing some particular jump combinations. We are trying to maintain the jumping skills we had before pairing up".

 

How did you create the season's programs?

Matteo: "Paola Mezzadri took care of the choreographies, creating the storyline and thinking of how building the programs, while Roberto Pelizzola focused on the step sequences and some choreographic transitions. We worked with Corrado Giordani on refining the transitions, both on the ice and during ballet lessons. We loved these kind of approaches. We mainly rely on these specialists: a technical one, a creative one and a polishing one. Paola creates, Roberto makes sure we do achieve the highest levels and Corrado refines our programs".

 

Why did you decide to change your training base and move to Milan?

Nicole: "We had agreed with Oleg to work together until the Olympic Games and to evaluate after that event what to do. Actually we had already trained full time in Milan between Sochi and Saitama because of Matteo's surgery and rehabilitation".

Matteo: "It would have been complicated to train in Russia as I couldn't walk much – and we didn't have a car there – and in any case I needed to be followed closely by doctors and physios during my rehabilitation process".

Nicole: "We have learnt so much from Oleg, especially on the technical side, but in Russia we lacked the other aspects of figure skating. Choreography; a major focus on off-ice conditioning, as in Russia we only did a simple warm-up before skating, without working on conditioning or ballet. Here we have anything we need, this is the best solution for us for now, we are better taken care of..".

Matteo: "About our staff, we may not have the technical excellence of Oleg, but we have many high level specialists: Mirko Botta for off-ice conditioning, Davide Tornese and Giuseppe Ferrari for our healthcare, Cristina Pelli and Cristina Mauri for our technical training, and I have already mentioned our choreographers...".

We are not talking about one person who takes care of our whole workload, but about many people who take charge of our work. Moreover, here we have more ice hours available, we spend a lot of time in this facility and take the best out of it; we have ice, gym, swimming pool, ballet...we come in the morning and end training in the evening, without losing time in commuting.

 

I read that in Saint Petersburg one of the main problems is the lack of ice time.

Matteo: "The main problem for us was that we had two ice sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening. This meant going out at early morning and come home late in the evening, as we lived too far away to come back at home between the two practice sessions. The rink, temperature and ice were very good. We also had a gym where we could train lifts off-ice and stretch. The main difference is that here in Milan we can optimise our practice time".

 

Matteo, your side-by-side jumps have improved a lot this season. Have you done a specific training for them during the summer or is that just the result of the work done in Milan that you have mentioned before?

Matteo: "This is the third season and a half that Nicole and I have done together. During the first one we only competed at the World Championships, and we didn't have any major problem on jumps. Same goes for the second season. During the third one I started to feel pain in my foot, which lead me to change the Salchow takeoff. In the end I couldn't execute it correctly anymore, and while trying to work more on it I injured my knee. You can understand that at that point the season was compromised and that the focus on my jumps was shifted on my recovery.

This year Cristina Mauri and I built my Salchow again from scratch, starting from an optimal physical shape, an it looks like now it is the jump I was able to land some time ago".

 

Let's go back to this season. What do you think of the competitions you have attended to far?

Nicole: "We are quite happy of how we have started the season. Especially concerning the first competition, as we wanted to demonstrate that our staff choices were spot on. Moreover, Oleg Vassiliev was in Nice and thus it almost felt like an exam. Obviously we need to work on many more things, but the positive aspect it that we were able to improve a little more with every competition under our belt. We have more self confidence now and we want to work even more.

We could have skated way better in China, but overall we are happy that we were able to get up after a flawed Short, climbing two places in the final standings.

In Bordeaux we did better performance-wise and worse standing-wise, but considering the Grand Prix level in France we can be satisfied because we skated cleanly, and it would have been difficult to climb the standings after the Short Program.

We obviously want the next competitions to go even better".

Matteo: "I'd like to add that in China we skated last but one in the Short, and this made us quite nervous, while we weren't during the Long Program. We are now aware that we are able to skate two clean programs and that expectations towards us are arising. This is a lesson we have learnt this season, we do not have to be too confident on what we are capable of, but in competition we must stay focused and do what we do everyday in practice, that is to skate good programs".

 

Which skating order do you prefer?

Nicole: "We are now able to skate with ease in any skating order. Luckily there are only four pairs in each group and we don't have to wait a lot even if we skate last. Of course if we are first or second we don't take our skates off, while if we are third or fourth we do. In Nice we were last to skate – third in our group – and the scores of the previous pair took a long time to come out. We didn't take off our skates and when we went on the ice we couldn't feel our feet anymore. Unfortunately the scores change according to the skating order: the later you skate, the higher they are".

Matteo: "It is always better to skate last under a tactic point of view, while performance-wise it is better to skate second because you can breathe a bit after the six-minutes warm up, concentrate and cancel from your mind any possible wrong feeling".

You have said that in China you were quite nervous before the Short Program. How do you approach competitions from this point of view?

Nicole: "Every competition has been different for us. Sometimes I was more nervous, or Matteo was, or the feeling while competing was different between Short and Free Program...We are also working on this aspect on how approach competitions. I think that the more competitions we will attend, the better we'll be able to manage any situation in the best way and to understand how to react according to our sensations of the day".

Matteo: "It is not a matter of being nervous, because you are always nervous in competition, but who is able to face any situation, who doesn't show his fears.

We are working on this through theatre lessons. We are thought how to listen to our body and to express the feelings we have and are not able to show to the public. It is a new project and we like it a lot, it is very helpful to us".

 

I think that it is quite similar to perform on a stage or in an ice rink, in both cases tou have to public's eyes on you.

Matteo: "Exactly".

 

Which competitions are you planning to attend next?

Nicole: "At the beginning we were thinking of skating at the Golden Spin in Zagreb, but we need to work more in training. We have done many competitions in a short amount of time and that hasn't allowed us to diminish our workload to later enhance it again. On the contrary, in this way we have three full weeks of training ahead of us".

Matteo: "In this way we recreate a higher and then lower workload, while competing all the time doesn't allow you to change your training regimen. As we want to be in top shape at the European Championships, the best solution is to increase and then decrease our workload before Nationals, then eventually compete once before heading to Stockholm. In this way we could organise the season in groups made of three competitions each: Nice, China and France; then Nationals, another competition and Stockholm; some thing for the World Championships, perhaps doing a competition or a gala before going to Shanghai".

 

I have one last question for you. This season for the first time you'll have a real chance to win the title at the National Championships. Have you ever thought of this? After all, both for judges and public, competing at the major international competitions as national champions is a good “business card”.

Matteo: "We have been asked this question many times lately! My answer it always that, national results aside, the international level is amazing. We must work for ourselves, be at the best of our capabilities and only then we'll be competitive on the World stage. Thinking of your own little backyard is pointless, we think big, at the world level. Anything that comes or doesn't in the while will or won't be collected.

In any case, this season we will be ready to take this responsibility, if we place first in Turin".