Nicks said. “Tere were one or two or three other suggestions I had some concerns about. “I do think the more mature a skater be-
comes, the more she or he should contribute ideas and attitudes, and Ashley has done that. You have to be prepared to have some ideas re- jected by your coach; there has to be give and take.”
TAKING THE FINAL STEP Both coach and student think the
new programs, plus consistency with the tri- ple flip-triple toe in her short program, can lift Wagner to the World podium in London, On- tario, in March. “Tat’s definitely my next goal and coming so close this year, and also making a huge mis- take, it’s quite attainable for me,” Wagner said. “If you don’t have a triple-triple in your
short program, you end up in eighth place at Worlds, like I did [in Nice]. Last season, I didn’t have the mental groundwork with it; as soon as it got to the program, I faltered. Tis season I want to do it in competition the way I do it in practice and warm-up.”
Te U.S. champion gets a kick in the pants each day in practice at the Aliso Viejo rink, since 15-year-old Leah Keiser, a budding
star on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, joined Nicks’ group this spring. “I see Leah, who is a lot younger than me, and when she pulls off triple-triples it’s great because it pushes me to perform at that level,” Wagner said. “I can’t slack off when I have little babies doing the hard stuff right next to me.” Nicks has been around far too long to
make any predictions, but he, too, is hopeful. “You never know in the skating business,”
he said. “She is going to be well-prepared. Be- fore she came out [to California], and even last season, she was not necessarily going in the right direction. She would skate [her free] full- out for four minutes, with no difference in fa- cial expression or emotion, no kind of light and shade. Now, she presents all aspects of herself.” If Wagner does mount the World podi- um — or compete at the 2014 Olympics — she will know whom to thank, much as Nicks thanked her for his PSA award back in May. “He is just as happy to be in this spot as
I am,” Wagner said. “He saw me on my worst days last year, the days when I came in and I was homesick, days I was skating horribly, and he was the guy who told me, ‘You want to be a champion, you are going to do this, this, and this.’ He would not feel sorry for me, and I re- spect him so much for that.”
Ashley Wagner displays her beautiful lines and elegance next to one of the unique pieces of art that dot the landscape in downtown Colorado Springs.