At Least for Now, Cohen Will Stay Conservative

Sasha Cohen and her coach, John Nicks, have raised disagreement to a fine art.

The strong-willed 17-year-old and her veteran coach seem to enjoy their battle of wills, perhaps Cohen more than Nicks, because she usually wins.

But the Laguna Niguel resident will heed Nicks’ advice that she pay less attention to the record books and more attention to her prospects of finishing in the top three at this week’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which would give her a berth on the U.S. Olympic team for the Salt Lake City Games.

With that in mind, Cohen said Tuesday she won’t attempt a quadruple salchow, a jump no female skater has landed in competition. Her success ratio still isn’t good enough to gamble on it here, with so much at stake.

“I think it was mutual,” Cohen said of the decision. “At this point of the season, I’m just trying to do two clean run-throughs.... Hopefully, if I make the Olympic team, we’d like to try it there.”

Nicks, who works with Cohen in Aliso Viejo, said he usually encourages her to take risks that would push the limits of the sport. But in this case, the reward doesn’t justify the risk.

“We had two goals,” he said. “She had hers and I had mine.

“My goal is for her to make the Olympic team. Her goal is to be the first lady to land a quad in competition. They’re both laudable, but they conflicted at times.... If we’re fortunate enough to make the Olympic team and we get back to training next week, the quad will be No. 1 on our minds.”

Cohen made a splash by finishing second at the 2000 national competition, but she missed last year’s event because she hadn’t recovered her fitness after a back injury. She competed in quite a few events this season to remind the judges of her talents, perhaps the reason she said she feels no need to dazzle them this week.

“I’ve had some good skates and bad skates,” she said. “I can do well, and that’s what I’m trying to do, go out and get a spot on the team, and not necessarily prove myself.”

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Michelle Kwan said she plans to limit herself to one triple-triple combination jump in her long program Saturday, the triple toe loop-triple toe loop she has done before. She had been working on other triple-triple combinations to enhance the difficulty of her program but decided not to risk it here.

“The lutz-loop was giving me problems,” she said, “so I thought it was wise right now to do what’s solid and what’s consistent.”

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Fewer than 2,000 tickets remain for Saturday’s women’s final. However, sales for the remaining sessions have not been strong.