Beginning at the age of 13,  young Alysa Liu spent her early years training at the ice rink for hours on end, with sessions sometimes spanning up to twelve hours a day. Liu tells Xuan Binh, a writer for VN Express, that her routine was to “Wake up, head to the ice rink at 7 a.m., train until nightfall and repeat the cycle the next day.” Beginning at age five, she spent her teenage years consistently learning new skills, rapidly progressing, and constantly training to be the best on the ice. Binh continues, “Her natural talent was undeniable, allowing her to progress rapidly from group lessons to serious training.” Though a passion for skating began early and strong for Liu, athletic burnout comes quickly and with no warning. Taking into account her consistent and intense training, Liu found herself falling out of the love she once knew she had for the rink. She describes the reasoning behind her long days, saying, “I didn’t enjoy being at the rink from seven am to seven p.m. every day, but I skated every day because I was scared that I would lose all my jumps and abilities if I took a day off.” Though Liu found her sport consuming her everyday being, her hard work and commitment earned her the title of the youngest ever national figure skater champion in the United States at only 13 years old.  

Amidst the intense training process and outside pressure, Liu retired from her skating career at age 16, following her successful appearance at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Though she did not receive a medal at the 2022 Olympics, she capped off her career with a seventh-place ranking at age 16. She spent her time leading a normal teenage life, traveling with her friends, and majoring in Psychology at UCLA. Little did Liu know that this would not be the end of her ice skating career. Alysa explains to People Magazine the moment she rediscovered her love for the ice, saying, “The rush of cold wind and downhill speed reminded me of why I had initially fallen in love with gliding on ice." Returning to the ice in March of 2024, she made sure her return was on her own terms. By reclaiming her sport, she would pick out her own songs to skate to, coordinate her own choreography, organize her own diet, and commit to only training one day a week. Less than a year later, Liu captured the World Championship title after reclaiming the sport she once fell in love with-- on her own terms.