Sasha Cohen sure knows how to cause a stir.

The last few weeks before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships are usually quiet, a time when skaters hunker down in their rinks to polish their programs to perfection. Not this year.

With the momentum from her dazzling start all but erased after two disappointing losses, Cohen decided she needed a change. And not a minor one, either. Only two weeks before nationals, where senior competition starts Tuesday in Atlanta with compulsory dance, she left Tatiana Tarasova and began training with Robin Wagner, Sarah Hughes' former coach.

	“	It was close to nationals, but I knew what I could gain in the long run was worth so much more. I already feel, just with one week, that we've made a lot of improvements. I'm really glad I decided to switch when I did. ”
		— Sasha Cohen, on changing coaches

"This,'' Wagner acknowledged, "is an unusual situation.''

It also gives some spark to a nationals in desperate need of pizazz. Timothy Goebel and Michael Weiss will battle for the men's title -- again. And Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto will try to take the dance crown away from Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev -- again.

As for the pairs, well, let's just say the Europeans and Chinese aren't worried about who the Americans send to worlds.

"It was close to nationals, but I knew what I could gain in the long run was worth so much more,'' Cohen said. "I already feel, just with one week, that we've made a lot of improvements. I'm really glad I decided to switch when I did.''

And let's be honest. Cohen has always had her own way of doing things.

Though her size and beauty make her appear fragile and delicate, the 19-year-old is no dainty ice princess. She's notoriously headstrong, her frequent battles of will with former coach John Nicks a running joke. She caused a commotion at the 2002 nationals when she buzzed Michelle Kwan in the free skate warmup, though she insisted it was unintentional.

	Sasha Cohen has had mixed results again this season.

What truly sets her apart, though, is her talent. Gifted athletically, with flexibility and exquisite grace, Cohen has all the makings of a champion. She began this year on the kind of roll skaters dream of, winning all three Grand Prix events she entered -- Skate America, Skate Canada and Lalique Trophy. She also beat Kwan for the first time, at an invitational.

"I'm just happy to find a sense of confidence on the ice and really enjoy the performances,'' Cohen said. "I'm a much more consistent skater, a more confident skater. I also believe I'm a stronger skater now.''

But the knock on Cohen has always been her inability to handle the pressure, and this year was no different. She lost to Kwan at a second invitational last month, and then finished second at the Grand Prix finals with a sloppy, lackluster performance.

Then came the switch.

Wagner was on vacation in Florida when she got a phone call from Cohen's parents asking if they could have dinner. Wagner met with them, talked with Cohen and, two days later, they were on the ice together.

"As long as I knew Sasha was 100-percent go, I was very anxious to get on board and go,'' Wagner said. "If you're going to jump into it, it's the best way to do it. I think we both feel very comfortable, very pleased with the progress we've made over the last week.''

But will it be enough? A skater's relationship with a coach is a delicate one that goes far beyond technical skills and artistry. The coach has to be a teacher, motivator, psychologist, stylist, choreographer and music director all rolled into one, and finding the right fit doesn't happen overnight.

Some skaters stay with the same coach their entire career. Others -- think Nicole Bobek -- traipse all over the country, trying on and discarding coaches like costumes. Even Kwan has done it, leaving Frank Carroll two years ago and switching from Scott Williams to Rafael Arutunian this season.

But the changes are almost always made in the spring or summer, when there's time to get to know somebody. Not two weeks before the biggest competition of the season.

"Switching to Robin is another step in trying to reach my best, and to skate as many consistently perfect programs as I can,'' Cohen said. "I've been really good about being able to shift focus away from competitors back to myself. If I can do what I've been doing in practice and skate two great programs, I'll be really happy.''

Until Cohen beats Kwan when it matters, she'll just be another one of the talented skaters left in Kwan's tracings over the last decade.

Even Cohen has to admit winning her first national title would be that much sweeter if she beat Kwan to get it.

"The better the skater you compete with, the higher the level of competition,'' Cohen said. "If you're the best with the best, I guess that's going to have to mean more.''