McLaughlin, Brubaker adapt to new training methods | Golden Skate

McLaughlin, Brubaker adapt to new training methods

flatsee

Spectator
Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Very interesting read. Good to see Nicks in the game again. Sounds like this team is going through some major changes, but I think they can rise to the occasion if they just stay on track :thumbsup:
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007

That was interesting. They've been through a lot this off season so far, but the good thing with pairs is that you don't have to go through things alone. I wonder if they'll end up going back to Colorado in the future, who knows. For now, I'm excited to see them under Nicks. Their LP music choice is interesting as well, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing their program. :agree: I love this pair, and I just hope they have a fun season and skate confidently. I know they can do it. :rock: They're capable of being very competitive, but at the same time, you don't want them to feel extra pressure to place really high right away.
 
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Medusa

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
You know these funny questions in questionnaires "Name 5 people you want to have dinner with one time!"? I think "John Nicks" would be one of my answers.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Oh I agree Medusa. Such a quirky charm and wonderful wit. Always a twinkle in his eye kind of commentary. His contribution to skating is immense. Will be entertaining hearing what he has to say as the season progresses.
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Lol, thanks for posting this, Sylvia! :)

Mr. Nicks always makes me laugh, such a wonderful dry sense of humour, he reminds me of one of my tough little Chihuahuas.:biggrin:

Seriously, I'd love to sit down with him & have a conversation about the past, his recollections, he's like a living museum, the best kind.:agree:

I'm sure gonna miss seeing him beside Sasha, but I understand her move, she needs a coach that will challenge her, force her to do double-runthroughs, whatever it takes. Alas, Mr. Nicks used to be like that in the past when working with the incomparable Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, but he has mellowed with age. Understandable. Still, I think he's just what the doctor ordered for McLaughlin & Brubaker. On that note, I am beyond excited to see that they chose Sarah Kawahara for their choreographer, can't wait to see what their LP will look like!:thumbsup:
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
McL/Bru should be better than they are. They make such "novice" mistakes and the judges hit them hard.. Let's see if Nicks can get them to at least "senior" mistakes. :)
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
very interesting. So many questions i still have, like "why did sasha not decide to return to Nicks?"

I am surprised at how honest they all were in saying how hard the move was. Mr. Nicks at times seems like is slightly (or more than slightly) annoyed at Keauna and Rockne...but then again, he is Mr. Nicks.

I would love to talk to this guy. He has so much to tell.
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
very interesting. So many questions i still have, like "why did sasha not decide to return to Nicks?"

I wonder that, too. But the way Sasha started bouncing around from coach to coach after 2002, nothing with her really surprises me. I'm still wondering how legit her comeback is going to end up being anyway.

I am surprised at how honest they all were in saying how hard the move was. Mr. Nicks at times seems like is slightly (or more than slightly) annoyed at Keauna and Rockne...but then again, he is Mr. Nicks.

Where in the article did you get that impression? All he said was that their first two weeks with him were a little rough because they understandably weren't used to his coaching. All his other comments were on the positive side.
 

PolymerBob

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
They did so well at Nationals, then faltered at Worlds. Maybe it's just that we don't have a strong pairs program right now.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
They did so well at Nationals, then faltered at Worlds. Maybe it's just that we don't have a strong pairs program right now.
They have excellent Tech tricks but for me, they seem to show less in PCs. West Side Story, for example, and particularly, "Tonight" requires Romance, Fear, and Desperatiion. I think they missed those emotions. Perhaps with a less demanding piece of music, they will score better. They actually have good competition at US Nats this season with Denny/Barrett and Evora/Ladwiq
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
They did so well at Nationals, then faltered at Worlds. Maybe it's just that we don't have a strong pairs program right now.

actually they did not do so well at Nationals at all. Keauna had the flu and they skated rather poorly. The won, yes, but U.S. pairs do not present very strong competition. They were second after the short and Denney and Barrett skated arguably better in the free.
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
actually they did not do so well at Nationals at all. Keauna had the flu and they skated rather poorly. The won, yes, but U.S. pairs do not present very strong competition. They were second after the short and Denney and Barrett skated arguably better in the free.

I thought their skating at Nationals was good, it just wasn't the best they could do. Those same exact skates could have put them in the top 8 at Worlds, so I wouldn't call it poor at all. Being second by a hair after a short program (behind a pair who skated the best they possibly could) isn't an indication of skating poorly. M/B's SP was a little rough, but I thought their LP was plenty good. Considering there wasn't a single clean LP among the top 8 at Worlds (well, S/S were kind of clean), landing the major elements cleanly isn't the be all and end all of pair skating. The whole package is taken into account.

They have excellent Tech tricks but for me, they seem to show less in PCs. West Side Story, for example, and particularly, "Tonight" requires Romance, Fear, and Desperatiion. I think they missed those emotions. Perhaps with a less demanding piece of music, they will score better. They actually have good competition at US Nats this season with Denny/Barrett and Evora/Ladwiq

I understand what you are saying, but it's hard to show a tremendous amount of emotion in a 4 and a half minute skating program full of technical demands. PCS involve a lot more than just emoting and interpreting the music. Generally, I think M/B's PCs are quite good compared to the rest of the field. This is reflected in their marks, because even when they don't skate all that great technically, they still receive pretty good scores. Of course there is always room for improvement, but what backfired on them at last season's Worlds were the technical elements. It was way uncharacteristic to see them look so off. Their PCS will go up when they skate better.
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I understand what you are saying, but it's hard to show a tremendous amount of emotion in a 4 and a half minute skating program full of technical demands. PCS involve a lot more than just emoting and interpreting the music. Generally, I think M/B's PCs are quite good compared to the rest of the field. This is reflected in their marks, because even when they don't skate all that great technically, they still receive pretty good scores. Of course there is always room for improvement, but what backfired on them at last season's Worlds were the technical elements. It was way uncharacteristic to see them look so off. Their PCS will go up when they skate better.
Tell me! I probably complain more than others about taking the music literally with a little nod to the story, rather than getting just the essence. of the character(s) and staying with it. Bernstein's music was composed with the full emotions of Romeo and Juliet - a couple of kids involved in a taboo romance. Not easy to do on ice skates. But, M/B did kind of ignore the story which was fine with me, but I didn't find any kind of musical feelings.

As for the Tedh, I think they have a lot going for them and their speed is as good as the top Pairs. Just silly little mistakes.
 
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