Hicks aims for the top | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Hicks aims for the top

Bdan

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
It was a smart descision for her to stay junior. One of the first us skaters to be excited about in a while!
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Her lines and skating skills aren't as good as Sotnikova's.
i have been watching her come up through the ranks. While she wowed me as a very young girl, I just don't see too much of a "It" factor right now. Her jumps may or may not stay with her as she grows up. Possibilities sure, but I am not wowed yet.
 

bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
i have been watching her come up through the ranks. While she wowed me as a very young girl, I just don't see too much of a "It" factor right now. Her jumps may or may not stay with her as she grows up. Possibilities sure, but I am not wowed yet.

Are you talking about Adelina or Courtney?
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I agree. So far, I haven't seen much in Courtney Hicks that makes me want to watch her. I'm pretty skeptical about this girl. Her programs this year are not very good and I think her moves are quite choppy.

I agree and think it will be interesting to see how her PCS marks stack up to Risa Shoji, who I find to have great SS, basics, and fluidity for a 15 year old, if both girls skate well at the JGP this weekend. I think, if they both skate clean, Risa will come out on top. For me, Courtney's skating seems rushed and clunky, and I'm afraid she'll hurt herself trying crazy tricks like 4s and 3f-3lo. Her 3f-3t didn't get ratified at JW last season, so I don't know why she upgraded, I would have focused on making that combination solid first. She's promising, but at this point I don't think she's anywhere near Adelina's level, and like other posters have said, even Adelina might not dominate on the senior ranks this season. TBH, Courtney reminds me a little bit of Miki Ando before she "reinvented" herself - explosive jumps and good energy but otherwise a bit sloppy and untamed. JMPO, of course.
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Yeah, I didn't get the hype about her either. I'm not impressed by her yet in any sense. I think she has a lot of potential, but she's still very rough and needs a lot of refinement. She's definitely no Sasha Cohen. Courtney has Sasha beat in terms of jumping power but her presentation is light years behind where Sasha was at 15. Her movements are very choppy; you'd look at her and think she has beautiful lines, but in actuality, her lines are quite bad for someone with her kind of body type; and there's an overall lack of control and polish to her that makes her skating a bit of an eyesore IMO. It will come with time, but as of now, she's nowhere near Sotnikova...

However, from the interview, I will say I really like her attitude.:thumbsup:

"...I also decided that I wanted to be the best, not just one of the best. So the work is never done.”

It's good that she wants to be the best and isn't aiming for anything less than that. I'm also pleased to see she realizes that it's going to take a lot of work to get to that spot. That's the kind of mentality I wish Mirai Nagasu had...:rolleye: That kind of mentality that will take someone like her (a skater with obvious raw talent) very far...she's just gotta continue to improve and work on her skating.
 
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R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Hooray for another female skater who's willing to show her ambition/competitiveness.
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Hooray for another female skater who's willing to show her ambition/competitiveness.

Amen to that! A lot of times it's looked at as cocky or full-of-yourself to explicitly state "I want to be the best." That's why I'll put Courtney on the back burner for now...if she maintains that attitude and continues to improve, I'm sure she'll get to where she wants to be. ;)
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
There's a fine line between stating

you WANT to be the best

and stating that you ARE the best, or are GOING TO BE the best. ;)

Sick and tired of the ancient "I want to skate my best" drivel. That horse is 6 feet under at this point.
 
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bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
It's good that she wants to be the best and isn't aiming for anything less than that. I'm also pleased to see she realizes that it's going to take a lot of work to get to that spot. That's the kind of mentality I wish Mirai Nagasu had...:rolleye: That kind of mentality that will take someone like her (a skater with obvious raw talent) very far...she's just gotta continue to improve and work on her skating.

Saying that Courtney isn't near Sotnikova doesn't mean I dont' think Courtney has talent. I too like that Courtney wants to be the best (and I think Nicks is very good at creating polished skater). This being said the proof WILL be in the pudding so to speak.

In the case of Mirai, with someone asking if Adelina is as good as Mirai. I'll say that I think Adelina is better than Mirai was at 15. And I'll say that while Mirai at her best Four Continents, wouldn't lose to last year's Adelina. That plenty of skates Mirai put out last year would lose to Sotnikova. And in the case of Sotnikova its mainly for her about getting harder choregraphy/transitions. And if she does Mirai will be in troubles because jumps wise Adelina's ahead of her.

I know Universal sports was saying Mirai has maturity over Adelina. But I don't think Nagasu is that mature of a skater all. Hopefully Spartacus will be different. But for the most part Mirai, IMO has all of the qualities to be an absolute gorgeous skater, lovely posture, bodyline etc. But for some reason Nagasu chooses to rely on cutsey. I don't think Nagasu has developed artistically. In contrast, I'm wait and see about Adelina, but Adelina's program announcements for next year already sound more mature than Mirai's ever skated too. Whether Adelina is ready for them is another story.
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
I like what I see in Courtney, but I really hope she fixes her basic stroking and her posture. There are times when her back is still rounded. In her Yablochko program, I see that Philip Mills has done a commendable job in hiding the rounded back--there are parts in the footwork sequence where rounding her back is part of the choreography.

I love her spinning and her jumping--but I'm not a fan of the doughnut drop into a pancake. It's a difficult position, but I'd rather see Courtney master a classic camel (which, she attempts for the requisite eight revolutions in her flying camel, but her leg position during those eight revolutions could be much better).
 

leafygreens

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Courtney is one of my favorites at the moment but I'm afraid to get too excited. There's been too many times when there's early buzz over a skater and then they crash and burn.

She is similar to Sasha but has nowhere near Sasha's flexibility. I do appreciate that Courtney is a trickster and tries new/difficult things. She and Sasha have the same coach, body type, heritage, music and dress, but skating style is completely different.
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Saying that Courtney isn't near Sotnikova doesn't mean I dont' think Courtney has talent. I too like that Courtney wants to be the best (and I think Nicks is very good at creating polished skater). This being said the proof WILL be in the pudding so to speak.

In the case of Mirai, with someone asking if Adelina is as good as Mirai. I'll say that I think Adelina is better than Mirai was at 15. And I'll say that while Mirai at her best Four Continents, wouldn't lose to last year's Adelina. That plenty of skates Mirai put out last year would lose to Sotnikova. And in the case of Sotnikova its mainly for her about getting harder choregraphy/transitions. And if she does Mirai will be in troubles because jumps wise Adelina's ahead of her.

I know Universal sports was saying Mirai has maturity over Adelina. But I don't think Nagasu is that mature of a skater all. Hopefully Spartacus will be different. But for the most part Mirai, IMO has all of the qualities to be an absolute gorgeous skater, lovely posture, bodyline etc. But for some reason Nagasu chooses to rely on cutsey. I don't think Nagasu has developed artistically. In contrast, I'm wait and see about Adelina, but Adelina's program announcements for next year already sound more mature than Mirai's ever skated too. Whether Adelina is ready for them is another story.

I agree with you. Adelina is farther along in terms of presentation and maturity than Mirai was at 15...still, what Adelina lacks is an overall polish, though she's far more polished than pretty much any other junior. If it comes down to a head-to-head, a clean Adelina will beat out a flawed Mirai simply b/c Adelina's tech content in terms of jumps is higher than Mirai's; OTOH, looking at spins, footwork, transitions, spirals, etc. Mirai wins that hands down.

I think it's good. I really hope to see all of the current senior girls push themselves to keep up with the newbies. Nothing brings out the best in a skater like some good competition :thumbsup:
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
I do not want to put my hopes very high for Courtney - she really has the talent and I am really praying she would really be successful! I am not sure about pursuing the 4S. She should focus on the big triple-triples instead.

I do think Adelina has an edge- I think she can beat even some of the top ladies in the senior category with her overall ability.

I think Mirai is definitely better than Adelina because she is really exquisite as well. If she does her triple triples make sure there are no under rotations and have the champion instinct, mature presentation then she can be one of the biggest stars in the sport.

She already has some of the best spins, spirals, musicality, flow- she is brilliant! She needs to just focus, be more sophisticated in terms of her overall look and presentation (loose the childish smiles and she is it).

Kanako is also special for me!
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Are you talking about Adelina or Courtney?

Miss Hicks. I remeber wondering if she would ever live up to her potential when she struggle with the double axel a few years back...she had some triples but it took a while for her axel to get consistent. Nice to see it now, but her posture and overall presentation seem "juniorish" or something to me still. I hope she can prove me wrong.
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
I do not want to put my hopes very high for Courtney - she really has the talent and I am really praying she would really be successful! I am not sure about pursuing the 4S. She should focus on the big triple-triples instead.

Hicks has a 3F+3T that has been called as such last season and is pursuing a +3Lo combo this year in addition to the 4S.
 

Lucky Star

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 27, 2009
Hicks has a 3F+3T that has been called as such last season and is pursuing a +3Lo combo this year in addition to the 4S.
Her 3F-3T got << at Junior Worlds and her 3F-3Lo this summer didn't look much better actually. I guess we should wait and see what international tech panel at JGP will say about her triple-triple, but I think she still has a lot of work on her jumps. But first of all she needs to improve her basics and posture, otherwise she won't be competitive against skaters even from her own country, leave alone Sotnikova
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
My point to Christinaskater was that Hicks IS working on 3+3s (and it was called at Nationals as both were quite good), and I don't disagree about her skating in general.
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
My favourite quality in Courtney that seems to be missing from most of the women (including many more established seniors) is that she seems unafraid. Her jumps are that big because of her fearlessness. If we could bottle that and give it to some of the others...
 

fairly4

Medalist
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
congratulations on winning your first jp event. good job.

congratulations to all medalist
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
My favourite quality in Courtney that seems to be missing from most of the women (including many more established seniors) is that she seems unafraid. Her jumps are that big because of her fearlessness. If we could bottle that and give it to some of the others...
I agree. She attacks when she skates and doesn't seem to hold back. Unlike some of the senior skaters who let their nerves control them.
 
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