Found Patrick's FS at 2014 Nationals. Hopefully it's better in Sochi.
Very interesting post. Welcome to our Patrick fest, hellochristine! I agree with what you said about the doubt in Patrick's eyes. He seems to really struggle when things aren't exactly what he is used to. Hopefully he will be able to acclimate to the Sochi rink and feel comfortable enough to have good programs there. I just want the whole world to see his brilliance. The viewing audience for TEB is much smaller than the viewing audience for the Olympics. When Patrick is on, there is NO ONE who skates like him!!!I am one of Patrick's Korean fans have followed Patrick for years and really hope he won the gold medal in Sochi. I have never challenged any postings here but I must do it now.
I watched Patrick's performances at National and even analyzed his jumps frame by frame. I saw doubts, worries and fears in Patrick's eyes at the rink and he was popping and downgrading his jumps. During 2013-2014 season, Patrick showed only one great TEB performance because the rink is big enough to allow his huge trained dance movements using great body balance and powerful movements but it will not work Sochi rinks because it will be similar to his National performance he is running out of room and his set up is too powerful causing the second quad problem with too much speed and not enough space to take off. I hope this would not happen in Sochi though.
His past two year skating has not improved in every aspect compared to his season of 2011-2012 with 15 months undefeated record of one or two small mistakes comparing to 5 huge mistakes in last week's National which should have given Patrick the least pressure and no opponents. Patrick needs fundamental skating reminder on his landing and taking off from a real skating coach to prevent his slipping away from the Olympic podium. There is not enough time but just simple reminds can make him understand what is the problem and will make huge difference. I've been in the field for many years and I know what I am talking about.
BTY, how come coach Kathy no longer cares what others think on her unprofessional ways of her affection to Patrick (kissing Patrick at the K&C zone). It is so unprofessional and bothers viewers in the world!
You've never been around a skater who has that factor, then. If you ever just saw Kwan (or Chan) just stroke around the rink without any music playing, there's a quietness to it versus most other skaters when they are accelerating. I can't even describe it. It's an innate skill that has to be cultivated by a knowledgable coach. As I said, anyone can learn to stroke nicely and fairly quietly and generate power effortlessly, but there are once in a generation kinds of skaters that take this ability to a different level.
And all of those skaters, including Patrick, were taught figures. He probably didn't know that's what they were called, but he was taught this by Mr. Colson. It's a huge factor in Patrick's success now. There is no way he would rack up the marks for SS, TR, etc, along with elements like footwork, without having had such a strong foundation in figures. In fact it's been said that there was so much emphasis placed on figures and stroking and edges and skating skills that other coaches used to question when he would be taught to jump. Now we all see the wisdom. Learning to jump is a skill that comes with age, muscle, practise. The run of the blade and stroking and edges cannot be learned so quickly, and are best taught from the very beginning. Have a good foundation, then add the tricks. His addition of the quad is a great example. He needed the quad to get into medal contention. But its all the rest of the things in between that helps him stay there, even when he doesn't have his best day at the rink.
I know the posts I’ve quoted above are from a long time ago, but they relate to something Scott Hamilton wrote (and yes, this does have to do with Patrick, so bear with me). In The Great Eight, Hamilton talks a lot about figures and what he learned from having to practice them. He laments the fact that figures were dropped from competition in 1990 and describes the negative effects of this as follows:It's been a few years since I've seen Chan skate live (only at Liberty, so very early in the season with brand-new programs) at which point he looked very good but not exceptional. On TV more recently, though, it looks to me that he gets more ice coverage/deeper edges with each stroke and more agility to turn and move his whole body whichever way he chooses than the other top singles skaters. I'm not sure I can think of another example of a skater who had exactly those areas of extreme excellence. Some might get a bit more nuance out of the music, but not the same combination of effortless ease, complexity, and power.
In light of this quote, I wonder what Hamilton would have to say about Patrick’s current skating abilities. I think Patrick is an exception to every negative that Hamilton gives and I think that’s because Mr. Colson had him learn and practice figures. At 2007 SA and 2009 Worlds, Scott and Sandra were amazed by Patrick, but I think he has improved a lot since then. His post-Vancouver programs have shown off his pure skating skills to an even greater extent. I’m rather curious to hear what Scott has to say about Patrick’s programs in Sochi. From all I've heard, Patrick is definitely a skater’s skater.Predictably, young skaters soon stopped practicing their figures. Instead, their coaches had them focus on jumps and spins and all the TV-friendly moves that give figure skating high ratings. With even the most elite skaters no longer practicing the precision and balance exercises, the quality of skating in the sport has suffered greatly. Skaters now lack the muscle strength that figures give, so injuries have increased. Further, many skaters have lost their overall mastery of the fundamental skills that performing compulsory figures had developed: agility, balance, posture, stamina, and concentration. To state it simply, modern skaters are incredible athletes, but because many of them have not mastered agility, balance, posture, stamina, and concentration, they are not as good at skating as their predecessors.
I am one of Patrick's Korean fans have followed Patrick for years and really hope he won the gold medal in Sochi. I have never challenged any postings here but I must do it now.
I watched Patrick's performances at National and even analyzed his jumps frame by frame. I saw doubts, worries and fears in Patrick's eyes at the rink and he was popping and downgrading his jumps. During 2013-2014 season, Patrick showed only one great TEB performance because the rink is big enough to allow his huge trained dance movements using great body balance and powerful movements but it will not work Sochi rinks because it will be similar to his National performance he is running out of room and his set up is too powerful causing the second quad problem with too much speed and not enough space to take off. I hope this would not happen in Sochi though.
His past two year skating has not improved in every aspect compared to his season of 2011-2012 with 15 months undefeated record of one or two small mistakes comparing to 5 huge mistakes in last week's National which should have given Patrick the least pressure and no opponents. Patrick needs fundamental skating reminder on his landing and taking off from a real skating coach to prevent his slipping away from the Olympic podium. There is not enough time but just simple reminds can make him understand what is the problem and will make huge difference. I've been in the field for many years and I know what I am talking about.
BTY, how come coach Kathy no longer cares what others think on her unprofessional ways of her affection to Patrick (kissing Patrick at the K&C zone). It is so unprofessional and bothers viewers in the world!
I am one of Patrick's Korean fans have followed Patrick for years and really hope he won the gold medal in Sochi. I have never challenged any postings here but I must do it now.
I watched Patrick's performances at National and even analyzed his jumps frame by frame. I saw doubts, worries and fears in Patrick's eyes at the rink and he was popping and downgrading his jumps. During 2013-2014 season, Patrick showed only one great TEB performance because the rink is big enough to allow his huge trained dance movements using great body balance and powerful movements but it will not work Sochi rinks because it will be similar to his National performance he is running out of room and his set up is too powerful causing the second quad problem with too much speed and not enough space to take off. I hope this would not happen in Sochi though.
His past two year skating has not improved in every aspect compared to his season of 2011-2012 with 15 months undefeated record of one or two small mistakes comparing to 5 huge mistakes in last week's National which should have given Patrick the least pressure and no opponents. Patrick needs fundamental skating reminder on his landing and taking off from a real skating coach to prevent his slipping away from the Olympic podium. There is not enough time but just simple reminds can make him understand what is the problem and will make huge difference. I've been in the field for many years and I know what I am talking about.
BTY, how come coach Kathy no longer cares what others think on her unprofessional ways of her affection to Patrick (kissing Patrick at the K&C zone). It is so unprofessional and bothers viewers in the world!
I agree with you. In my opinion, Kathy Johnson finished her work for Patrick because his upper body movement is already wonderful. Honestly I feel she is almost like a friend or a fan more than a coach of him recently. Now Patrick needs improvement in jumps. There is not enough time but I hope anybody helps his jumps for the Olympics gold! When he was in Colorado Springs, he skated wonderful in the second half of season. At least he was not a skater who does a half-way performance at Nationals. Now I’m anxious about him. I heard that Patrick did beautiful 4S at the warm-up session of Stars on Ice tour last May. He can 4S! However, he did not include it in his programs. That's a waste. Some of other skaters are trying both 4T and 4S. Their element score is high. Patrick had no rivals when he was in Colorado Springs but the situation is different now. There is not enough time until Sochi. I hope Patrick does not waste his time anymore. Patrick is a genius! Good luck Patrick, Make your dream come true!
Thank you for your comments and concerns. Patrick has indicated earlier that this season he is not putting any 'new tricks' to his programs and he is going with what is comfortable to him. As coppertop says, better to make errors now than later. I am sure he's aware of what went wrong. There are also Skate Cananda professionals who can provide feedback. As for higher technical elements like 4S, he hasn't indicated that he will retire after Sochi so if he continues skating, who knows.... he may then think about adding more jumps. As for whether he will get a new coach then, we will have to wait and see. And yes, he left Colorado Springs because the environment was no longer conducive to training and also since one of his coach resigned.
Ice edge, since you are new to the board you are not aware that Spiky has long since been appointed our Australian bureau representative by no less a person than our guru SF.I have followed your postings and amazed that you, spikydurian have so many inside information of Patrick even his very intimate life. While reading your posting, I thought you are not an Asian Korean from Australia but someone from Detroit or someone very close to either Patrick or Kathy. Are you sure you are not the current coach of Patrick Chan? lol
You sounds just like a Patrick spokesperson with defending and making excuses when Patrick is not skating well and regarding issues of his relocation to Detroit even passing all the behind story at Colorado Springs and Detroit, etc!
I, fan of Patrick since he was a young boy had seen Patrick's success with his very simple happy mentality he had for all those years but this season, I noticed the innocent boy changed to a emotionally drained man who even aged so much in front of his fans. That made me a bit sad (I know man changes and Patrick is not a boy any more). However, I believe Patrick will overcome all these things and will get to the top of the podium eventually in Sochi!:yay:
So were you at Nats? I know there were a bunch of his Korean fans there in Ottawa.
I thought both Sochi and TEB had Olympic sized rinks. Am I wrong here? Ottawa had the usual hockey rink so he tends to run out of space.
I didnt see doubt but I did see disappointment. He was already told he had a spot for Sochi so there was no pressure for him. I think this made him dumb down his levels. Better that than hurting himself in any way.
I dont agree at all about his past year's skating. Maybe his jump content hasnt improved but Patrick's skating is not all about the jumps. His upper body movement has improved a great deal in the last 24 months.
Kissing on both cheeks is the traditional gesture of warmth and friendship here in Canada so honestly I dont see what the problem is and why you should call it unprofessional. Now if he kissed her on the lips that would something else. It would be usual for him to behave as he has been brought up to behave here ie with our mores and I dont see why he should change this sort of harmless behaviour just because it bothers viewers in the world. Instead you as a Patrick fan should look at it as a cultural difference.
This can only be good news.Thanks for your warm welcome, skatingfan4ever & spikydurian.
I need to make a corrections about the rink size since Olympic rink size would be the same as TEB
30m x 60m (Sochi & TEB)
26m x 61m (SC, NHL size rink)
I start to post because very big anxious. Please forum users give me strength to face this misgiving.
What happened to Patrick Chan~!!!!!!
I surprised to see the canadian national video. Force is not felt from him. His arms and legs feel weak. The other figure skating fans around me said Patrick lost some of his powerful stamina and his skating wavered. I can’t contradict their opinions.
I think Ottawa’s rink is not bigger than the TEB’s rink. But he didn’t reach the end of ice rink when he played his step. Why???
He has a very big rink coverage and this is one of the many benefits he has. But he lost this benefits at last 2 competitions. Especially at this national. He was much streamed with perspiration than usual. Did he have a cold???? I hope this condition down is temporary.
Today's news program informed 20 days left before the opening of Sochi Olympics. Well, I believe Patrick, but I must admit I'm nervous about his training process for Olympics.:scowl:
Lastly I’m a conservative country people. It may be just me, but excessive touch in the K&C doesn't look very good. I didn’t look the coach expressing more excessive intimacy than K. J. in this national. Each person has each several expression of emotion but I uncomfortable. The other figure skating fans around me said K. J. is not a Patrick chan’s coach but his another mom. :no: