- Joined
- Nov 3, 2006
Ladskater.. There's no escape....resistance is futile..you will be assimilated..
Canada is at a very interesting juncture in regard to our ice dance coaching prospects . Can we , will we develop a first rate school ( or more than one ) of the calibre of say , Z/S or K/C ? We have a number of possibilities in L/R , W/L, D/L... and Islam ... ( that I can identify so far ) ... I'm in a wait-and-see mode with all four of these coaching schools. I have ties to none of them and have never been active in the skating world, so all I have to judge by is whatever I've been able to glean by observation, reading articles about the coaches , and by what their students show on the ice.
With both W/L and D/L, I have the added benefit of having followed their competitive careers throughout the years, which gives me a bit of insight I don't have with the L/R , or Islam schools. With all four, the proof of whether or not they're developing into top-notch senior coaches will still reside in what their skaters show . And as always, there's going to be a certain amount of luck that can contribute to their success, or hamper it ... e.g. David Islam , however good he is as a coach, and much as he may have hoped for it , could never have forseen that he'd be able to pair a couple that are so physically compatible and posess such classic proportions that they already look just beautiful together before they even make a move... OTOH, at the moment , W/L have some very promising couples that are at the nail-biting stage , waiting to see if the girl will outgrow the boy..and so on.
L/R : I'm certainly not writing off L/R , because for the first time since they became prominent nationally, in this past year they've shown some willingness to address the flaws their past course of training has produced . This is evident in the improvement in R/H. We have to wait and see how far reaching that change will be, in attitude and training ...( I want to stress that this is an entirely separate question from whether ,or to what degree Skate Canada shows them , or anyone else , special favour. ) ... They do seem to have a well developed PR machine , but that can be a detriment as much as an asset,( as others have noted ) if their teams don't deliver to the max... And again , I stress that I think their strengths lie in power, speed, edges, and occasionally some nice choreographic originality. ( lately branching out to Prs. choreo )
In my mind , they're still in contention, but can no longer be considered front runners , by any means.
At Canadians,they had 2 teams in the top 8 at Sr . , one team in the top 8 at Jr .
W/L : ... Formed the goal of developing a good school on the west coast early in their careers. And seem to have been quietly working toward that goal for years , even while still competing. Having trained with Z/S , they were in a position to observe, first hand, all that goes into creating a school of that calibre. Northern Dancers points out the supporting education they've acquired, and I heard recently that Megan , in particular , was working on further developing her expertise in choreography ( already very adequate , at least up to Jr. level, and they've done some choreo in other disciplines)...Now, I don't know if that report is true , or not ... but it would seem to be consistent with the way she's approached her coaching career to date... ( I've also read rumours that Keith Gagnon will be joining their coaching staff. With his skill as an ice dancer and university degree in dance , I can only think he'd be an asset to their team. ) In 5 yrs, they've built a very successful school up to the Junior level , producing many promising couples.
With Orford / Williams and Van as / Shindle set to enter their first full year at the senior level , this will be our chance to get some kind of an idea of how equipped W/L are to handle the transition. O/W form part of the closely marked trio at 4th, 5th, and 6th place at Canadians , and though they were 6th overall, there was less than a point between 4th and 6th, and O/W actually placed 5th in that portion.... And if H/G have in fact retired ( I think ?) VA/S have to be considered our 7th team.
For O/W ,I think Thomas has shown a lot of general improvement in the last year , and I hope they'll be working him seriously over the summer, to more closely equal Nicole in line and finish...we'll see. I haven't seen as much of VA/S, and think they also show a lot of promise , but maybe are not quite so close to the time for critical decisions as O/W. If O/W stay with W/L for the next year , it might not be a bad idea to engage an already established international choreographer for at least one of their programs. Just as a precaution.
I don't think this coaching team needs to take a back seat to any of the others in Canada, right now.
W/L had 3 teams in the top 8 at Sr's and 3 teams in the top 8 at Jr's ( 2 in the medals )
D/L : ..have been set up for full time coaching for a little less time ; their team includes Pascal Denis. (I wish a bit more information about their school made it's way out of Quebec... So if anyone knows anything more, please share.) They're already making some strides as choreographers, outside of the work they do for their students.. which is no surprise , since I believe they've contributed a good deal to their own choreography over the years. I don't think they had a senior team in contention for top 8 at Canadians ( please correct me if I'm wrong.) But that's easily balanced out by the fact that they're working with a Danish team and with Hurtado and Diaz, to name just those I know of. Being former world champions will help them to attract talent , which is a plus.
I was favourably impressed with the work they did with the Hasegawas , and P/O.. and those teams make up D/L's 2 teams in the top 8 at Jr's.
David Islam , Kelly Johnson , Tyler Myles... I almost left them out of my figuring...Though I've heard the Islam name for years ...oddly, I seem to know least about this team. I think I must include them because they coach one of the most talented couples in Canada right now.. Paul and Islam. Of course this couple had the year from hell, and I hope to see them pull out of it. It all makes me a bit nervous, because there are not a lot of other Team Mariposa students visible right now to help inform my opinion..They had the Novice champions this year, and I think, a few other promising couples at that level... I was very attracted to the work Pavol Porac did for P/I in their Jr. year and their first Sr. year ( one of the very best Wangos IMO) He had a nice sort of sensitivity , I thought ... but he seems to work elsewhere, now ( same rink as Bryce Davison ?)..I don't know that story.
I liked that Islam was sending P/I for outside choreography.. Haguenauer, D/L..all good..but David Wilson's program for them this year , while it had some lovely actual "dancing" , was such a weird choice of music and concept , I can't believe anyone would saddle them with it. It was going to be a hard sell even if they had been in top form ( at least until they dropped that "abusive" label )... It was bound to be compared, not to V/M this time , but to W/P.. Then they had the added burden of yes, well-made , but too , too sombre costumes right up until Canadians..( the first FD dress was absolutely wrong for her )
I know the bind the team was in with her injury , and sympathise.. Which is worse, have them sit out and fade off the radar completely , or send her out when she's not 100 % recovered, and have them appear at a disadvantage ? Choosing how to make the best of a bad bargain is always a tough call. In the end, they only had to lose one spot at Canadians.. ( on paper ) and the one international event they had after she was a bit more recovered was 4CC where everyone struggled due to illness, altitude ,or a combination thereof ( including Mitch ) and only V/M and W/P got through with anything like a normal performance level... P/Iwere probably only expecting 5th or 6th anyway, and if they can come out strong and well prepared for their first GP, they'll be able to erase bad memories. ( Look what C/L did this year.)
The worrisome thing is , I don't know what tack the team will take, now ( and I don't know what the team wants for the school ,aside from P/I)... If there's going to be too much running here and there, to pull all the components together, that seems counter productive, and there is the fact that they have no real peers at their club to train with. They're at a place, even in their young career together, where they don't have time to waste in experimentation. R/H and O/W will not be standing still,( neither will G/P ).. On the bright side , if they want to move them on , I think any top level coach would be only too happy to take on all that talent.
Canada is at a very interesting juncture in regard to our ice dance coaching prospects . Can we , will we develop a first rate school ( or more than one ) of the calibre of say , Z/S or K/C ? We have a number of possibilities in L/R , W/L, D/L... and Islam ... ( that I can identify so far ) ... I'm in a wait-and-see mode with all four of these coaching schools. I have ties to none of them and have never been active in the skating world, so all I have to judge by is whatever I've been able to glean by observation, reading articles about the coaches , and by what their students show on the ice.
With both W/L and D/L, I have the added benefit of having followed their competitive careers throughout the years, which gives me a bit of insight I don't have with the L/R , or Islam schools. With all four, the proof of whether or not they're developing into top-notch senior coaches will still reside in what their skaters show . And as always, there's going to be a certain amount of luck that can contribute to their success, or hamper it ... e.g. David Islam , however good he is as a coach, and much as he may have hoped for it , could never have forseen that he'd be able to pair a couple that are so physically compatible and posess such classic proportions that they already look just beautiful together before they even make a move... OTOH, at the moment , W/L have some very promising couples that are at the nail-biting stage , waiting to see if the girl will outgrow the boy..and so on.
L/R : I'm certainly not writing off L/R , because for the first time since they became prominent nationally, in this past year they've shown some willingness to address the flaws their past course of training has produced . This is evident in the improvement in R/H. We have to wait and see how far reaching that change will be, in attitude and training ...( I want to stress that this is an entirely separate question from whether ,or to what degree Skate Canada shows them , or anyone else , special favour. ) ... They do seem to have a well developed PR machine , but that can be a detriment as much as an asset,( as others have noted ) if their teams don't deliver to the max... And again , I stress that I think their strengths lie in power, speed, edges, and occasionally some nice choreographic originality. ( lately branching out to Prs. choreo )
In my mind , they're still in contention, but can no longer be considered front runners , by any means.
At Canadians,they had 2 teams in the top 8 at Sr . , one team in the top 8 at Jr .
W/L : ... Formed the goal of developing a good school on the west coast early in their careers. And seem to have been quietly working toward that goal for years , even while still competing. Having trained with Z/S , they were in a position to observe, first hand, all that goes into creating a school of that calibre. Northern Dancers points out the supporting education they've acquired, and I heard recently that Megan , in particular , was working on further developing her expertise in choreography ( already very adequate , at least up to Jr. level, and they've done some choreo in other disciplines)...Now, I don't know if that report is true , or not ... but it would seem to be consistent with the way she's approached her coaching career to date... ( I've also read rumours that Keith Gagnon will be joining their coaching staff. With his skill as an ice dancer and university degree in dance , I can only think he'd be an asset to their team. ) In 5 yrs, they've built a very successful school up to the Junior level , producing many promising couples.
With Orford / Williams and Van as / Shindle set to enter their first full year at the senior level , this will be our chance to get some kind of an idea of how equipped W/L are to handle the transition. O/W form part of the closely marked trio at 4th, 5th, and 6th place at Canadians , and though they were 6th overall, there was less than a point between 4th and 6th, and O/W actually placed 5th in that portion.... And if H/G have in fact retired ( I think ?) VA/S have to be considered our 7th team.
For O/W ,I think Thomas has shown a lot of general improvement in the last year , and I hope they'll be working him seriously over the summer, to more closely equal Nicole in line and finish...we'll see. I haven't seen as much of VA/S, and think they also show a lot of promise , but maybe are not quite so close to the time for critical decisions as O/W. If O/W stay with W/L for the next year , it might not be a bad idea to engage an already established international choreographer for at least one of their programs. Just as a precaution.
I don't think this coaching team needs to take a back seat to any of the others in Canada, right now.
W/L had 3 teams in the top 8 at Sr's and 3 teams in the top 8 at Jr's ( 2 in the medals )
D/L : ..have been set up for full time coaching for a little less time ; their team includes Pascal Denis. (I wish a bit more information about their school made it's way out of Quebec... So if anyone knows anything more, please share.) They're already making some strides as choreographers, outside of the work they do for their students.. which is no surprise , since I believe they've contributed a good deal to their own choreography over the years. I don't think they had a senior team in contention for top 8 at Canadians ( please correct me if I'm wrong.) But that's easily balanced out by the fact that they're working with a Danish team and with Hurtado and Diaz, to name just those I know of. Being former world champions will help them to attract talent , which is a plus.
I was favourably impressed with the work they did with the Hasegawas , and P/O.. and those teams make up D/L's 2 teams in the top 8 at Jr's.
David Islam , Kelly Johnson , Tyler Myles... I almost left them out of my figuring...Though I've heard the Islam name for years ...oddly, I seem to know least about this team. I think I must include them because they coach one of the most talented couples in Canada right now.. Paul and Islam. Of course this couple had the year from hell, and I hope to see them pull out of it. It all makes me a bit nervous, because there are not a lot of other Team Mariposa students visible right now to help inform my opinion..They had the Novice champions this year, and I think, a few other promising couples at that level... I was very attracted to the work Pavol Porac did for P/I in their Jr. year and their first Sr. year ( one of the very best Wangos IMO) He had a nice sort of sensitivity , I thought ... but he seems to work elsewhere, now ( same rink as Bryce Davison ?)..I don't know that story.
I liked that Islam was sending P/I for outside choreography.. Haguenauer, D/L..all good..but David Wilson's program for them this year , while it had some lovely actual "dancing" , was such a weird choice of music and concept , I can't believe anyone would saddle them with it. It was going to be a hard sell even if they had been in top form ( at least until they dropped that "abusive" label )... It was bound to be compared, not to V/M this time , but to W/P.. Then they had the added burden of yes, well-made , but too , too sombre costumes right up until Canadians..( the first FD dress was absolutely wrong for her )
I know the bind the team was in with her injury , and sympathise.. Which is worse, have them sit out and fade off the radar completely , or send her out when she's not 100 % recovered, and have them appear at a disadvantage ? Choosing how to make the best of a bad bargain is always a tough call. In the end, they only had to lose one spot at Canadians.. ( on paper ) and the one international event they had after she was a bit more recovered was 4CC where everyone struggled due to illness, altitude ,or a combination thereof ( including Mitch ) and only V/M and W/P got through with anything like a normal performance level... P/Iwere probably only expecting 5th or 6th anyway, and if they can come out strong and well prepared for their first GP, they'll be able to erase bad memories. ( Look what C/L did this year.)
The worrisome thing is , I don't know what tack the team will take, now ( and I don't know what the team wants for the school ,aside from P/I)... If there's going to be too much running here and there, to pull all the components together, that seems counter productive, and there is the fact that they have no real peers at their club to train with. They're at a place, even in their young career together, where they don't have time to waste in experimentation. R/H and O/W will not be standing still,( neither will G/P ).. On the bright side , if they want to move them on , I think any top level coach would be only too happy to take on all that talent.
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