2013 US Nationals Senior Men LP

[MasterB]

Now that the dust has settled. My Thoughts!

Armin - What is going on? I think he is so talented but, something has to happen fast or he will get lost in the dust

Johnson - Thank you for skating one of the most interesting FP of the competition. His work has paid off. Now go get a quad.

Razzano - Give it at least one more try before moving on.

Adam - You needed this program during the GP. It appears that the judges have giving up hope. I did not like that outfit it gives the body line a weird look. I liked the simple one he wore in the GP.

Brown - many people like, uh.. love you. Glad that you went for the two triple axels.

Jeremy - you have no one to blame but, yourself. By far one of the best skaters in the world.

Ross - steady ross. No one's favorite but, you sure are a strong competitor.

Farris - after that disaster two years ago, you are a true champion. I don't think that Zandra is right. He should fight for Sochi not 2018.

Max - WOW, you sure can jump and you showed us how. PLease do the same at worlds.

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Alex Johnson's FS is finally up on Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-1AI1fXdiE

I think I'm in love!

Lovely performance. I saw the protocols and was like 3Z-1/2L-3F?! Beautiful deep edges, fluid hands, and excellent interpretation (even looked like a Beatle! :P). His skating skills and transitions scores deserved to be much higher. Too bad about the SP, otherwise he could have even made the national team. But definitely one to watch.

[lavender]

Okay they really need to send Alexander Johnson on some gp assignments. Give this guy some exposure. Seriously why wasn't his long scored higher. Is he slow in person or something.

[carriecmu0503]

Now that the dust has settled. My Thoughts!

Armin - What is going on? I think he is so talented but, something has to happen fast or he will get lost in the dust

Johnson - Thank you for skating one of the most interesting FP of the competition. His work has paid off. Now go get a quad.

Razzano - Give it at least one more try before moving on.

Adam - You needed this program during the GP. It appears that the judges have giving up hope. I did not like that outfit it gives the body line a weird look. I liked the simple one he wore in the GP.

Brown - many people like, uh.. love you. Glad that you went for the two triple axels.

Jeremy - you have no one to blame but, yourself. By far one of the best skaters in the world.

Ross - steady ross. No one's favorite but, you sure are a strong competitor.

Farris - after that disaster two years ago, you are a true champion. I don't think that Zandra is right. He should fight for Sochi not 2018.

Max - WOW, you sure can jump and you showed us how. PLease do the same at worlds.

It's really too bad the US men don't have a third spot for the world team. Evan Lysacek was third at 2009 Nationals, and we all know what happened a couple months later at Worlds...

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I suspect that it's because of previous results at nationals (17th, 16th, 15th) that USFS is wondering if this was a one-off competition for him. I didn't realise it was his 4th year in seniors. But excellent result for him. I'm thinking if his consistency develops then next year he has a chance for GP spots, but the guy will be 23 by then, so it's hard to say how many more seasons he'll have in him. It sucks though because clearly he's developed his artistry in the past 4 years as a senior, but I guess inconsistent jumping has held him back.

Rippon going to 4CC is ridiculous. I love his skating but there are plenty of others who deserve that spot more.

[loveskating]

He was even better in practice!Very solid! Tom Dickson is doing a great job not only choreographing his program but also coaching him.

[loveskating]

Of course I am talking about Alexander Johnston!

[lavender]

Of course I am talking about Alexander Johnston!

I'm really liking him. Seeing him skate was the best thing that came out of this competition for me.

[demarinis5]

Of course I am talking about Alexander Johnston!

I'm really liking him. Seeing him skate was the best thing that came out of this competition for me.

I have watched his youtube performance 3 times already, beautifully skated program!

[KKonas]

From my interview with Aaron

Aaron’s career on the ice began when he was 4 years old, playing hockey. “I played hockey for 12 years,” he explained, “very competitive hockey at a very high level. By the time I was 16, I was doing AAA hockey.” He made the USA hockey development team in 2007 and was getting scholarships to college. He started figure skating at age 9 and competed in both sports at the same time, but endless wear and tear and bruising knocks he suffered in playing hockey was tough on his body.
“I was having some pain and at one point I couldn’t walk,” he recalled. “I had terrible pain. I figured something was wrong – really wrong. I went to the doctor and learned I had two fractures on my L4 and L5 vertebrae – both sides.
“They put me in a body cast for four months. I really couldn’t do anything – no therapy – nothing. I just sat on the couch and watched TV. After four months, I was able to go to therapy and I was able to go to school.
“It was extremely hot and uncomfortable.”
This was in the summer in Scottsdale, Arizona (known for temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees).
“Back in school in the fall, it was embarrassing to be wearing a full body cast, so I would put a shirt under the cast and a shirt over it. I had a hard time walking. Going to therapy every day, thinking maybe I wouldn’t ever be able to skate again or play hockey, but I remembered what my grandfather said, ‘You can be good at two sports or you can be great at one.’”
“I had already accomplished a lot in hockey – played at very high levels, I hadn’t done that much in figure skating – hadn’t taken it that far. At the time I was juvenile champion (2005) intermediate bronze medal (2006) and 5th at Novice Nationals (2007). I was 16 at the time. I wanted to see how far I could go in figure skating.”

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I read back in this thread at the outrage over Aaron's win. I don't get it, the guy had a minor spin error in the SP after landing 4S-3T and his 3A. Then he has a minor error on one 3A in the free after landing another 3A and both 4S. Max Aaron outskated the competition and as such, deserved the win.

Jeremy played it safe in the short and was given the lead - a 3 point lead with no quad, at that. He doubled jumps in the long, and had an UR'ed quad with a fall. He was outscored technically by 20 points (SP+FS) by Aaron.

Whether he will get slaughtered internationally is negligible -- and kind of not cool to question since people are essentially saying the judges should have manipulated their PCS scores to make Jeremy make the team. Aaron was the best skater on both days and thus won.

I think Miner and Abbott should have had a skate off at 4CC for the 2nd spot. Aaron earned his trip.

I suspect either a) Jeremy turned down 4CC to do soul-searching as people say, or b) USFS decided not to send him to 4CC lest he place higher than Aaron and Miner, leaving them with a difficult choice. What I'm interested in is if Aaron bombs at 4CC what USFS will do with Abbott -- who still got a 2nd on the GP this year.

[Olympia]

From my interview with Aaron

Aaron’s career on the ice began when he was 4 years old, playing hockey. “I played hockey for 12 years,” he explained, “very competitive hockey at a very high level. By the time I was 16, I was doing AAA hockey.” He made the USA hockey development team in 2007 and was getting scholarships to college. He started figure skating at age 9 and competed in both sports at the same time, but endless wear and tear and bruising knocks he suffered in playing hockey was tough on his body.
“I was having some pain and at one point I couldn’t walk,” he recalled. “I had terrible pain. I figured something was wrong – really wrong. I went to the doctor and learned I had two fractures on my L4 and L5 vertebrae – both sides.
“They put me in a body cast for four months. I really couldn’t do anything – no therapy – nothing. I just sat on the couch and watched TV. After four months, I was able to go to therapy and I was able to go to school.
“It was extremely hot and uncomfortable.”
This was in the summer in Scottsdale, Arizona (known for temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees).
“Back in school in the fall, it was embarrassing to be wearing a full body cast, so I would put a shirt under the cast and a shirt over it. I had a hard time walking. Going to therapy every day, thinking maybe I wouldn’t ever be able to skate again or play hockey, but I remembered what my grandfather said, ‘You can be good at two sports or you can be great at one.’”
“I had already accomplished a lot in hockey – played at very high levels, I hadn’t done that much in figure skating – hadn’t taken it that far. At the time I was juvenile champion (2005) intermediate bronze medal (2006) and 5th at Novice Nationals (2007). I was 16 at the time. I wanted to see how far I could go in figure skating.”

Thanks so much! What an interesting path to skating excellence he took. It kind of explains his style; he's sort of like an Elvis Stojko type, bold and energetic.

[WeakAnkles]

Lovely performance. I saw the protocols and was like 3Z-1/2L-3F?! Beautiful deep edges, fluid hands, and excellent interpretation (even looked like a Beatle! :P). His skating skills and transitions scores deserved to be much higher. Too bad about the SP, otherwise he could have even made the national team. But definitely one to watch.

As should his Interp & Choreography scores. That was my favorite choreography of all of the men's programs, and may be one of the best choreographed programs of the year (in a year with mostly forgettable choreography). And skated beautifully. We just had a thread about choreography that was not skated up to its potential. This was. And then some. He's a real find. And Tom Dickson (aha! I got it right this time!) is a genius.

[merrywidow]

Aaron won't bomb at 4CC's. Neither will Miner. They may not medal but they'll put out good performances.

[noskates]

I wasn't outraged that Aaron won. His jumping is quite incredible - I just don't think there's anything else to his skating. I also don't think Jeremy's scores should have been any different. The sad thing is, had he landed those triples instead of doubles he probably would have come away with silver. That's something he has to live with. But I think if Aaron skates the way he did yesterday at 4CCs, he's going to be beaten handily by quite a few guys who have better presentation and more musicality and more well-rounded skating skills.