Skaters Retiring in the US? | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Skaters Retiring in the US?

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
I hope Jeremy stays in for another 10 years and I don't even like him that much

Skating fans are so bossy D:
I'm not his fan at all but he should stay if he wants to. His habit of booming at nationals and busting internationally has understandably annoyed many people, but it's not like the other US men are doing a lot better.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Jeremy did well at Worlds this year: he and Max got back 3 spots for Worlds 2015. So if he wants to stay one more year, he's entitled.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Jeremy isn't going to ever win a World medal so why continue? He's almost 30 and can't even jump like he used to. If the young guys like Jason and Josh keep improving Jeremy is going to be left behind so what good is staying around another year?
 

IcyEdges

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Jeremy isn't going to ever win a World medal so why continue? He's almost 30 and can't even jump like he used to. If the young guys like Jason and Josh keep improving Jeremy is going to be left behind so what good is staying around another year?

Maybe because he's entitled to if he wants and everyone's opinion here really doesn't factor in.
I don't understand why it seems everyone has such a problem with Jeremy. Sure he sometimes bombs in competition with the jumps, but everything else is impeccable. Artistry for days. You can't really say that about many of the other US men, esp. when they bomb in international competition with their jumps.
Not everyone watches figure skating to see a jump fest.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
^^Maybe he just wants to compete, regardless of medals?

It is a bit of an odd thing to do (if he stays in) since he never came across as someone who liked competition. Quite the opposite, actually. :laugh: But if he's fine with the stress, more power to him. Who are we to say no?
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Max isn't likely to ever medal because he has jumps but zero artistry, and with Tom Z coaching he'll never develop artistry. Max is hard to watch even when he lands the jumps and when he struggles with jumps he is awful. OTOH, Jeremy is watchable even when he doubles jumps because the rest of his skating is just that good.

I love both Josh and Jason but both of them struggle with jumps. Neither of them is likely to medal at Worlds any time soon.

Does that mean that all of the US men should retire since none of them are likely to medal at Worlds?
 

centerpt1

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
He actually had some of his best scores ever in 13-14, and did well at Worlds. He was the highest scoring US man at Worlds. (skating injured) He got a quad in the short and long at nationals. His family wants him to quit by all accounts.

IF (and it's a big IF) he stays in , (per recent interview) it would only be for one year for another try at a World medal. He wants to put another quad in (presumably in the long). But-he will only stay in if, after training for the summer, he is stronger than last season and making progress. (I'll try to find the link) http://www.examiner.com/article/the-void-jeremy-abbott-s-career

He has said several times he enjoys the rush of competing.

If he keeps the quad in the short and can get two quads in the long-he will be competitive.
 
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kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
It's not mean but I will say that how well someone can do something is not always indicative of how well they might be able to understand or teach it.

Very true, I suppose. Who knows? If it's true and she is coaching, she may end up being a better teacher than she was a skater. I was obsessed with her in her heyday (2007-2009) but she's definitely a skater who suffered from a lack of proper foundation as well as puberty issues. I do love that she was able to fight her way back to the podium in 2012 but ultimately, her issues took her out of it.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
He actually had some of his best scores ever in 13-14, and did well at Worlds. He was the highest scoring US man at Worlds. (skating injured) He got a quad in the short and long at nationals. His family wants him to quit by all accounts.

IF (and it's a big IF) he stays in , (per recent interview) it would only be for one year for another try at a World medal. He wants to put another quad in (presumably in the long). But-he will only stay in if, after training for the summer, he is stronger than last season and making progress. (I'll try to find the link) http://www.examiner.com/article/the-void-jeremy-abbott-s-career

He has said several times he enjoys the rush of competing.

If he keeps the quad in the short and can get two quads in the long-he will be competitive.

You really think someone who will be 29 tomorrow is suddenly going to be able to get two quads in the LP?
 

centerpt1

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
I didn't think he could get a quad in the short ...ever. Or get a quad in the long and not have the rest of the program fall apart.

So- is it likely? No. I think he will retire.

But-if he wants to try, more power to him.

(then again, I never thought he'd get career best scores at age 28)
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
^^Joubert's still doing it. Granted, he's a much better jumper than Jeremy ever was. :laugh:

I don't think he's going to get a World medal, but if he wants to give it a shot, why not? No skin off my back. ;)
 

lbc2138

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Yasmin Siraj probably will continue. I'm from the Boston area, and I remember when she was younger 13/14, everyone would say she would make an Olympic team. Funny how things can change. But I feel that she is still at the age where she potentially COULD turn things around. She's 17 now. Her posture/spins are incredible, I just wish she could fix those little jumps. A funny thing about Boston though, is that very rarely will skaters switch to another coach when they are taking from Mark and Peter. In this case, I think a coach change might help.

Just did a quick Google search on Yasmin and it looks like she'll be attending Harvard in the fall.

A bit off topic but what would you guys do? Would you go for the "traditional" but assured route that is Harvard? Or would you run the risk of trying to compete at the senior level, knowing that it might not pay off for another couple of years or ever?
 

UnsaneLily87

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Just did a quick Google search on Yasmin and it looks like she'll be attending Harvard in the fall.

A bit off topic but what would you guys do? Would you go for the "traditional" but assured route that is Harvard? Or would you run the risk of trying to compete at the senior level, knowing that it might not pay off for another couple of years or ever?

Harvard, but I'm risk-adverse like that.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
A bit off topic but what would you guys do? Would you go for the "traditional" but assured route that is Harvard? Or would you run the risk of trying to compete at the senior level, knowing that it might not pay off for another couple of years or ever?
Depends on how much I love skating (and how little I love Harvard :laugh:) If I really love skating, and my finances/health are okay, I'll keep going. I wouldn't want to have any regrets.

(That being said, people like Jeremy need to have realistic expectations. He can't go into this thinking he's a lock for a World medal. I can't imagine he'd be that stupid though.)
 

UnsaneLily87

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Depends on how much I love skating (and how little I love Harvard :laugh:) If I really love skating, and my finances/health are okay, I'll keep going. I wouldn't want to have any regrets.

(That being said, people like Jeremy need to have realistic expectations. He can't go into this thinking he's a lock for a World medal. I can't imagine he'd be that stupid though.)

Obviously Jeremy can do whatever he want, but I think a lot of fans are bored by his skating and the rollercoaster that comes with watching him. There's a bunch of exciting American men (Josh, Jason, Max...) and I'm more interested in watching them than Jeremy.

If Jeremy does continue, I hope domestic judges don't give him reputation points and score him fairly.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
If he's a rollercoaster to watch, then perhaps that means he's not boring? ;)

No, seriously though, I've never been able to see Jeremy as some fantastic artist that he's often touted as. His SP this year was a slog for me. His Saitama LP did give me a glimpse of what his fans see in him, and I think he should've placed fourth there. Sadly, too little too late to turn me into a fan. (And I've always found it difficult to root for headcases.)

I actually prefer both Jason and Max over Jeremy, but the truth is, neither of them are bigger podium threats than even Jeremy is. Jeremy's habit of bombing internationally would be more worrying if he were actually holding back someone who could medal. (Max likely would've done better in the Team Event than Jeremy, but it wouldn't have been enough to get USA the silver. I do feel for him though). So if he wants to continue... well, I don't think he's gonna get anywhere but I don't think he'll do much damage either.
 

Coltrocks12

On the Ice
Joined
May 18, 2014
I have been a fan of US skating since the late 1980's and I can't remember a time when we have had so few stars and medal threats across the board.

Ladies:
I do think that Gracie coming in fourth in Sochi is promising and I think in a year or two she will be in the medals and maybe pushing for gold at Worlds. Paulina is young and I like Ashley Cain (she is a Texan after all!) I think there is promise here but it has been a long time since Lipinski, Kwan, Cohen, and Hughes were doing so well. I think Ashley Wags is on the way down and Marai needs a coach (though I have always liked her better than Ash Wags).

Men:
Evan Lysacek was the last guy that was a lock to some kind of medal internationally. I never could trust Jeremy Abbott because he would skate so well at Nats and then totally buckle under pressure at a international event. I like Max Aaron but I think he will need more exposure to international judges to be able to crack the top groups. Jason Brown won't be anywhere near the medals until he can show the judges that he can do a quad.

Pairs:
I liked Ina/Zimmerman and Meno and Sand and they were good for a bronze every now and then. We have never won an OGM in pairs and our last world title was in 1979. With teams splitting left and right, I don't think we are anywhere close to breaking the glass ceiling in pairs.

Ice Dancing:
This is where most of our hope is. D/W are defending OGM and had a silver in Vancouver. They have either golded or silvered in every competition in the last 4-5 seasons. Obviously if they are back for Nats/Worlds they are a lock to either gold or silver. The Shibs do have a world bronze, though they seemed to have regressed from that form in the last two seasons. Chock and Bates don't seem to be going anywhere for me. We do have a Junior World Title team so I think Ice Dancing will be the bell cow for the USFSA for the foreseeable future.
 

Coltrocks12

On the Ice
Joined
May 18, 2014
If he's a rollercoaster to watch, then perhaps that means he's not boring? ;)

No, seriously though, I've never been able to see Jeremy as some fantastic artist that he's often touted as. His SP this year was a slog for me. His Saitama LP did give me a glimpse of what his fans see in him, and I think he should've placed fourth there. Sadly, too little too late to turn me into a fan. (And I've always found it difficult to root for headcases.)

I actually prefer both Jason and Max over Jeremy, but the truth is, neither of them are bigger podium threats than even Jeremy is. Jeremy's habit of bombing internationally would be more worrying if he were actually holding back someone who could medal. (Max likely would've done better in the Team Event than Jeremy, but it wouldn't have been enough to get USA the silver. I do feel for him though). So if he wants to continue... well, I don't think he's gonna get anywhere but I don't think he'll do much damage either.

I totally agree about Jeremy. Artistry is great, but it needs good technicality to balance the artistry and give it a place to be in the program. If you are having to skate all of the jumps in a row to finish on time after a devastating fall, you don't have time for footwork sequences, moves in the field, and other elements of choreography like we saw in the SP in Sochi. If the jumps are clean and the levels are there on spins and required elements, then you have a forum to connect to the music and bring in the audience. That is why I am such a Kwan fan. She always had a balance of artistry and technical prowess. Sasha was a great artist, but was always good for a fall or two in the long which is why she never won Worlds but ended up in silver or bronze. It didn't matter how stretched she was or how deep she could lean into her edges because the other girls had more clean jumps and would beat her out in the end.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Ice Dancing:
This is where most of our hope is. D/W are defending OGM and had a silver in Vancouver. They have either golded or silvered in every competition in the last 4-5 seasons. Obviously if they are back for Nats/Worlds they are a lock to either gold or silver. The Shibs do have a world bronze, though they seemed to have regressed from that form in the last two seasons. Chock and Bates don't seem to be going anywhere for me. We do have a Junior World Title team so I think Ice Dancing will be the bell cow for the USFSA for the foreseeable future.

I still am holding out hope for Chock and Bates. They have moved up in the world standings to 5th, albeit they did drop one place at the Olympics compared to the previous year's worlds.
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Just did a quick Google search on Yasmin and it looks like she'll be attending Harvard in the fall.

A bit off topic but what would you guys do? Would you go for the "traditional" but assured route that is Harvard? Or would you run the risk of trying to compete at the senior level, knowing that it might not pay off for another couple of years or ever?

I believe Yasmin said on her website that she wanted to attend Harvard and still compete, probably similar to what Christina Gao has done (unless she was referring to collegiate competitive skating, but I don't know anything about that). I'm not sure Yasmin is quite at Gao's level though, but you never know when a skater can turn things around. I know she's been plagued by some injuries in recent years. If she enjoys skating and competing, then she should definitely continue if she wants. You're never really too old for school, but the gift you've been given to skate competitively won't last forever. Plenty of skaters seem to handle taking some classes while training at the same time.
 
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