Skaters Retiring in the US?

Skater Boy · Mar 31, 2014

I know we want people to go out on their own terms but I thik it is time to say farewell to Abbott and Alissa. they have had many many chances. I would love to see Zhang and Mirai develop to theri full potential but it may be time to bid adieu. Surely Mirai must realize Gracie and Ashley are very strong and Edmunds is developing well too. I still think she believes she has a world medal performance in her and yes it could happen. most likely will end up like Abbott.

Ryan O · Mar 31, 2014

noskates said:
Sat next to Rockne and his family at Nats. At that point he hadn't made any decisions. He is engaged now - maybe time to move on. REALLY nice guy. I enjoyed talking to him while his brother skated in the dance competition.

It's too bad that Rockne has had so much trouble finding a partner since Keanna quit skating. They had so much potential and were the most charismatic pair the U.S. had. The fact they were both very telegenic was also a nice bonus, but it seemed her nerves and struggles with the SBS jumps became too much, leading to them being off the podium at 2010 Nationals. Since then Rockne has not been able to find a partner that he is able to endure with.

drivingmissdaisy · Mar 31, 2014

blue_idealist said:
If all the skaters you say should pursue other things after age 20 did, there would be very few skaters left around..

I am happy Akiko stayed around because she was a late bloomer. Ashley was a bit of a late bloomer, winning Nationals at 21. Other than those two, most of the older skaters have made an impact in the sport as teens.

mskater93 · Mar 31, 2014

Ryan O said:
It's too bad that Rockne has had so much trouble finding a partner since Keanna quit skating. They had so much potential and were the most charismatic pair the U.S. had. The fact they were both very telegenic was also a nice bonus, but it seemed her nerves and struggles with the SBS jumps became too much, leading to them being off the podium at 2010 Nationals. Since then Rockne has not been able to find a partner that he is able to endure with.

Keauna actually struggled with puberty and it was unfortunately during an Olympic year.

desertskates · Mar 31, 2014

carriecmu0503 said:
I haven't seen anything that says Agnes is doing SOI.

I really hope Agnes continues. But, it must me terribly difficult for her to watch her family struggle financially the way they do. I think she has a ton of talent, she just hasn't been able to put all the parts together yet.

Sk8Boi · Mar 31, 2014

Brubaker needs to quit and get a real life. Abbott needs to quit so he can stop torturing all of us with his presence. Alissa needs to quit to save her hips.

chuckm · Apr 1, 2014

Agnes Z will fall out of the top 24 on the WR list after the old data is removed, and she isn't in any USFS envelope, so there will probably be no GP events this season. If she does some summer comps and has good results, USFS might send her to a "B"--that's about the best she can hope for.

Caroline Zhang will fall completely off the WR list because she's had no scoreable results over the past two seasons, and she's not in any USFS envelope either. I'd say she's done.

chuckm · Apr 1, 2014

Sk8Boi said:
Brubaker needs to quit and get a real life. Abbott needs to quit so he can stop torturing all of us with his presence. Alissa needs to quit to save her hips.

If it weren't for Abbott, the US wouldn't be able to send 3 men to Worlds 2015. Jeremy's performances at Worlds this past week were wonderful, far better than Max Aaron's, who stumbled and stepped out of half of his jumps in the FS. And for your information, Jeremy had already announced that he would be retiring after Worlds 2014.

Rockne Brubaker will retire when he feels he is ready to do so.

I agree that Alissa probably should be careful and stay away from competition. But that is her decision.

IcyEdges · Apr 1, 2014

chuckm said:
If it weren't for Abbott, the US wouldn't be able to send 3 men to Worlds 2015. Jeremy's performances at Worlds this past week were wonderful, far better than Max Aaron's, who stumbled and stepped out of half of his jumps in the FS. And for your information, Jeremy had already announced that he would be retiring after Worlds 2014.

Rockne Brubaker will retire when he feels he is ready to do so.

I agree that Alissa probably should be careful and stay away from competition. But that is her decision.

ALL OF THIS! :clap:

And I'm pretty sure Alissa retired from competition and is just doing shows now.

noskates · Apr 1, 2014

Chuckm :agree:

I think one of Rockne's major challenges is his height. MaryBeth Marley was well-suited to him but they just didn't have any chemistry. You can't put a fantastic pairs team together in less than a year.

tulosai · Apr 1, 2014

noskates said:
Chuckm :agree:

I think one of Rockne's major challenges is his height. MaryBeth Marley was well-suited to him but they just didn't have any chemistry. You can't put a fantastic pairs team together in less than a year.

I think he and MBM had a good vibe between them by the end. They were in over their head with the deeper themes, but their Singin in the Rain had VERY good infectious energy and a sort of light, sunny chemistry between them. At least they looked like they were enjoying skating (together) which is more than I can say for him and Lindsay Davis ever for even one second of a program and more than I can say for him and KM for the last year of their partnership too unfortunately. I would have been very interested to have seen how he and MBM could have progressed. I truly and 100% believe that had she not retired they would currently be the top US pair.

b-man · Apr 1, 2014

chuckm said:
Agnes Z will fall out of the top 24 on the WR list after the old data is removed, and she isn't in any USFS envelope, so there will probably be no GP events this season. If she does some summer comps and has good results, USFS might send her to a "B"--that's about the best she can hope for.

Caroline Zhang will fall completely off the WR list because she's had no scoreable results over the past two seasons, and she's not in any USFS envelope either. I'd say she's done.

Agnes will probably get an SA slot. Caroline may still try to make Nationals through the qualifying route.

R.D. · Apr 1, 2014

I know Edmunds, Gold, Wagner(!) and Nagasu indicated wanting to continue on for the next quad. But how about Gao & Zawadzki?

noskates · Apr 1, 2014

I think Agnes ought to consider moving on. Since her silver medal at Nats she really hasn't been able to do much. I just don't see her or Caroline Zhang being significant on the national scene and definitely not on the international scene. Same with Christina Gao. All promise - no delivery.

flutzy13 · Apr 1, 2014

R.D. said:
I know Edmunds, Gold, Wagner(!) and Nagasu indicated wanting to continue on for the next quad. But how about Gao & Zawadzki?

While she hasn't indicated anything, Gao is a smart girl and likely knows her olympic chance was this year. That's why she was so devastated in the K&C in Boston. She's at Harvard and I just don't see her hanging on for no reason a la Zhang.

desertskates · Apr 2, 2014

flutzy13 said:
While she hasn't indicated anything, Gao is a smart girl and likely knows her olympic chance was this year. That's why she was so devastated in the K&C in Boston. She's at Harvard and I just don't see her hanging on for no reason a la Zhang.

I agree it's probably time for her to move on. I enjoy her skating but she has a lot of good things going on for her outside of the rink, so her focus is best put to use there. I have a lot of respect for skaters like Rachel Flatt who move on in favor of higher education. And, in all likelihood, successful careers.

Ryan O · Apr 2, 2014

tulosai said:
I think he and MBM had a good vibe between them by the end. They were in over their head with the deeper themes, but their Singin in the Rain had VERY good infectious energy and a sort of light, sunny chemistry between them. At least they looked like they were enjoying skating (together) which is more than I can say for him and Lindsay Davis ever for even one second of a program and more than I can say for him and KM for the last year of their partnership too unfortunately. I would have been very interested to have seen how he and MBM could have progressed. I truly and 100% believe that had she not retired they would currently be the top US pair.

Although Rockne seems like a very charismatic guy, I'm wondering if maybe he is too intense or difficult to get along with. :think:

He seems to have had trouble keeping more than one partner in a row now. First KM left skating and that partnership ended. Then MBM left skating and another partnership ended. Now it appears that his partnership with LD is not that positive either.

LRK · Apr 3, 2014

About Christina Gao - I think she managed to balance studying and competing quite well in the 2012-13 season - I believe I recall seeing an interview with her where she said she enjoyed doing both, and that she liked the combination. I think either could become too intense perhaps for her, if she only concentrates on one - we are all different, and different things work for us. Maybe it works for her to do both. Anyway, I enjoy watching her skate, so if she intends to continue, I'll be glad. She might take it season by season, and not be aiming for 2018 or anything like that. Who knows?

lilshorty · Apr 3, 2014

Ryan O said:
Although Rockne seems like a very charismatic guy, I'm wondering if maybe he is too intense or difficult to get along with. :think:

He seems to have had trouble keeping more than one partner in a row now. First KM left skating and that partnership ended. Then MBM left skating and another partnership ended. Now it appears that his partnership with LD is not that positive either.

Before any rumors get started, I just want to mention that his first partner Keauna decided to leave the sport due to a growth spurt/puberty issues that interfered with her ability to successfully do jumps. Mary Beth Marley, Rockne's second partner, also decided to take a break from skating due to struggling with an eating disorder, which she mentioned here http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130727&content_id=54942766&vkey=ice_news. As for his third partnership, I have no idea whether or not he and Lindsay Davis are having problems, so I cannot comment. I personally think that it's simply just a case of Rockne having bad luck when it comes to pair partnerships. But that's life. No one can predict what's going to happen in the future, especially when it comes down to whether an athlete remains physically healthy, injury free, and fully capable of competing at the elite level. I just think it's careless to speculate someone's attitude and behavior as being the reason why they have had several failed partnerships, especially when Rockne has not shown (at least to the public) himself as being a demanding or "difficult" person. Speculating and saying things like, he may be "too intense" and hard to get along with can be damaging to his reputation, especially when we as fans don't really know what went on, aside from what is reported or mentioned in the press.

sky_fly20 · Apr 3, 2014

Flatt
Zhang
Gao
Zawadzki
Ciszny - official

Skaters Retiring in the US?

Skater Boy

Ryan O

drivingmissdaisy

mskater93

desertskates

Sk8Boi

Match Penalty

chuckm

chuckm

IcyEdges

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noskates

tulosai

b-man

R.D.

noskates

flutzy13

desertskates

Ryan O

LRK

lilshorty

sky_fly20

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