2016-2017 State of U.S. Men Figure Skating

karne · Dec 5, 2016

Crossover said:
Max made a good decision on changing the SP. The grand classic piece was not working well for him at all. Instead of classic bullfighter costumes, abstract designed costumes would be good for him.

It's not that the grand classic piece never worked, it was that it did its job too well last season and was ready for retirement this season. I was surprised that they reused it but trusted the long-tail plan that I knew they had to have. Looks like that trust will be rewarded.

Crossover · Dec 5, 2016

karne said:
It's not that the grand classic piece never worked, it was that it did its job too well last season and was ready for retirement this season. I was surprised that they reused it but trusted the long-tail plan that I knew they had to have. Looks like that trust will be rewarded.

I feel that the bullfighter program is meant for the Olympic season, but he decided to debut the program at Nationals; good for him. I think he will keep it for the next season. I hope he also keeps the Lion King program as its full potential is not arrived yet.

karne · Dec 5, 2016

Crossover said:
I feel that the bullfighter program is meant for the Olympic season, but he decided to debut the program at Nationals; good for him. I think he will keep it for the next season. I hope he also keeps the Lion King program as its full potential is not arrived yet.

I hope so also! I also hope we get to see the bullfighter SP more than once this season.

Princessroja · Dec 5, 2016

Oh wow, I think that piece will work REALLY well for Max. Can't wait to see it!

ice coverage · Dec 6, 2016

Nathan speaks -- and says Raf always has been his head coach -- in an IN article published today:

Late this summer, the skater expanded his coaching team to include Marina Zoueva and Oleg Epstein, and his time with them this fall led some to conclude he had reduced his working relationship with Arutunian.
Not so, said Chen.
"I feel like success involves a team of people, and after last season, with all the jumping, I needed to increase my program component scores," he explained. "I felt like my jumping technique was pretty strong, so I spent maybe a little bit more than two months with Marina to improve my choreography, my artistry and edges. Now I'm with Rafael. He's always been my head coach. I've never had a coaching change."
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/06/210443320 (Dec 6)

The excerpt above is just one part of Lynn R's article -- she has more from Nathan as well quotes from all of Team USA's GPF entries: Adam + Shibs, C/B, H/D.

Good luck to all :yay:.

ETA:

Oops, forgot to say good luck to Krasnozhon too :yay: and the JGPF dancers (esp. L/Q).

Crossover · Dec 6, 2016

ice coverage said:
Nathan speaks -- and says Raf always has been his head coach -- in today's IN article:

Late this summer, the skater expanded his coaching team to include Marina Zoueva and Oleg Epstein, and his time with them this fall led some to conclude he had reduced his working relationship with Arutunian.
Not so, said Chen.
"I feel like success involves a team of people, and after last season, with all the jumping, I needed to increase my program component scores," he explained. "I felt like my jumping technique was pretty strong, so I spent maybe a little bit more than two months with Marina to improve my choreography, my artistry and edges. Now I'm with Rafael. He's always been my head coach. I've never had a coaching change."
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/06/210443320 (Dec 6)

The excerpt above is just one part of Lynn R's article -- she has more from Nathan as well quotes from all the U.S. GPF entries: Adam, Shibs, C/B, H/D.

Good luck to all :yay:.

Good to hear that Nathan stays with Rafael. :luv17:

frida80 · Dec 6, 2016

ice coverage said:
Nathan speaks -- and says Raf always has been his head coach -- in an IN article published today:

Late this summer, the skater expanded his coaching team to include Marina Zoueva and Oleg Epstein, and his time with them this fall led some to conclude he had reduced his working relationship with Arutunian.
Not so, said Chen.
"I feel like success involves a team of people, and after last season, with all the jumping, I needed to increase my program component scores," he explained. "I felt like my jumping technique was pretty strong, so I spent maybe a little bit more than two months with Marina to improve my choreography, my artistry and edges. Now I'm with Rafael. He's always been my head coach. I've never had a coaching change."
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/06/210443320 (Dec 6)

The excerpt above is just one part of Lynn R's article -- she has more from Nathan as well quotes from all of Team USA's GPF entries: Adam + Shibs, C/B, H/D.

Good luck to all :yay:.

ETA:

Oops, forgot to say good luck to Krasnozhon too :yay: and the JGPF dancers (esp. L/Q).

I'm so glad he finally clarified this! I'm still mad at Marina for having ISU change the coach list without notifying him though. But Rafael is what Nathan needs right now. He needs to make his jumps more consistent.

ice coverage · Dec 7, 2016

GPF practice photo of Nathan and Raf -- thanks to our friend Upnights :bow:

, who is posting tons of photos and videos from Marseilles:

https://twitter.com/michlmint/status/806542007938195456 (Dec 7)

Mini-video of Adam's FS at GPF practice, courtesy of David Baden:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuLYB0BSzY/?taken-by=davidbaden (Dec 7)

USFS photo of Nathan and Adam, who are "too much handsome"

:yes::

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuM3ROA3w5/?taken-by=usfigureskating (Dec 7)

Good luck to Tim and Vincent at Golden Spin :yay:.

Dolensky photo of some of Team USA at dinner in Zagreb:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNsFMd2hTgu/?taken-by=timdolensky (Dec 6)

ice coverage · Dec 8, 2016

Very interesting thoughts from Adam about being an athlete and an artist -- and about the artistic value of a quad:

I found that, yes, I love to be an artist and be creative. But if I want to be an artist, I need to be an athlete first.
When I am practicing at home, I need to only focus on the athletic side of my skating. ...
Whereas when I am at a competition, I can think of being an artist. I just rely on my training and let go with the elements. ....

Icenetwork: How, as an artist, do you view a quad? What do you feel it brings to a program from an artistic point of view?
Rippon: It does bring (something) artistically. It makes the performance more exciting. A performance is not exciting if there is no risk. I want to give exciting performances. ... I want to show a well-rounded performance.
Also, doing a quad gives me excitement, so it adds drama to the program and the performance. At home, when I practice, I work so that whether I land the quad or not, it doesn't affect the overall performance.

.... So the quad does add a world-level quality to the performance.

.... You can't just be an artist in a sport. You need to be an athlete first so you're able to perform in order to be an artist.

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/08/210651412/rippon-my-job-is-to-get-the-audience-to-its-feet (Dec 8)

Post-SP quotes from Chen, Rippon, Krasnozhon:

http://www.usfigureskatingfanzone.com/uncategorized/grand-prix-final-team-usa-competition-central/
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/08/210725998 (Dec 8)
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/12/08/210690706 (Dec 8)

ETA:

Nathan Chen Taking Small Steps, Quad Leaps Toward American History
By Amy Donaldson-Brass
Dec. 08, 2016, 3:35 p.m. (ET)
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/De...mall-Steps-Quad-Leaps-Toward-American-History

chairmanmao · Dec 10, 2016

Chen has just punched his tickets to Worlds. It will be a dog fight for second because there is no clear candidate for that. Rippon might have done better this GP season bit I feel Brown should still get the nod over him.

frida80 · Dec 10, 2016

chairmanmao said:
Chen has just punched his tickets to Worlds. It will be a dog fight for second because there is no clear candidate for that. Rippon might have done better this GP season bit I feel Brown should still get the nod over him.

I think there neck and neck. Both had some successes but also some major meltdown too. We really need a solid competitor to get three slots again. Maybe USFSA should send the top three to 4CC and take the highest two.

Jammers · Dec 10, 2016

chairmanmao said:
Chen has just punched his tickets to Worlds. It will be a dog fight for second because there is no clear candidate for that. Rippon might have done better this GP season bit I feel Brown should still get the nod over him.

Nathan still needs to skate well at Nationals and finish in the top 2 to go to Worlds. If he's 3rd i don't know what they will do but he showed his scoring potential even with rather low PCS is off the charts when he nails those quads and his 3axel.

frida80 · Dec 10, 2016

Jammers said:
Nathan still needs to skate well at Nationals and finish in the top 2 to go to Worlds. If he's 3rd i don't know what they will do but he showed his scoring potential even with rather low PCS is off the charts when he nails those quads and his 3axel.

Using USFSA "body of work" decision making process, Nathan earned his spot by getting a silver medal at GPF. His score is also 15 points higher than either Adam or Jason. Technically Adam has one more medal than Jason and made it to the GPF. But Jason has scored higher. Neither are landing their 4T consistently. So it's between the two of them. Though if they both melt down again Max could snag the spot.

FlattFan · Dec 10, 2016

Nathan is the future. He showed he can hang with the big boys. Even if he bombed at Nationals, he should be sent because the potential is huge.

If anyone fighting for the second spot, they should be sent to 4cc to fight it out.

karne · Dec 10, 2016

chairmanmao said:
Chen has just punched his tickets to Worlds.

You're assuming he actually makes it to Worlds without breaking himself, which is not guaranteed.

andromache · Dec 10, 2016

karne said:
You're assuming he actually makes it to Worlds without breaking himself, which is not guaranteed.

That can be said about literally any skater. Injuries are common in this sport. It's almost like you want it to happen to Nathan.

karne · Dec 10, 2016

andromache said:
That can be said about literally any skater. Injuries are common in this sport. It's almost like you want it to happen to Nathan.

That is an absolutely disgusting thing to say. I would NEVER want to see anyone injured. The REALITY is that we are talking about a kid who is still growing and has a laundry list of injuries including MAJOR hip surgery less than a year ago and who is attempting a crazy tech layout that leaves him wide open and vulnerable to further injury and apparently no-one in his camp who cares enough about his future to try and rein him in.

I would also like to remind people that they were carrying on like pork chops about him at this time last year, too, and look how that ended.

I have lost two skaters whom I loved dearly to injury well before their time and potential was reached. I do not want to see it happen to a kid Nathan's age. I do not particularly care for him, but I know there are others who do, and I don't want them to go through the same pain. I don't want to be reading stories about Nathan in ten years where he's hardly able to walk or getting serious joint replacements.

gravy · Dec 10, 2016

karne said:
I have lost two skaters whom I loved dearly to injury well before their time and potential was reached.

You make it seems like they died.

andromache · Dec 10, 2016

Nathan is taking the same risk as any other kid doing these quads. I'm not sure how long this quad-burst will last because we aren't sure of the long-term impacts that so many quads has on the body.

He's obviously capable of doing these jumps and landing them without hurting himself, but accidents happen, as in any sport, that can result in an injury.

Let's just hope Nathan stays healthy and is able to skate to his full potential at Nationals and for a long time to come. Celebrate the positives instead of focusing on the possibility of something bad happening, when by all accounts Nathan is currently healthy and injury-free.

Skatingcat · Dec 10, 2016

How old is Nathan?

It seems like he's pushing his body before it is completely physically grown, which could lead to more injuries. Maybe he doesn't care because his focus is to medal at the Olympics and retire with a medal. Maybe he likes jumping. I applaud his ability (even if I hate the long program this season), and I hope he can remain injury free.

For next season, I hope Rafael works on his artistry. Too bad we can combine Adam's artistry and his physical ability (It's the US men's thread, so I'm picking US men to combine Nathan with).

2016-2017 State of U.S. Men Figure Skating

karne

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Crossover

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