I love this kid. Just watched his amazing LP from China and he was in fine form throughout the entire program. He mentioned in an interview afterward that he was pleased with the result, achieving his first GP medal, but was not as pleased with the levels the judges gave him. You could tell when his scores came up that he wasn't as excited as his coach.
Mroz reminds me of the old 6.0 days in men's skating. He is an incredible jumper (a clean quad and two triple axels in one program is something to behold in 2010) with lovely posture and presentation. Obviously he's lacking certain weapons in his arsenal. His skating skills are nothing to compare to Chan and Kozuka, but he's still not bad in that regard. His transitions are not quite as intricate or complex as the very top guys, but it's not like he's just skating around in circles from element to element, either. What I love most is his musicality and his ability to interpret music and emotion through his arms. He presents a really clean package on the ice, and I think that deserves to be recognized by the judges. But will he always be held back because of what the CoP asks for? Do we see him improving transitions, ss, spins, footwork, etc. enough to be a contender for big medals and spots on the Worlds podium one day? I'd hate to see him losing to sloppy skaters just because they include more difficult material in their programs - that is one of the biggest flaws of the CoP.
Quality like Brandon's needs to be rewarded.
Mroz reminds me of the old 6.0 days in men's skating. He is an incredible jumper (a clean quad and two triple axels in one program is something to behold in 2010) with lovely posture and presentation. Obviously he's lacking certain weapons in his arsenal. His skating skills are nothing to compare to Chan and Kozuka, but he's still not bad in that regard. His transitions are not quite as intricate or complex as the very top guys, but it's not like he's just skating around in circles from element to element, either. What I love most is his musicality and his ability to interpret music and emotion through his arms. He presents a really clean package on the ice, and I think that deserves to be recognized by the judges. But will he always be held back because of what the CoP asks for? Do we see him improving transitions, ss, spins, footwork, etc. enough to be a contender for big medals and spots on the Worlds podium one day? I'd hate to see him losing to sloppy skaters just because they include more difficult material in their programs - that is one of the biggest flaws of the CoP.
Quality like Brandon's needs to be rewarded.