- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
This season has been full of disappointments for many skaters, but I'm seeing a growing trend in skater's who struggle with consistency.
Alissa Czisny has always been shaky under pressure, but I thought after what she had gone through four years ago, she would keep it together at nationals and either make or narrowly miss the Olympic team; instead she bombed, and her usually dazzling presence disappeared with the jumps at nationals.
Tomas Verner like Alissa has been known for his inconsistency, but after his 4th place finish at Worlds last year and 2nd place finish at TEB in the fall, I thought he had turned over a new leaf. Since TEB, he's been underwhelming to put it lightly, and at the Olympics he seemed to have lost his spark and charm.
Brian Joubert, with so many Grand Prix, European, and World medals under his belt has never struck me as shaky before, but this season he's been a disappointment. At TEB he was off his mark, withdrew from the GPF, was better but not his best at Europeans, and was heartbreaking to watch at the Olympics. In the SP he looked uncomfortable, and in the LP he looked slow and uninspired, as if he had given up and no longer enjoys skating.
Carolina Kostner redeemed herself at Europeans after the worst bomb I think I've ever witnessed in skating at Worlds last year and then struggling at both her Grand Prix events this season. She's been hot and cold in the past, and no one knows how she will do at the Olympics this year. Can she redeem herself or will she revert back to her old ways?
Jeremy Abbott, another skater known for being hot and cold, but I really thought he had the nerves beat after winning back to back national titles. He pulled into the top 10 at this Olympics, but not convincingly - his SP was a disaster, and his FS was a few mistakes shy of a meltdown. He would have been joining Joubert and Verner in the doghouse were it not for his great overall skating, spins, and artistry.
Caroline Zhang is another lady who has struggled this season. After melting down in the LP at SC, she wasn't able to regain her energy and strength and did poorly again at nationals, where she was in the running to make the Olympic team. Furthermore, she no longer seems to enjoy skating, expressing hardly any emotion on the ice and always looking sad and frustrated in the Kiss and Cry. She just won the bronze at 4CC (in a pretty weak field), which is encouraging, but may mean she's just turning into another inconsistent skater who will dazzle us at some competitions and round out the bottom at others.
Laura Lepisto. She's been doing well all season, but not convincingly. She always seems to have major issues in the LP, oftentimes only landing 1 to 3 triples. I don't know if her tendency to double all her jumps is strength, stamina, or nerves related but it is concerning. Her jumps are nice when she lands them, so why can't she land them more often?
Mao Asada What happened to mighty Mao, the best 14 year old skater ever? Mao never used to get nervous and now it seems like more often than not she makes big mistakes in the SP, and sometimes in the LP too. Both GP events this season were rough for her, and even at Worlds last year where she did well, she failed to medal. I feel as if she has truly lost something from her skating, and it's apparent in her attitude - she always seems upset now, not like the cute, bubbly Mao we all came to know and love. Like Carolina, her performances here in Vancouver are hard to predict.
The Bottom Line Figure skating is a nerve wracking sport, without a doubt. It's just hard to understand why some skaters such as Rachael Flatt, Evan Lysacek, Mirai Nagasu, Nobunai Oda, Miki Ando (after 2006) are capable of never having meltdowns at a competition while for other skaters big meltdowns are a chronic problem. I'm not saying that Rachael, Evan, Mirai, etc never have had shaky performances at competitions before - they have - just not to the point where they fall on/pop three or more jumps and forget that they are performing in front of an audience.
So what's the matter with these skaters we call "headcases"? Are they really just very nervous people, might they suffer from Generalized Anxiety or Panic Disorder, or maybe ADD and have trouble concentrating? Maybe do they just not like skating very much so let programs get away from them? Is it a strength/stamina issue, do they not train hard enough? Is it something about their coaches and they way they train? Can a slight injury like those suffered by Joubert and Caroline be enough to completely mess up a skater's game? Can getting the flu like Verner did this fall really be enough to knock out a skater's entire season? I'd like to hear what people think are the reasons for the faltering of some of the most talented skaters out there right now, and why inconsistency seems to be running rampant recently.
Alissa Czisny has always been shaky under pressure, but I thought after what she had gone through four years ago, she would keep it together at nationals and either make or narrowly miss the Olympic team; instead she bombed, and her usually dazzling presence disappeared with the jumps at nationals.
Tomas Verner like Alissa has been known for his inconsistency, but after his 4th place finish at Worlds last year and 2nd place finish at TEB in the fall, I thought he had turned over a new leaf. Since TEB, he's been underwhelming to put it lightly, and at the Olympics he seemed to have lost his spark and charm.
Brian Joubert, with so many Grand Prix, European, and World medals under his belt has never struck me as shaky before, but this season he's been a disappointment. At TEB he was off his mark, withdrew from the GPF, was better but not his best at Europeans, and was heartbreaking to watch at the Olympics. In the SP he looked uncomfortable, and in the LP he looked slow and uninspired, as if he had given up and no longer enjoys skating.
Carolina Kostner redeemed herself at Europeans after the worst bomb I think I've ever witnessed in skating at Worlds last year and then struggling at both her Grand Prix events this season. She's been hot and cold in the past, and no one knows how she will do at the Olympics this year. Can she redeem herself or will she revert back to her old ways?
Jeremy Abbott, another skater known for being hot and cold, but I really thought he had the nerves beat after winning back to back national titles. He pulled into the top 10 at this Olympics, but not convincingly - his SP was a disaster, and his FS was a few mistakes shy of a meltdown. He would have been joining Joubert and Verner in the doghouse were it not for his great overall skating, spins, and artistry.
Caroline Zhang is another lady who has struggled this season. After melting down in the LP at SC, she wasn't able to regain her energy and strength and did poorly again at nationals, where she was in the running to make the Olympic team. Furthermore, she no longer seems to enjoy skating, expressing hardly any emotion on the ice and always looking sad and frustrated in the Kiss and Cry. She just won the bronze at 4CC (in a pretty weak field), which is encouraging, but may mean she's just turning into another inconsistent skater who will dazzle us at some competitions and round out the bottom at others.
Laura Lepisto. She's been doing well all season, but not convincingly. She always seems to have major issues in the LP, oftentimes only landing 1 to 3 triples. I don't know if her tendency to double all her jumps is strength, stamina, or nerves related but it is concerning. Her jumps are nice when she lands them, so why can't she land them more often?
Mao Asada What happened to mighty Mao, the best 14 year old skater ever? Mao never used to get nervous and now it seems like more often than not she makes big mistakes in the SP, and sometimes in the LP too. Both GP events this season were rough for her, and even at Worlds last year where she did well, she failed to medal. I feel as if she has truly lost something from her skating, and it's apparent in her attitude - she always seems upset now, not like the cute, bubbly Mao we all came to know and love. Like Carolina, her performances here in Vancouver are hard to predict.
The Bottom Line Figure skating is a nerve wracking sport, without a doubt. It's just hard to understand why some skaters such as Rachael Flatt, Evan Lysacek, Mirai Nagasu, Nobunai Oda, Miki Ando (after 2006) are capable of never having meltdowns at a competition while for other skaters big meltdowns are a chronic problem. I'm not saying that Rachael, Evan, Mirai, etc never have had shaky performances at competitions before - they have - just not to the point where they fall on/pop three or more jumps and forget that they are performing in front of an audience.
So what's the matter with these skaters we call "headcases"? Are they really just very nervous people, might they suffer from Generalized Anxiety or Panic Disorder, or maybe ADD and have trouble concentrating? Maybe do they just not like skating very much so let programs get away from them? Is it a strength/stamina issue, do they not train hard enough? Is it something about their coaches and they way they train? Can a slight injury like those suffered by Joubert and Caroline be enough to completely mess up a skater's game? Can getting the flu like Verner did this fall really be enough to knock out a skater's entire season? I'd like to hear what people think are the reasons for the faltering of some of the most talented skaters out there right now, and why inconsistency seems to be running rampant recently.
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