2015-16 State of U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[LiamForeman]

Hmm, I think Max Aaron has the National title. I have a feeling Jason will just not do enough, so who is there? Grant? Ross? Adam???? Is Josh just taking the entire season off? Wasn't he the one who competed with a broken foot and his coach still pushed him and then treated like crap when he bombed his program? If I was the parent paying the bills I'd demand a change or to just quit and use your success to get into Harvard.

 

[caitie]

Josh is no longer coached by Tom Z.

I did read a few interesting posts by a member of FSU who said that Josh has not been practicing at all at World Arena and has only been on the ice to teach a few lessons, so I'm not expecting to see him at Nationals.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Wowzers...I hadn't heard any of that before.

 

[Ice Dance]

Hmm, I think Max Aaron has the National title. I have a feeling Jason will just not do enough, so who is there? Grant? Ross? Adam????

And Nathan. I do not believe in counting guys out before the Grand Prix Final. At this point last season, Adam and Josh were just a DISASTER. But both made the team.

 

[musicfan80]

Hmm, I think Max Aaron has the National title. I have a feeling Jason will just not do enough, so who is there? Grant? Ross? Adam???? Is Josh just taking the entire season off? Wasn't he the one who competed with a broken foot and his coach still pushed him and then treated like crap when he bombed his program? If I was the parent paying the bills I'd demand a change or to just quit and use your success to get into Harvard.

I'm not sure any skater has ever had a worse U.S. Nationals than Josh Farris did in 2011. I believe he injured his hip in practice, then he was around 12th after the SP (he was expected to do MUCH better), then he had an allergic reaction and was in the ER. THEN he skated the LP and the skate was too awful for words. He ended up actually breaking his ankle (or maybe his leg?) when he fell on a triple axle. The only thing more horrid than the LP was how Tom Z. was in the Kiss N' Cry. I think he finished around 20th.

The silver lining is that was that he left Tom Z. and has since stayed with Christy Krall and Damon Allen. I think that has ended up working a lot better for him. If he recovers and comes back next season, I really hope that this concussion is the last bad injury he has to go through. I hope that Gabriella Papadakis takes all the time that she really needs to come back as well - I am going to be really nervous for G/P at Europeans/Worlds this year. I believe Madison Hubbell also had a concussion and it took awhile for her and Zach to come back as well.

And Nathan. I do not believe in counting guys out before the Grand Prix Final. At this point last season, Adam and Josh were just a DISASTER. But both made the team.

I know I have made my predictions for U.S. Nationals in that thread, but really, I'm not going to assume anything that will happen at U.S. Nationals anymore.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Josh is no longer coached by Tom Z.

I did read a few interesting posts by a member of FSU who said that Josh has not been practicing at all at World Arena and has only been on the ice to teach a few lessons, so I'm not expecting to see him at Nationals.

WHAT?

Why would he not be at the Nationals, barring injury?

 

[Violet Bliss]

I had this discussion with someone I knew one day. They'd thrown $50 on Mark Webber getting pole and winning the race at the Nurburgring in 2009, but they got on him on the Thursday, when the odds were long. This guy won about $4000 I think. And he asked, have you never been tempted to bet on Mark? You always say he'll win.

And I'm like: I don't understand how anyone could bet on sport. There are so many variables. It might rain. It might not rain. An animal might run over the track. An athlete might get food poisoning, might sleep on a funny angle and crick their neck, might trip on something and fall, might inexplicably hurt themselves doing some seemingly minor thing. The equipment might fail, or it might not start at all. The referee might make a bad call. The referee might make a good call. A fan might run on the field. There might be a power outage.

As we can see, I'm not very good at this gambling thing. I like my controllables firmly controlled and try not to dabble too much in the uncontrollables.

You see that's why you're not a betting woman. Betting is not about the controllables - there are no such things as you already explained. One bets on gut feelings, faith, and hope for the right star alignment.

 

[ice coverage]

... Why would he not be at the Nationals, barring injury?

I have my own fingers crossed, but I think caitie's concern (whether warranted or not) is that it could be too late at this point to make up for lost training time?

I don't know what to think. Don't know whether what was said on FSU can be considered reliable.

---

... just quit and use your success to get into Harvard.

LOL (unrelated to Josh) at this comment.
Some skaters have been admitted to Harvard, and have done very well there.
But it is a leap IMO to assume that the same door automatically would be wide open to any American skater with international medals.

 

[mrrice]

Hmm, I think Max Aaron has the National title. I have a feeling Jason will just not do enough, so who is there? Grant? Ross? Adam???? Is Josh just taking the entire season off? Wasn't he the one who competed with a broken foot and his coach still pushed him and then treated like crap when he bombed his program? If I was the parent paying the bills I'd demand a change or to just quit and use your success to get into Harvard.

Liam....You don't just GET into Harvard. I think you'd be surprised at how many performers aren't that smart. When you've been blessed with Natural talent, skating, like dance and singing, can be very easy. There are a ton of top artists that can't read music at all ( Madonna and J-lo ) have admitted they don't read music. They're rich and famous but they could never get into the Berkeley School Of Music. This is why it's so important for the skaters to have plan for their life when they finish skating. I think Chris Bowman planned on being young and cute forever and when reality hits, it can be devastating.

Unfortunately, we see it happen all the time. Watch an episode of celebrity rehab some time.

 

[musicfan80]

I have my own fingers crossed, but I think caitie's concern (whether one shares it or not) is that it would be too late to make up for lost training time.

I don't know what to think. Don't know whether what was said on FSU can be considered reliable.

I have decided awhile ago that anytime a skater announces a major injury, I don't assume anything until that skater/their team/federation announces the X next competition they will be competing at.

I saw those postings on FSU and they kinda made me cringe. I don't want to offend anyone here, but I am not a fan of believing rumors on a message board unless there is a link to a credible news article or social media posting from the athlete/team themselves. If I personally (even vaguely) knew any skater, I would never post anything about them on a message board they would end up being "hearsay". I would respect their privacy - but I am very private person myself.

 

[mrrice]

Josh is no longer coached by Tom Z.

I did read a few interesting posts by a member of FSU who said that Josh has not been practicing at all at World Arena and has only been on the ice to teach a few lessons, so I'm not expecting to see him at Nationals.

Josh who?

 

[ice coverage]

Highly recommend reading Sean Rabbitt's final two blog entries from Zagreb -- about fighting back after his SP.

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2015/12/03/158731592/golden-spin-of-zagreb-blog-down-the-rabbitt-hole​

Sean is a good writer, and everything from him always is worth reading, but those last two installments brought tears to my eyes. His determination, love of skating, and positivity come through loud and clear.

---

I have decided awhile ago that anytime a skater announces a major injury, I don't assume anything until that skater/their team/federation announces the X next competition they will be competing at.

... I don't want to offend anyone here, but I am not a fan of believing rumors on a message board unless there is a link to a credible news article or social media posting from the athlete/team themselves. If I personally (even vaguely) knew any skater, I would never post anything about them on a message board they would end up being "hearsay". I would respect their privacy - but I am very private person myself.

:agree: Agree 1000%. When Team Josh has something to say, they'll let us know. Until then, we continue to wish him well.

(I have not seen the original FSU posts ... nor do I feel any urge to do so.)

 

[Violet Bliss]

to just quit and use your success to get into Harvard.

If only getting into Harvard or getting on the podium were as easy and free as giving advice.

 

[StitchMonkey]

Inspired by Ricky/Richard/Rick/Best Friend Dornbush

 

[Mrs. P]

LOL (unrelated to Josh) at this comment.
Some skaters have been admitted to Harvard, and have done very well there.
But it is a leap IMO to assume that the same door automatically would be wide open to any American skater with international medals.

OT, obviously. But Christina Gao got into Harvard for a variety of reasons...like getting a perfect score in the math portion of the SAT. Forget international results, that's pretty dang awesome!

 

[Violet Bliss]

OT, obviously. But Christina Gao got into Harvard for a variety of reasons...like getting a perfect score in the math portion of the SAT. Forget international results, that's pretty dang awesome!

Some skating medals and a SAT perfect score can get you into Harvard. :yes: So can a cup of coffee and a SAT perfect score.

 

[sloveniangirl]

Yes, and at "only" 21 Plushenko was already an Olympic medallist and a multiple World Champion.

Skaters develop at different speeds. 21 is still very young, especially for a skater like Jason who as far as we know has never had a serious injury and has been built slowly into the big jumps. There's every chance that Jason will be able to go on longer than Hanyu and make the difference in their development moot.

Well, Yuzuru will retire in 2018, so he needs to reach his max. NOW. Not much time left:sad14:

 

[Violet Bliss]

Yes, and at "only" 21 Plushenko was already an Olympic medallist and a multiple World Champion.

Skaters develop at different speeds. 21 is still very young, especially for a skater like Jason who as far as we know has never had a serious injury and has been built slowly into the big jumps. There's every chance that Jason will be able to go on longer than Hanyu and make the difference in their development moot.

Well, Yuzuru will retire in 2018, so he needs to reach his max. NOW. Not much time left:sad14:

So it's the Tortoise and the Hare? Except the Hare is really focused and blazing ahead of the pack. Will the Energizer Bunny call it a race in 2018? Is the Tortoise aiming for the next post down the stretch, like 2022 so there is plenty of time left? :think:

 

[sloveniangirl]

So it's the Tortoise and the Hare? Except the Hare is really focused and blazing ahead of the pack. Will the Energizer Bunny call it a race in 2018? Is the Tortoise aiming for the next post down the stretch, like 2022 so there is plenty of time left? :think:

I don´t understand, but i was talking about Yuzuru and his short career and why he needs to hurry up before he retires. Nevermind

 

[LiamForeman]

LOL (unrelated to Josh) at this comment.
Some skaters have been admitted to Harvard, and have done very well there.
But it is a leap IMO to assume that the same door automatically would be wide open to any American skater with international medals.

Oh, I know. Didn't Michelle Kwan get rejected from Harvard? If America's skating sweetheart can't get in on her name, it apparently showed that good schools do actually look at academic performance.