Javier Fernandez

[honghe]

That is so funny, no wonder I only saw them played with small balls, I thought it is easier to carry smaller ball around since these skaters travel a lot.

I guess smaller balls being easier to carry around must also be part of the reason. These guys really do love soccer

Valentina mentioned in her TSL interview that Morozov loved to have fun with Amodio and Javi, experimenting all kinds of steps/footwork since these two boys have very soft knees & ankles and can practically do anything on ice

Was that why Morozov kept changing things, so much so that Javi (according to Miki) didn't really remember what he was doing?

These boys are also very naturally engaging as performers. So is Valentina. They must be fun to choreograph for.

 

[cathlen]

Back to Javi... and because it's now #throwbackthursday, here's an old photo of Adri, Javier Raya, and Javi when they were still little kids :luv17:: http://i67.tinypic.com/wv3n1y.jpg IIRC, Adri used to be a single skater, too?

Little Spaniards, so adorable

Thank you, I am flattered my own experience make me at awe how human brain can work out something under unusual circumstances I thought my experience was unique, until I heard that Yu Xiaoyu, the Chinese pair skater, also learned to speak Japanese by watching tons of cartoons when she was very young; she has outdone me for sure, since she can speak Japanese fluently, whilst I forgot most of them.

Wow, Yu Xiaoyu must have some real talent for languages! I also used to have obsesion with anime, but I only learned few expressions trough watching them, so you must be quite good yourself

 

[evergreen]

topic:Thank you for the link! They really devoted a lot of time and energy to this program.
What Sara/Adri achieved was truly amazing. It's sad that they split, but I am glad that they both decided to continue skating, as they are obviously very passionate about the sport.

It is a pity that they split, but at least their continuous in the sports can cheer us up; sometimes I am thinking that these brilliant couples may be doomed to split because of their strong personalities, e.g. Sara/Andri, Elena/Nikita, like marriage, those ice dance couples whose personalities complement each other usually are able to establish a long & lasting collaboration.

Yes, Somewhere in Time is another David Wilson's masterpiece, I was sad that I did not get to see it perform at Olympic ice :sad21: As I mentioned before, I found that most of David's masterpieces are those he did for pairs/ice dancing.

I guess smaller balls being easier to carry around must also be part of the reason. These guys really do love soccer

I guess even though they are all so fond of figure skating, they much get bored sometime after hours of practicing on ice ; playing something different with their team mates would be definitely interesting & fun

I Was that why Morozov kept changing things, so much so that Javi (according to Miki) didn't really remember what he was doing?

I guess so, according to Valentina, both Javi and Amodio are two 'crazy' boys whom Morozov loved to have fun together; Javi mentioned in a fan meeting after 2011 COR that he missed Amodio very much after he moved to Toronto for training; and he also complained that Amodio was so lazy that he did not write to him unless he wrote to Amodio. Imagine when Javi was complaining someone else' laziness

 

[honghe]

It is a pity that they split, but at least their continuous in the sports can cheer us up; sometimes I am thinking that these brilliant couples may be doomed to split because of their strong personalities, e.g. Sara/Andri, Elena/Nikita, like marriage, those ice dance couples whose personalities complement each other usually are able to establish a long & lasting collaboration.

Considering that they sometimes spend more time with each other than a lot of married couple actually do, I agree that those with very strong personalities do often need more effort to make their collaboration work. I wish Sara and Adri good luck with their new partners, and I hope Elena/Ruslan can develop together in a way that will let them fulfill their potential.

Yes, Somewhere in Time is another David Wilson's masterpiece, I was sad that I did not get to see it perform at Olympic ice :sad21: As I mentioned before, I found that most of David's masterpieces are those he did for pairs/ice dancing.

He does not seem to do a lot of choreography for ice dancing, though? I like almost every ice dancing program of his I've seen so far, but there are so few...

I guess even though they are all so fond of figure skating, they much get bored sometime after hours of practicing on ice ; playing something different with their team mates would be definitely interesting & fun

Playing something different may also help take some of the pressure off. And soccer is something that usually can be played no matter where you go. Other games might have higher requirements for equipment, place, etc.

I guess so, according to Valentina, both Javi and Amodio are two 'crazy' boys whom Morozov loved to have fun together; Javi mentioned in a fan meeting after 2011 COR that he missed Amodio very much after he moved to Toronto for training; and he also complained that Amodio was so lazy that he did not write to him unless he wrote to Amodio. Imagine when Javi was complaining someone else' laziness

These skaters must be a really fun group of people
I hope Javi recalls how he felt back then when Miki complains about him not texting her to say good morning/good night

 

[evergreen]

He does not seem to do a lot of choreography for ice dancing, though? I like almost every ice dancing program of his I've seen so far, but there are so few..

I think one of the reasons why he did not have much ice dancing clients is because of the complexity of the ice dance programs under IJS system, in addition to the input from the technical experts, the programs need to be trimmed/altered throughout the season upon the feedbacks of the judges & the levels of the elements the skaters received for each competition; as such, it makes more sense to be able to work with the choreographer at the rink side from time to time.

Playing something different may also help take some of the pressure off. And soccer is something that usually can be played no matter where you go. Other games might have higher requirements for equipment, place, etc.

Yep, plus soccer is indeed a very fun sport to play.

These skaters must be a really fun group of people
I hope Javi recalls how he felt back then when Miki complains about him not texting her to say good morning/good night

I sort of understand that Javi, being very genuine, does not think he has to always say "missing you" or "good morning/good afternoon/good night" to prove he is truly missing his girlfriend; and it does not make his love stronger, especially since there are other things to do with his day than repeating his devotion, or he prefers to do so only when he truly feel it. IIRC, when he was still dating his ex-girlfriend, Cortney Mansour, she requested him to say hi to her in the kiss & cry area, he did not like the idea but still did so, reluctantly, i.e. his kiss & cry moment after the free skate at 13' Euro.

 

[honghe]

It was after his SP at Euros 2014, I believe. As they wait in the K & C area Brian told Javi that he was probably going to go into the lead. Javi said: "In case Cortney hears me, Hello Cortney!" I remember this clearly because I was like "you had a rather underwhelming GP season and now you have a chance to defend your European title and maybe turn your season around shortly before the Olympics, yet what you are most concerned about is saying hello to some girl??" (I wasn't really following his career so I did not know much about his personality. What appeared to me was that he seemed to lack focus and I refused to become a fan of someone like that. I'm glad I was wrong.) I did not know that it was his girlfriend, let alone that he was asked to do that. It would have made more sense had I known.

I think one of the reasons why he did not have much ice dancing clients is because of the complexity of the ice dance programs under IJS system, in addition to the input from the technical experts, the programs need to be trimmed/altered throughout the season upon the feedbacks of the judges & the levels of the elements the skaters received for each competition; as such, it makes more sense to be able to work with the choreographer at the rink side from time to time.

That's a good point. Although it is still a pity, as I think David's ice dance programs are great.

I sort of understand that Javi, being very genuine, does not think he has to always say "missing you" or "good morning/good afternoon/good night" to prove he is truly missing his girlfriend; and it does not make his love stronger, especially since there are other things to do with his day than repeating his devotion, or he prefers to do so only when he truly feel it.

I can understand Javi. If I were him, I probably would not find saying good morning/good night everyday necessary, either. But a long-distance relationship is not easy, so I understand Miki, too. Luckily, Miki seems to be a very understanding person.

 

[Arriba627]

Regarding SA, last year it was impossible to have both Javi and Denis, and all things considered, I guess it made more sense for Denis to go to SA and for Javi to go to somewhere else. Before last year, maybe someone with higher placements chose SA first. Anyway, with Javi's schedule, I think this year's SA might be a little too early for him. (He actually ended up getting assigned the two latest GP events he could possibly get.)

I also really felt for Shoma during and after his FS at Worlds. He is really talented, though, and seems very determined. So maybe in a few years both he himself and his fans will be able to look back at this year's Worlds and see how much he has grown since.


In Shoma's case, he is obviously highly gifted by nature, so it is understandable if his team decides not to fix what is already working.

Shoma just returned from spending 3 weeks in the Chicago area training at the Glacier Ice Arena with Coach Alex Ouriashev, with special emphasis on jumps. So he is trying to work on his weaknesses, it seems. His poor knees will be a mess if he continues with his poor technique.

Would LOVE to know what words of encouragement Javi gave him. I'm sure he was very kind.

 

[Arriba627]

That awful fall really hurt, I could almost fell the pain myself when I saw him fall. Besides, I do hope Shoma's team could fix his jumping technique, the way of his landing is going to hurt his back/hip/knee one day. You know what, I don't think that his team made a right move by changing his technical layout so late in the season, if he stick to his original layout, he would had been on the podium at the 16' worlds. Nonetheless, this kid is so talented and he sure will have a bright future.

I think someone must have had too much sake when they changed Shoma's program layout. Such a stressful thing to do for only a small increase in base value. I think he was a nervous wreck before he even started...Hopefully Coach Alex was able to help him with his jumps while he was in Chicago.

A fun Javi thing: We arrived at the TD Garden for the men's free skate, and outside I could see a lot of people taking pictures and some commotion. It turned out it was Miki. All the Japanese ladies were having their picture taken with her. She was dressed in a beautiful black dress and looked so happy. I'm sure it was an exciting thing to come to support Javi. She was really friendly and was talking with everyone.

 

[evergreen]

It was after his SP at Euros 2014, I believe. As they wait in the K & C area Brian told Javi that he was probably going to go into the lead. Javi said: "In case Cortney hears me, Hello Cortney!" I remember this clearly because I was like "you had a rather underwhelming GP season and now you have a chance to defend your European title and maybe turn your season around shortly before the Olympics, yet what you are most concerned about is saying hello to some girl??" (I wasn't really following his career so I did not know much about his personality. What appeared to me was that he seemed to lack focus and I refused to become a fan of someone like that. I'm glad I was wrong.) I did not know that it was his girlfriend, let alone that he was asked to do that. It would have made more sense had I known.

Yes, you are right, it should be at 14' Euros, we could tell he was very nervous at both SP & FS, even after his performances.

TBH, as we discussed before, Javi did not appear to has what it usually takes to be a true champion until 2015 worlds, even though the hardware he collected had already placed him at the top level in figure skating. It seemed that in his initial two/three seasons with Brian Orser, his coach cared more about the outcomes of the competitions than he did; I got disappointed at him occasionally, not because he lost the title or failed to be on the podium, but for his lost of focus and or lack of aggressiveness/competitiveness. When you watch Yuzu's skating, as soon as he came out the gate at senior level at the age of 15, you can tell that he wanted to win very much, I could see the fire inside him, the hungry & thirsty for the victory; I have never been a fan of Evan Lysacek, but I solute to his commitment to the competitions. In Javi's case, we all knew he has the ability & talent to deliver a championship performance liked he did at 13 Euros', but it is different to be able to perform like this consistently, he had not improved his personal best in free skate & total scores for almost three seasons until 2015 GPF; why he had such a successful season in 2015-16, because he had never worked so hard towards his definite goal and he fight hard to 'win' every competition he entered until then.

Speaking of his unfortunate 13-14 season, he had to deal with all sorts of problems, financial/equipment/emotion related. He could not get used to the new boots and had to go back to his old ones after trying two pairs of new skates; he lost the funding from his federation and had to earn his training costs & bread by doing a lot of ice shows during the off-season, which definitely had a negative impact on his preparation for the Olympic season; he was very upset when social media buried him for his comments on Putin's anti-gay campaign towards Sochi which he even did not remember what he said; program/costume-wise, his team did poorly on packaging him in the most important season.

I truly wish Javi and his team take lessons from the mistakes they made in 13-14 season and get fully prepared for 2018' Olympics, it will probably his last one, win or not, I hope he can enjoy the journey and happily move on with his life with no regrets.

 

[evergreen]

Would LOVE to know what words of encouragement Javi gave him. I'm sure he was very kind.

Yes, that is Javi, one of the sweetest & kindest skaters known in the sports, IIRC, his motto is "be kind, as everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle", he always pay sincere complement to young skaters such as Yuzu, Shoma, Boyang, Nam; I think these prodigies remind him how he started his career in the senior field at a very young age, unsecured and sort of scared of spot light at the big stage.

 

[honghe]

TBH, as we discussed before, Javi did not appear to has what it usually takes to be a true champion until 2015 worlds, even though the hardware he collected had already placed him at the top level in figure skating. It seemed that in his initial two/three seasons with Brian Orser, his coach cared more about the outcomes of the competitions than he did; I got disappointed at him occasionally, not because he lost the title or failed to be on the podium, but for his lost of focus and or lack of aggressiveness/competitiveness. When you watch Yuzu's skating, as soon as he came out the gate at senior level at the age of 15, you can tell that he wanted to win very much, I could see the fire inside him, the hungry & thirsty for the victory; I have never been a fan of Evan Lysacek, but I solute to his commitment to the competitions. In Javi's case, we all knew he has the ability & talent to deliver a championship performance liked he did at 13 Euros', but it is different to be able to perform like this consistently, he had not improved his personal best in free skate & total scores for almost three seasons until 2015 GPF; why he had such a successful season in 2015-16, because he had never worked so hard towards his definite goal and he fight hard to 'win' every competition he entered until then.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. What bothered me for some time was what appeared to me as his lack of focus. What I did not understand back then was that Javi probably grew up not really thinking he could win any championship besides Spanish Nationals. In the interview with Sara you posted, she said that even she and Adri themselves were surprised by their own journey. I'd guess it's probably also like that in Javi's case. While a lot of other elite skaters probably make the Olympic podium or even gold their goals at an early age, Javi was only hoping he could qualify for the Olympics--and even that was quite an achievement for him. Brian said that he sometimes had to get really mad at Javi because he didn't want Javi to have any regret later in life. Javi is lucky to have met people like Brian who have really believed in him.

All things considered, I think it's amazing how much Javi had grown in the past few years, especially the past two years. And I'm not even talking about results at competitions. Just how composed he has become in 2015-2016 as compared to 2014-2015 speaks volumes.

I share your wish for Javi's future. I hope his skating career is something that will always bring him joy whenever he thinks about it. Whatever happens from this point onward, as a fan I think there are already a lot that I could be grateful for. And I never thought I'd say something like this about a skater I didn't want to be a fan of at first

 

[Jaana]

I think that every international medal he has gotten has given him a boost, the wins at Europeans and especially his first WC gold medal. Of course I expect his second WC win will give even a bigger boost. The progress has been kind of slow, but maybe that is better in the long run?

 

[eppen]

The other Southern European Elvis, Ivan Righini. http://www.ivanrighini.it/news/ ... Hope this will not turn into this year's "most popular theme"

I read the 2013 IFS Mag interview and in it Javi said that at 17 he was basically a hobby skater, not much more. That is before he was taken up by Morozov. Brian said very similar things about the time when he started with Javi - about lack of direction and aims at least, maybe someone doing quads regularly in international competition is beyond being a hobby skater

E

 

[honghe]

I think that every international medal he has gotten has given him a boost, the wins at Europeans and especially his first WC gold medal. Of course I expect his second WC win will give even a bigger boost. The progress has been kind of slow, but maybe that is better in the long run?

And as evergreen said before, maybe not overworking himself in his early years helped his overall health to some degree.

The other Southern European Elvis, Ivan Righini. http://www.ivanrighini.it/news/ ... Hope this will not turn into this year's "most popular theme"

:shocked:
But it is something that probably suits Ivan well.:agree:
So we'll have both Elvis at TEB and of course Euros and Worlds, even though it's possible that all the songs they choose are different.

I read the 2013 IFS Mag interview and in it Javi said that at 17 he was basically a hobby skater, not much more. That is before he was taken up by Morozov. Brian said very similar things about the time when he started with Javi - about lack of direction and aims at least, maybe someone doing quads regularly in international competition is beyond being a hobby skater

E

David Wilson also said that when Javi first arrived in Toronto, he thought Javi was kind of like a "pleasure skater", in the sense that he did not always show exactly the same kind of discipline people usually expect from elite athletes. I think Brian and his team have done a great job in helping Javi become more focused and disciplined, instilling good habits in him, while at the same time making sure that he never loses the pleasure and fun of it.:2thumbs: Maybe it's just me but I usually feel that Javi is genuinely happy to perform for and communicate with the audience when he is on ice, and there are skaters about whom the same thing cannot always be said.

 

[evergreen]

I read the 2013 IFS Mag interview and in it Javi said that at 17 he was basically a hobby skater, not much more. That is before he was taken up by Morozov. Brian said very similar things about the time when he started with Javi - about lack of direction and aims at least, maybe someone doing quads regularly in international competition is beyond being a hobby skater

I read that interview too. One question puzzles me all the time is when did Javi drop out of his school? I assume it was in the summer of 2008 when he moved to New Jersey to train with Morozov; then I sat next to a Javi's fan who is close to his family in one competition some years ago, according to her, Javi dropped out school at the age of 14; if he treated the skating like a big hobby before taken by Morozov, why he discontinued his education to train in full time. I understand Javi does not like reading, but isn't important to at least finish high school education, especially when he was not certain about his career in the sports?

 

[honghe]

I thought education is obligatory until a child is 16 or 17 in Spain? I know from following soccer that the young players in those big clubs' youth systems go to high school, no matter how good they are at their sport.

 

[evergreen]

I thought education is obligatory until a child is 16 or 17 in Spain? I know from following soccer that the young players in those big clubs' youth systems go to high school, no matter how good they are at their sport.

I read somewhere Javi quit school for skating but did not mention when. His parents wish him to go back to school once he retires from competition.

Also it appears weird to me is when Morozov talked to Javi about coming to train with his team, he asked Javi to decide it right way, otherwise the offer was void. Wasn't Javi just turn 17 in that summer, who was a minor at the time? shouldn't his parents be involved in the decision about their son when Morozov made the offer? It was a key turning point of Javi's career, of course, many thought what Morozov offered to train Javi for free was very kind and generous, however, I sort of did not like how he handled the situation, not professional in my book:noshake:

 

[honghe]

Well I think it was indeed very kind of Morozov to offer to train Javi for free, regardless of how the offer was made. Maybe Morozov wanted to push Javi a little since he was not that sure about how committed Javi was to his own skating career. Maybe there were other reasons we do not know about. In any case, if Javi's parents had not been supportive of the decision, he would not have been able to move to another country. And it turned out to be a good decision for Javi. Had he not made the move, he probably would not be where he is now. As we discussed before, Javi certainly has a lot of guts and knows what is the right thing to do when facing important decisions.:2thumbs:
Living in another country away from one's family was of course not easy, especially as he did not speak English well. But I guess it also helped him grow a lot.

 

[evergreen]

It seems that Javi is collaborating with Henry Mendez, could be something for his shows? He will be the headliner for two shows in August, one in Madrid, another in Andorra

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHnhuXtjZ2d/?taken-by=henrymendez07

 

[evergreen]

Well I think it was indeed very kind of Morozov to offer to train Javi for free, regardless of how the offer was made. Maybe Morozov wanted to push Javi a little since he was not that sure about how committed Javi was to his own skating career. Maybe there were other reasons we do not know about. In any case, if Javi's parents had not been supportive of the decision, he would not have been able to move to another country. And it turned out to be a good decision for Javi. Had he not made the move, he probably would not be where he is now. As we discussed before, Javi certainly has a lot of guts and knows what is the right thing to do when facing important decisions.:2thumbs:
Living in another country away from one's family was of course not easy, especially as he did not speak English well. But I guess it also helped him grow a lot.

I was curious what Morozov saw special in Javi until I read one of his interviews 5 or 6 years ago where he commented on the skaters he had worked with. He said Yagudin is a very strong skater, who was able to land jumps in competitions even he failed to do so in practice; he further said that Javi resembles Yagudin, though he had yet achieved the accomplishments as Yagudin did. honghe, you may already know that I am a big fan of Yagudin, I had not followed any single skaters' career before him. Well, when I watched Javi's competition live for the first time at 08' worlds, his jumps, spin and stroking resembled Yagudin when he was about the same age, of course the latter had already had superior skills and amazing consistency; plus, they both have strong legs & ankles