2016-2017 State of Canadian Figure Skating
- Thread starter Mango
- Start date
Potential is great, but it has to be realized, or it's all just castles in the air. Look what has happened with Gracie. She too has huge jumps and great speed, but her potential has yet to be realized.
It almost seems as if all the hype is bad karma. Back in 2012-2013, all the hype was about Kaetlyn---she was going to be the next Olympic champion---then bang---she got injured. She recovered, then was injured again---even more seriously.
Now Gracie's in the doghouse, Kaetlyn's back, and Kaetlyn's getting the hype.
It puts a lot of pressure on the skaters.
It almost seems as if all the hype is bad karma. Back in 2012-2013, all the hype was about Kaetlyn---she was going to be the next Olympic champion---then bang---she got injured. She recovered, then was injured again---even more seriously.
Now Gracie's in the doghouse, Kaetlyn's back, and Kaetlyn's getting the hype.
It puts a lot of pressure on the skaters.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2013
Hype? robredo40 makes a statement that a few posters agree with and now it's, hype. Again, with the exaggeration chuckie...just can't help yourself, can you.
Re Osmond and Gold, thanks for reminding us that skating can be an emotional roller-coaster for athletes, one that most (including Ashley Wagner) are familiar with, both its highs and lows.
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Ashley has proven that she can handle pressure---she has been on the senior international scene since 2008 and has had her ups and downs over the years. At 25, she has made the top 5 at Worlds 3 times between 2012-2015 and finally won a silver World medal in 2016. She was vilified in popular media for displacing Mirai Nagasu on the 2014 US Olympic team (she placed 7th at the Olympics and at 2014 Worlds) but did not let it faze her; she reclaimed her National title in 2015. She lost the title in 2016 to Gracie Gold, but went on to win the 2016 World medal in Boston.
The difference between Ashley and Kaetlyn is that Ashley has a long history of achievement and Kaetlyn, because of injury, has had to stop and restart her career three times.
The difference between Ashley and Kaetlyn is that Ashley has a long history of achievement and Kaetlyn, because of injury, has had to stop and restart her career three times.
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- Jan 11, 2014
I'm Canadian and a big figure skating fan. I've never seen people say Kaetlyn will be an Olympic champion. She does have potential to be top 5 in the world if she skates up to her full potential but I think most Canadian's are pretty pragmatic about our ladies. We hope for the best and expect the worst. Most of us, who have been around for awhile, are pretty much scarred over by the constant loss of Olympic Gold in the men's event. All that hype and then disappointment.
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- Jan 11, 2014
Ashley and Gracie are, imo, better than Kaetlyn right now. When I say that I mean they are better on paper. But competitively who knows. The ice is slippery. All 3 have had some pretty epic on ice meltdowns and all 3 have had beautiful moments. Did anyone really expect Sarah Hughes to win Olympic Gold even a few weeks before the Salt Lake Games? But it happened.
That's the problem with hype. All that hope-filled buildup just comes crashing down. Just think how the skaters feel. After a while, they begin to believe it, too.
That's why Gracie is feeling so blue.
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- Joined
- Jan 11, 2014
The only one that really scrapes me raw is Kurt Browning. Kurt Browning should have been Olympic Champion IMO. Not that he skated well enough to earn the title in 92 or 94 but that he's that special that his not having even an Olympic medal seems a travesty.
But I would agree that I'm not sure the overhyping does any of the skaters any good.
But I would agree that I'm not sure the overhyping does any of the skaters any good.
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- Mar 7, 2015
^^ gracie and kaetlyn have very different personalities. kaetlyn is so thrilled to be back and just want to do her best. she's always smiling and is positive at competitions... gracie melts down because she focuses on the results and titles too much... as soon as she makes a tiny mistake, she collapses. she looks scared and sad at competitions.
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- Jan 11, 2014
See I actually thought Ashley winning the medal would help Gracie. It should take the pressure off of her. Everyone, press I mean, is now looking at Ashley and Gracie should feel like she has nothing to lose and be free to skate for herself. Instead she seems to have really suffered a set back. I do kind of wonder if her heart is really in it. If she asked my opinion, and she's not so she should do whatever it is she wants to do, I would say to her "You are 21 years old. Enjoy your life. If you aren't enjoying your skating take some time off. Travel, go to school, learn to paint. Find something that makes you happy. If you want to keep skating then find away to compete because you love it and not because you want to win medals."
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- Mar 7, 2015
it's because oh her meltdown in the lp... after her brilliant sp... her approach is all wrong... but you know, hard to blame her... already, when she was just a kid, people were saying she had the perfect name.... she would be GOLD... anyways, our canadian ladies are different. The only one who really had a shot a while back and was considered in the top 5 was Joannie. She delivered. Our girls now are moving up. But they barely are considered threats because the field is so deep. So, I am not worried for them. They are all hardworkers and want to improve. Look at Gabby : she was at first labeled as a strong athletic jumper... but she worked so hard to polish her skating to avoid being pigeon-holed as a jumper with no grace. She's still a bit underscored in PCS but there's nothing to worry about there. Alaine, when she first came out on GP, was labeled as a SP skater.... collapsing in LPs... this year, if anything, she has done very well in LPs.... Kaetlyn has been unfairly labeled as inconsistent when truly, she was just coming back from injury.... she's showing now good results,beating world medalists etc, and improving each time she hits the ice.
All of this shows that our girls are focused on training, betterment, and the positive outcomes. Very exciting.
All of this shows that our girls are focused on training, betterment, and the positive outcomes. Very exciting.
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- Aug 4, 2015
I don't really see a problem with labeling Kaetlyn as an international contender and "hyping her up".
As 4everchan said, Kaetlyn and Gracie are complete opposites. Kaetlyn exudes joy every time she takes the ice, and even with five falls in the free skate last year at Skate Canada, still tried to perform the step sequence to the best of her ability. She was laughing it off in the kiss and cry afterwards and I think i heard her joking that at least her spiral was good. After having gone through so much in her career already, she just loves to skate and perform in front of audiences.
Gracie and others like Mirai give up on the performance as soon as they make a mistake, and it's pretty obvious especially with Gracie that the love for skating is just not there sometimes and it feels more like a job than anything else.
Regardless of what happens with Kaetlyn, I think she'll always have a smile on her face. I just hope she can continue to build as the season goes on.
As 4everchan said, Kaetlyn and Gracie are complete opposites. Kaetlyn exudes joy every time she takes the ice, and even with five falls in the free skate last year at Skate Canada, still tried to perform the step sequence to the best of her ability. She was laughing it off in the kiss and cry afterwards and I think i heard her joking that at least her spiral was good. After having gone through so much in her career already, she just loves to skate and perform in front of audiences.
Gracie and others like Mirai give up on the performance as soon as they make a mistake, and it's pretty obvious especially with Gracie that the love for skating is just not there sometimes and it feels more like a job than anything else.
Regardless of what happens with Kaetlyn, I think she'll always have a smile on her face. I just hope she can continue to build as the season goes on.
Because of the injuries and the off-and-on career, Kaetlyn hasn't had the five years of constant pressure that's been on Gracie since she was 16 years old to bring home those medals. Kaetlyn's just been so happy to be able to skate that of course it's a joy to be out there!
It's a completely different situation, and not comparable at all. And they are two completely different individuals.
As for Skate America, Gracie took off the entire month of July and did not start training until August, so she was way behind her normal schedule. She wanted to skip the GP altogether, but was talked out of that. She was obviously undertrained and unprepared for Skate America and showed it. Her SP wasn't too bad, but her lack of stamina showed in the FS. She may be better for TDF, but I'm not expecting a momentous turnaround there, just an improvement. She should be well prepared and in shape for Nationals and Worlds.
It's a completely different situation, and not comparable at all. And they are two completely different individuals.
As for Skate America, Gracie took off the entire month of July and did not start training until August, so she was way behind her normal schedule. She wanted to skip the GP altogether, but was talked out of that. She was obviously undertrained and unprepared for Skate America and showed it. Her SP wasn't too bad, but her lack of stamina showed in the FS. She may be better for TDF, but I'm not expecting a momentous turnaround there, just an improvement. She should be well prepared and in shape for Nationals and Worlds.
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- Jan 27, 2013
No pressure, eh...how about competing at your first senior worlds as a 17 year old, and finding yourself in 4th place after the short, with expectations of a country behind you. Or at 18, skating 4 programs in your first Olympic games (team/individual). Or, maybe being told after suffering a broken leg that you may not compete again, and then defying odds by getting back to an elite level and making the Canadian team after being off ice for 11 months ....
Yup, no pressure in Kaetlyn's life...just skating for fun was it?
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In 2013, Carolina Kostner was in 3rd place after the SP. Kaetlyn was 4th, Wagner 5th, Mao 6th, Gracie 9th.
After the FS, Yuna Kim won, Kostner was 2nd, Mao 3rd, Wagner 4th, Gracie 5th, and Kaetlyn 8th.
In the FS, Kaetlyn finished 10th with an edge call on her lutz and two falls.
BTW, what was wrong with Skate Canada not preparing its young skaters better for competition?
Not saying there was NO pressure in Kaetlyn's life---just that she did not have five years of the constant expectation of an entire country for her to produce medals.
Everyone has pressure and/or challenges in his/her life.
After the FS, Yuna Kim won, Kostner was 2nd, Mao 3rd, Wagner 4th, Gracie 5th, and Kaetlyn 8th.
In the FS, Kaetlyn finished 10th with an edge call on her lutz and two falls.
BTW, what was wrong with Skate Canada not preparing its young skaters better for competition?
Not saying there was NO pressure in Kaetlyn's life---just that she did not have five years of the constant expectation of an entire country for her to produce medals.
Everyone has pressure and/or challenges in his/her life.
The current state of Gracie Gold is that she is the Eeyore of the skating world. Scared, sad, not in the moment, all blue all the time.
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- Apr 5, 2016
I keep hearing on here about Satoko's tiny jumps and for me her jumps were fine - it was her speed and ice coverage that surprised me. I was sitting on one end of the rink and she barely came over to my end during the SP. I wanted to take a photo or video and it was so hard. Her speed also felt slow to me. She's tiny though so maybe it's harder for her to be fast? Rika and even Yuka Nagai were faster. Nahyun's spins were slow. I found Dabin to be ok. Mirai's StSq was very slow. Her spiral was awesome. In comparison to all these ladies, I found Alaine alright, and Kaetlyn a bit fast.
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- Apr 5, 2016
Wait a minute, why are we talking about Gracie Gold in here? This is a thread about Canadian skaters, Canadian coaches, with some allowance for skaters who train or compete here. I don't want to talk about GG here - there are several other threads out there.
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- Mar 7, 2015
:agree:
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- Jan 27, 2013
As discussed with you previously on this forum, this was SC's decision not to go with a 15 year old, Gabby Daleman, who had never competed at this level previously. Again this was a federation decision and in no way takes away from the pressure Osmond was under to perform.
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