2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

[klutzy]

Polina's actual skating and spins look good--one of the reasons why her injury and taking a year off were such a shame is that with the Moonlight Sonata SP, she really seemed to be on the edge of developing into a striking skater. She's continued to develop her style--as much as anything I'd like to see her develop into the skater she was meant to be.

I'm inclined to think she'll stick around a bit longer--she's already done the hardest part of a comeback--getting back a chunk of her triples, getting out and competing when she knew she didn't have all of her former skills. If I were her, there'd be things on my skating checklist--U.S. Champion, placing high in Worlds, medaling at a Grand Prix event--that would seem possible if healthy. There's room at the top of U.S. figure skating--I'm sure she sees that. No one has a lock on anything right now.

 

[skylark]

--one of the reasons why her injury and taking a year off were such a shame is that with the Moonlight Sonata SP, she really seemed to be on the edge of developing into a striking skater. She's continued to develop her style--as much as anything I'd like to see her develop into the skater she was meant to be.

She went out there to compete knowing she was far from 100%, and that took courage. I want to believe she's serious about a comeback, and that even if she doesn't make the Olympics this year, she keeps going for next year. If she stays healthy and motivated, there's no reason to believe she won't get the flip and lutz back by next season.

I feel like Polina is truly one of those "marching/skating to a different drummer" people. She seems unconcerned about anyone else's opinion, and pretty unflappable. I wouldn't be surprised to see her continue through the next quad and continue to go to school.

 

[Seren]

I am so happy this is a holiday weekend in the US so I can spend as much time as I want watching skating.

I am interested to see the match up of Ashley vs. Karen, I think that will be very telling. Bradie is a wild card for me, the scores she got earlier this year were so inflated for everyone that I don't consider them as comparable to GP scores. If she wants to be a serious contender she will have to back those score she up here. I personally don't enjoy her skating but if she puts in a good showing she should be considered too.

 

[Icey]

Yes but there's a huge difference between a summer Challenge event versus a Grand Prix where all the top names or most of them are competing.

As far as getting a medal it is, but much less as far as the score one gets.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

As far as getting a medal it is, but much less as far as the score one gets.

:sarcasm: Getting a particular score as a skater competing against the top names in the world that you'll be against in the most acclaimed competitions is held to more than a summer competition that hardly had "names" there to worry about. Sorry not sorry. YMMV. Obviously, I'm not the only one with this point and am agreed with re: all of the :thumbsup: on my previous post you quoted. So I'll just agree to disagree.

Again. YMMV.

 

[skylark]

Good luck to Ashley, Karen and Bradie this week-end at Sk8 America! :hap57:

 

[R.D.]

Just took a look at Wagner's recent tweet activity. Something about her feels...let's just say....different

I am interested to see the match up of Ashley vs. Karen, I think that will be very telling.

Wagner vs. Chen is the main show here.

Bradie is a wild card for me, the scores she got earlier this year were so inflated for everyone that I don't consider them as comparable to GP scores. If she wants to be a serious contender she will have to back those score she up here.

I've refrained from commenting on this girl so far...until now to say that I agree with this.

 

[Ender]

At this point I wonder if peaking at Nationals only then go on to peak at Olympic will be better for these ladies. GP is too tough. But again, American ladies rarely peak at Gp.

 

[Shani]

She may well surprise. I am not her biggest fan but she is a competitor and looked like she was pacing herself upto Nationals. I wouldn't count her out of any placements. Those were great scores for any senior off the ice for one year and returning.

 

[klutzy]

I think Polina's short program is on track for her to do well at Nationals with it; she's basically one harder jump and a single foot away from it being competitive. It's the FS that's the real issue--she fell twice and stumbled out of a combination. She's gone from no triples to having her easier triples (and the double axel). But she needs the rest.

On the plus side, Polina's a cool cucumber when competing--if she has the jump, she'll be able to perform it and she'll have a hometown crowd at Nationals. It's also the semi- hometown crowd for Karen Chen and Vincent Zhou--but particularly for Polina who went to high school in San Jose and attends college down the road from the rink.

I'm really curious about how Karen Chen and Bradie will do this weekend. I'm still puzzled by Chen's choices--the last-minute swap-out of choreography. Ton of talent, but she's acting like a challenger, not a champion.

 

[LRK]

I've always been a big complainer about Polina's speed, but I think she looked pretty fast in France. She went out there to compete knowing she was far from 100%, and that took courage. I want to believe she's serious about a comeback, and that even if she doesn't make the Olympics this year, she keeps going for next year. If she stays healthy and motivated, there's no reason to believe she won't get the flip and lutz back by next season. But I worry she'll quit or won't fully commit to a comeback. Which would be a major shame.

I'd be very surprised if Polina quits. She's always struck me as very driven, and not easily discouraged.

 

[R.D.]

Edmunds does not strike me as a quitter.

 

[concorde]

I find where this thread is going is appalling.

Polina represented the USA in the Olympics! No athlete that has done that can ever be labelled as a "quitter." My guess is she and her family made huge sacrifices over the years so that she could have the opportunity to reach the Olympics.

She again sees she may earn a spot on the Olympics and has decided to go for it. Regardless of how it turn out, she has to decide where to go after ?? (Nationals, 4CC, Olymipcs). I cannot blame her (or her family) if they decide to call it quits on elite level skating. It is expensive, time consuming, and takes a toll on the body.

At some point, all elite skaters end their competitive careers.The unlucky ones are forced to quit because their bodies cannot take it any longer. I think the lucky ones end on their own terms since they are choosing when to end that chapter of their life.

I hope Polina will be one of the lucky ones.

 

[klutzy]

One of the reasons I think Polina will stick around barring career-ending injury is that, frankly, she hasn't had to make some of the sacrifices other skaters have. She went to a normal (private) high school. She goes to college. She's never had to move because of skating, though she did stick to the Bay Area for college so she could keep skating with her coach. Her father's some sort of Silicon Valley exec, so she hasn't had to scrape to get by.

You look at her Instagram and it's clear she has friends both in skating and outside of it.

I suppose she's "sacrificed" in that in order to stay in a stable home environment, she didn't go off to one of top coaches away from home, but the trade-off for not having a Frank Carroll may well be the emotional resilience she seems to have.

Not sure how any of this is appalling--what Polina's doing is tough--coming back from an injury that cost her a lot of skills. I don't think anyone would judge her harshly if she ended her career and focused on college. I think we're all mostly saying that she seems like she'll stick it out and that she seems to have a lot of determination.

And I've made it clear, I'd like her to continue because she's developing, IMO, into an interesting skater.

 

[mrrice]

Edmunds does not strike me as a quitter.

She is definitely not a quitter. I really think she's feeling a lot of pressure with Nationals being in her home town. I'm sure that all the local commercials for Nationals will feature Polina and I'm sure she's working as hard as she can to prepare. It wouldn't surprise me to see all of her sorority sisters in the crowd cheering for her. As the local star, I know she wants to be her best in front of her family, friends, and fans.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

One of the reasons I think Polina will stick around barring career-ending injury is that, frankly, she hasn't had to make some of the sacrifices other skaters have. She went to a normal (private) high school. She goes to college. She's never had to move because of skating, though she did stick to the Bay Area for college so she could keep skating with her coach. Her father's some sort of Silicon Valley exec, so she hasn't had to scrape to get by.

That's an interesting point. It does seem like skating for her is more of an intense hobby, rather than something she is dedicating all of her energy towards. I do like seeing people successfully balance school and skating, because I think it takes off some of the competitive pressure if you know you have something else to fall back on. However, the level of athleticism required now is so high that it may be impossible to do both at the highest level.

 

[concorde]

Not sure how any of this is appalling--what Polina's doing is tough--coming back from an injury that cost her a lot of skills.

What I found to be appalling were the people who where trying to label her as a quitter IF she opted not to continue ice skating beyond this season.

One of the reasons I think Polina will stick around barring career-ending injury is that, frankly, she hasn't had to make some of the sacrifices other skaters have. She went to a normal (private) high school. She goes to college. She's never had to move because of skating, though she did stick to the Bay Area for college so she could keep skating with her coach. Her father's some sort of Silicon Valley exec, so she hasn't had to scrape to get by.

You look at her Instagram and it's clear she has friends both in skating and outside of it.

I suppose she's "sacrificed" in that in order to stay in a stable home environment, she didn't go off to one of top coaches away from home, but the trade-off for not having a Frank Carroll may well be the emotional resilience she seems to have.

Top level skaters tend to practice 20-30 hours a week so she was doing that in addition to going to school. Try doing that week in, week out for years (elementary school through high school). Something has to give because you run out of time and that means social functions that most people take for granted (slumber parties, after school activities that are not ice skating related, birthday parties) are skipped. Remember, she missed her prom so SOI threw her a make-up one. Don't forget that over the summer, training time increases since skaters are no longer have to juggle school.

My guess is the only reason she can do all the extra sorority events is because she got injured so she could reduce her training schedule. If she were in serious training, I am about positive those events would have been put on hold.

It is also possible that her family "chose" a private school because private schools are willing to work with families with crazy schedules whereas public schools it is their way or the highway. I know of several families that went the private school route for just that reason.

Also remember her mom is her main coach. That would make in interesting family life over the teenage years!

No one knows exactly what kind of like Polina leads except for Polina and her family. Your view her as a pretty privileged young lady. I view her as a hard working lady who saw some opportunities and she chose to take them. My guess is the truth is a mix of both of our views.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

What I found to be appalling were the people who where trying to label her as a quitter IF she opted not to continue ice skating beyond this season.



Top level skaters tend to practice 20-30 hours a week so she was doing that in addition to going to school. Try doing that week in, week out for years (elementary school through high school). Something has to give because you run out of time and that means social functions that most people take for granted (slumber parties, after school activities that are not ice skating related, birthday parties) are skipped. Remember, she missed her prom so SOI threw her a make-up one. Don't forget that over the summer, training time increases since skaters are no longer have to juggle school.

My guess is the only reason she can do all the extra sorority events is because she got injured so she could reduce her training schedule. If she were in serious training, I am about positive those events would have been put on hold.

It is also possible that her family "chose" a private school because private schools are willing to work with families with crazy schedules whereas public schools it is their way or the highway. I know of several families that went the private school route for just that reason.

Also remember her mom is her main coach. That would make in interesting family life over the teenage years!

No one knows exactly what kind of like Polina leads except for Polina and her family. Your view her as a pretty privileged young lady. I view her as a hard working lady who saw some opportunities and she chose to take them. My guess is the truth is a mix of both of our views.

I certainly agree with you!
About the private schools: I happen to know an ice dancer on her national team and she attends private school for that very reason. They work with people. (This particular school is also known for being flexible and willing to work with skaters in particular)

 

[temadd]

I find where this thread is going is appalling.

Polina represented the USA in the Olympics! No athlete that has done that can ever be labelled as a "quitter." My guess is she and her family made huge sacrifices over the years so that she could have the opportunity to reach the Olympics.

She again sees she may earn a spot on the Olympics and has decided to go for it. Regardless of how it turn out, she has to decide where to go after ?? (Nationals, 4CC, Olymipcs). I cannot blame her (or her family) if they decide to call it quits on elite level skating. It is expensive, time consuming, and takes a toll on the body.

At some point, all elite skaters end their competitive careers.The unlucky ones are forced to quit because their bodies cannot take it any longer. I think the lucky ones end on their own terms since they are choosing when to end that chapter of their life.

I hope Polina will be one of the lucky ones.

I'm puzzled as to why you are upset. I was not able to find any posts where anyone even implied she was a quitter. In fact, the ones that do contain the words quit or quitter said specifically that she is NOT that.

 

[concorde]

I'm puzzled as to why you are upset. I was not able to find any posts where anyone even implied she was a quitter. In fact, the ones that do contain the words quit or quitter said specifically that she is NOT that.

I can't find it either! Maybe the poster deleted it?!