Nathan Chen | Page 655 | Golden Skate

Nathan Chen

besti loop said:
WUT, they said his plan isn't working?? :palmf:[can't watch the vid now]
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They think he's "holding" for now and might drop to top 3!!!! in the world eventually. Then just petty comments about you know what. The only thing I liked that they mentioned was how NBC needs to stop trying to make a rivalry that doesn't exist a thing .

Anyway, this year is better than last despite the reduced tech content. Last SA he won but didn't do well in the FS and this year he actually did two clean beautiful programs and it was a better overall result for me, especially considering how harsh the judging was. I keep rewatching both programs. :love:
 
discode said:
They think he's "holding" for now and might drop to top 3!!!! in the world eventually. Then just petty comments about you know what. The only thing I liked that they mentioned was how NBC needs to stop trying to make a rivalry that doesn't exist a thing .

Anyway, this year is better than last despite the reduced tech content. Last SA he won but didn't do well in the FS and this year he actually did two clean beautiful programs and it was a better overall result for me, especially considering how harsh the judging was. I keep rewatching both programs. :love:
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I don’t like defending TSL, but I think their point was that Nathan seems to be holding the technical content and that his performance skills have dramatically improved, but that “just” holding on to the tech content and going full-on in performance may not be enough when other skaters are either reintroducing certain elements (Hanyu’s 4Lo was the example they used) or training new firepower, especially with the new GOE range. The comment about dropping to third over time was more about their question as to whether or not Nathan will be able to repeat a win at Worlds without taking time off from school to train hardcore with Raf. But that was discussed as more of an “over time” issue — not this year, but more of a “with trying to balance training and school goes, it’s going to be basically impossible to maintain the number one rank, as it’s difficult to imagine repeating as World Champion every year without taking time off of school.”

I listen to TSL as a guilty pleasure and they’ve been pretty skeptical of the idea of juggling a full course load and skating, often noting that Michelle Kwan had to drop classes to maintain her skating. They were very positive about Nathan’s skates, including at the end of the show, but the comments referenced — including the “might not be able to maintain his position at the top of the rankings” — were much more of a “over the coming years” kind of “prediction” and are rooted in TSL’s belief that you can’t be a full time student and top skater simultaneously. There are a million reasons to dislike TSL, but I don’t think you can listen to what they said and conclude they were actually throwing shade at Nathan and his skating prowess so much as maintaining their dislike of the whole “school and skating” approach. Which... they’re not judges, thank God, so I wouldn’t pay attention to what they think.

On a completely different note: aside from the occasional pop, Nathan’s 3A has been crazy stable and frankly his best jump ever since he changed his takeoff technique. I wish he’d go for a 3A-2T combo in the free (or a 3A-1Eu-3F sequence), as two 3As in the free would be major points. Not sure if he finds the 3A more mentally and physically draining, though, but assuming he keeps his consistency with the 3A this season, it’s no longer a “hold your breath and pray” moment.
 
Oh yeah, you aren't wrong. I was just being a bit flippant and I watched it last night at like 3am and it was more "this is what might happen" and less this is what actually happened. It actually wasn't overly negative but again had some petty things as usual. They weren't totally wrong and were not downplaying him at all, but felt eventually changes would have to be made. And thought that he would if he had to. Right now tech wise, Nathan just needs to hold and work on other things that aren't jumps (while maintaining his jumps, improving their GOE of course).

I agree his 3A was downright good in the SP. It's not a jump I worry about him missing. He had some other issues (those lvl 2's!) that need to be addressed, but right now I feel he's doing fine. His GP assignments honestly aren't the most competitive (other than Boyang in the next one) so it's hard to say how he's going to do against the top guys, but we'll have to see how they do in their assignments as well. One thing I will say is so far he's about the least winded guy after the shortened FS so he still had plenty of stamina to spare and lots of room to grow.
 
I didn't really have many qualms with what they said minus when Jonathan said that his jumps are failing him - which I certainly didn't see much evidence of. Yeah, he didn't hit the 4F in the short but he landed a good number of them in practice and his 4lz wasn't the best in the free but again, he landed some beauties in practice. Overall, they were complimentary on the programs/his performance of them - they were more critical about the aesthetics and just the nature of what he's trying to do.

Agreed about the stamina - that was encouraging that he wasn't super winded at the end. :)
 
discode said:
Oh yeah, you aren't wrong. I was just being a bit flippant and I watched it last night at like 3am and it was more "this is what might happen" and less this is what actually happened. It actually wasn't overly negative but again had some petty things as usual. They weren't totally wrong and were not downplaying him at all, but felt eventually changes would have to be made. And thought that he would if he had to. Right now tech wise, Nathan just needs to hold and work on other things that aren't jumps (while maintaining his jumps, improving their GOE of course).
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Gotcha! I just wanted to offer a bit more context so we didn’t get any drama over TSL, since TSL deserve any extra mental energy. ;)

I kind of share their skepticism regarding juggling both school and skating, however. I think Nathan can have a good season this year, but if he’s majoring in a STEM field and/or going pre-med, there are going to be a number of issues with course sequencing and labs — you’re going to run into lots of “you need X and Y as pre-reqs for A and B, and the more time passes from A (and even X and Y) before you take B, the more you’re likely to struggle because it all builds on each other.” I actually started taking university courses absurdly young, but I was in the social sciences. Aside from some mathematics and science requirements for my overall degree, I actually didn’t have many courses gated by pre-reqs, even in research methodology. Several of my friends went the medical route, though, and one even did a MCAT bootcamp (you lived on a college campus for over a month during the summer and there were like 10 hour a day sessions and repeated practice exams). And med school interviews are another huge time crunch and major upheaval — one friend stayed with me when she was interviewed by my undergraduate university’s medical school, which meant flying out for two days, trying to see the campus, juggle flights, etc. I checked Yale’s degree requirements, and, yeah, there’s also a foreign language sequence, which is another required three semesters and definitely not something you can spread out. But I have no idea what, if any, credits Nathan carried into Yale. My general worry is just that years 3 and 4 are when the heavy crunch begins and it’s increasingly difficult to put time in between course sequences, which is also when Nathan would likely need time off if he’s aiming for 2022. But who knows! I just hope he’s enjoying himself. [emoji106]

I agree his 3A was downright good in the SP. It's not a jump I worry about him missing. He had some other issues (those lvl 2's!) that need to be addressed, but right now I feel he's doing fine. His GP assignments honestly aren't the most competitive (other than Boyang in the next one) so it's hard to say how he's going to do against the top guys, but we'll have to see how they do in their assignments as well. One thing I will say is so far he's about the least winded guy after the shortened FS so he still had plenty of stamina to spare and lots of room to grow.
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I think Boyang could be a threat. It’ll depend on how the GOEs go, as Boyang really should have been earning +3s on his 4Lz in the old system, and I can see some of his jumps earning +3-+4 now. Not sure how PCS will go. Boyang has definitely been taking the slow and steady route to improvement, but whether or not he gets rewarded, who knows? That being said, unless Nathan has a meltdown, he’s booked a trip to the final after his second assignment. I just have no clue how Nathan and Boyang will do against each other, and both are favourites, so... yeah... at least it’s not the Helsinki competition (WHY ARE SO MANY OF MY FAVS IN ONE PLACE).

I’m not super worried about the levels for the moment, though I wonder if Nathan can FaceTime with Shae? He did well at Skate America! The only real concern I have is the spins, which have never really been my favourite element from Nathan, and I thought he looked noticeably slower and more laboured during them. I’d like to see more speed. Otherwise, no real complaints. I feel like there’s some work to do in just touching up some weaker points and ensuring levels are met, but nothing stands out as a major concern. Really impressed by the 3A progress! That was always the moment of “watch through my fingers,” but his 3A has been stable lately, and that was where I thought the new GOE scale could really hurt him. Good work, Nathan!

sherlock trollmes said:
I didn't really have many qualms with what they said minus when Jonathan said that his jumps are failing him - which I certainly didn't see much evidence of. Yeah, he didn't hit the 4F in the short but he landed a good number of them in practice and his 4lz wasn't the best in the free but again, he landed some beauties in practice. Overall, they were complimentary on the programs/his performance of them - they were more critical about the aesthetics and just the nature of what he's trying to do.
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My only concern with the 4F is that this is the second time this year it’s been visibly UR’d in a major competition. (The other time was his short at WC17, which wasn’t called.) Nathan doesn’t get the height that some other skaters do on his jumps, but he’s a crazily efficient rotator and I’ve never been worried about UR issues — Nathan URing is honestly quite odd? My only nagging worry is that the UR has happened on the same jump.

I don’t recall what TSL said about the programme aesthetics other than the vest — to be honest, TSL is something I listen to and immediately forget. I’m actually ... conflicted ... on the vest. As a men’s stylist, I couldn’t ever find a proper vest to show to clients, which is a shame, as FANCY VESTS ARE AMAZING. Not sure about the sizing, though. I think the vest needs to be a bit tighter to create juxtaposition with the rolled sleeves and make it clear this is a sharp-dressed man. Maybe a different color, as well, as I don’t think the current one helps — it makes Nathan look a bit washed out? The hair is whatever. [emoji23] I grew mine long because I was tired of having to get my pixie cut constantly trimmed. (Though not having two feet of hair to dry was definitely a nice perk....) As long as Nathan isn’t dealing with his hair getting in his eyes and screwing with his skating, it’s fine. I doubt he has time for haircuts and cutting your own hair is a guaranteed disaster.

Honestly, I was just happy to see Nathan looking so happy to be performing rather than focused on the jumps. His skating has that natural ebullience back. It’s great to see and makes me smile.
 
Metis said:
Honestly, I was just happy to see Nathan looking so happy to be performing rather than focused on the jumps. His skating has that natural ebullience back. It’s great to see and makes me smile.
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Agreed :) He lost some of what I've loved about him over the years last year - just with the nature of the Olympics and the stress he was under. It was great to see him having fun here. I bet all of the stress of school makes him really appreciate the time he gets on the ice to compete. :) Like he said, "hell of a lot better than midterms" :laugh:
 
The TSL guys’ “concern” regarding Nathan’s tech seems a bit silly. He didn’t need 5-6 quads here - and Nathan acknowledged that what he did here was perfect for this point in the season. I am guessing he will add like 2 more quads to his FS as the season goes on. Describing his jumps as having ‘deteriorated’ helps their narrative - but whatever.
 
What evidence is there that Nathan plans to keep his watered down layout for the rest of the season let alone until 2022? Recall that he started off the season the same way last year at US Classic with a 1 quad SP and a 3 quad FS.

While the other top guys seem to be struggling with their layouts Nathan looks like he could add another quad today if he wanted to.
 
It really is something. Do two mostly clean programs, have improved presentation and even a better 3A, and some beautiful triples, a couple nice quads, all while having a blast and and winning by 40 points during mid-terms and people saying you are barely hanging on. :rofl:

He acknowledged his tech was lower than he could do, but did what he needed to do anyway. I'm 150% sure he would not compete at the GPF or Worlds with that layout.
 
sheetz said:
What evidence is there that Nathan plans to keep his watered down layout for the rest of the season let alone until 2022? Recall that he started off the season the same way last year at US Classic with a 1 quad SP and a 3 quad FS.

While the other top guys seem to be struggling with their layouts Nathan looks like he could add another quad today if he wanted to.
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He won’t but I really wish he would keep it at 3-4 quads. That seems to be the maximum number of quads he can do while still being able to actually pay attention to choreography. I really don’t want to see his fs become another program where the music plays in the background while he lands his quads.
 
If I remember correctly both Nathan’s sisters are in medical field and his father teaches in a university(medicine?). So Nathan definitely knows well enough what he is trying to accomplish and how much it will take. I’m confident that he will be able to make necessary adjustments at the best time toward the right direction.

Over the summer, I was really impressed by his improvements on the spins, they are beautiful with tons of speed, getting better and better in each show. I love his spins in the short program, they are super fun and cute:love:. I do think he lost a little spin speed in the competition but am sure he will pick up very quickly.

I have no idea what to expect from him for the next 4 years, with my short but exciting history of being a Nathan fan, I found him everything but predictable!:luv17:
 
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