And if you've had a year with significant injuries, as say Rachael, and Ryan Bradley, and Ross Miner did, it makes sense to hope to be really at your best at your last competition of the year. Or for that matter if you're Jeremy Abbott fighting to get a good pair of boots.
But sometimes you don't come back from that injury fast enough to compete, or to compete well:
Ross Miner didn't get to Jr Worlds or US Nationals last year because of injury
Joshua Farris didn't skate his best this nationals because of a broken ankle.
Ryan Bradley could only make 18th last Worlds skating on a broken foot.
Sometimes the boots are enough to do you in.
Sometimes your mental toughness is.
Planning to lose seems a flawed strategy to me. This year, arriving without your quad in your pocket, if you have landed a quad before seems a flawed strategy. You may not be ready to give your most passionate, bestest performance at Nationals, but you should at least have your tricks ready.
It's too bad that Dornbush scored over Miner. Then we could have sent Dornbush to Jr Worlds, Abbott to Worlds, and not given Aaron a spot there. It's too bad that Jeremy wasn't ready to skate his best, too.
But that's what it was.
But sometimes you don't come back from that injury fast enough to compete, or to compete well:
Ross Miner didn't get to Jr Worlds or US Nationals last year because of injury
Joshua Farris didn't skate his best this nationals because of a broken ankle.
Ryan Bradley could only make 18th last Worlds skating on a broken foot.
Sometimes the boots are enough to do you in.
Sometimes your mental toughness is.
Planning to lose seems a flawed strategy to me. This year, arriving without your quad in your pocket, if you have landed a quad before seems a flawed strategy. You may not be ready to give your most passionate, bestest performance at Nationals, but you should at least have your tricks ready.
It's too bad that Dornbush scored over Miner. Then we could have sent Dornbush to Jr Worlds, Abbott to Worlds, and not given Aaron a spot there. It's too bad that Jeremy wasn't ready to skate his best, too.
But that's what it was.