- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
True.....But, she's fresh out of juniors. She and Bradie are the future. All I hope for them in the "near" future is to stand up and fight. It's 2020 and beyond that I hope to see them dominate.
2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
True.....But, she's fresh out of juniors. She and Bradie are the future. All I hope for them in the "near" future is to stand up and fight. It's 2020 and beyond that I hope to see them dominate.
I know that this has been discussed in great detail (and will continue to if 2014 is any example how long an Olympic trial can be discussed :sarcasm
but here are a few of my thoughts on some of the girls in the competition:
Bradie
1. I think her PCS were inflated
2. She did come through on the tech and lived up to the expectation and pressure
3. I think she has a lot of potential. So dry to me right now though...
Mirai
1. Think her PCS were well scored - I think she started to step up her performance after the first 3 jumping passes and it was refreshing.
2. I wish she had won (what a great story it would have been) but what an emotional rollercoaster it has been for all Mirai fans (like me!)
3. I hope she will be in the team event but could see them giving it to Karen and Bradie
Ashley
1. I have not been the biggest Ashley fan over the years but I still feel that she was underscored in PCS
2. That being said, I think the judges really gave her lenient calls on her tech (especially in the FS in comparison to others) and she really lost out because of the Salchow. If she had that jump I honestly feel that she would have been on the team instead of Karen
3. Mixed feelings on her comments after... a) I applaud her candor and usually find it refreshing b) this time (and actually this season) I feel like her post competition comments have felt like IMHO like excuses or somewhat entitled and did irk me
Karen
1. I hope she gets a new coach next season. Her under on her 3T at the end of her combos have not been fixed in all these seasons.
2. She was hit the hardest (Shin Amano style) by the tech caller. Yes she was sick but she is giving me some serious Mirai vibes with those unders. Some would say she is inconsistent but she actually is consistently under.
3. People are upset about the PCS of Karen vs Ashley but I think Ashley should have strong performance and interpretation but Karen shouldn’t be too far behind in those. Where she makes it up is in transitions and skating skills which are far superior IMO.
4. I do think if she were to get either a generous caller or cleaner tech, she would have a much higher scoring potential than the rest of the girls on the Olympic team
Starr
1. Wasn’t a Starr fan but she sold me at this competition. Excited for her future!
but here are a few of my thoughts on some of the girls in the competition:Bradie
1. I think her PCS were inflated
2. She did come through on the tech and lived up to the expectation and pressure
3. I think she has a lot of potential. So dry to me right now though...
Mirai
1. Think her PCS were well scored - I think she started to step up her performance after the first 3 jumping passes and it was refreshing.
2. I wish she had won (what a great story it would have been) but what an emotional rollercoaster it has been for all Mirai fans (like me!)
3. I hope she will be in the team event but could see them giving it to Karen and Bradie
Ashley
1. I have not been the biggest Ashley fan over the years but I still feel that she was underscored in PCS
2. That being said, I think the judges really gave her lenient calls on her tech (especially in the FS in comparison to others) and she really lost out because of the Salchow. If she had that jump I honestly feel that she would have been on the team instead of Karen
3. Mixed feelings on her comments after... a) I applaud her candor and usually find it refreshing b) this time (and actually this season) I feel like her post competition comments have felt like IMHO like excuses or somewhat entitled and did irk me
Karen
1. I hope she gets a new coach next season. Her under on her 3T at the end of her combos have not been fixed in all these seasons.
2. She was hit the hardest (Shin Amano style) by the tech caller. Yes she was sick but she is giving me some serious Mirai vibes with those unders. Some would say she is inconsistent but she actually is consistently under.
3. People are upset about the PCS of Karen vs Ashley but I think Ashley should have strong performance and interpretation but Karen shouldn’t be too far behind in those. Where she makes it up is in transitions and skating skills which are far superior IMO.
4. I do think if she were to get either a generous caller or cleaner tech, she would have a much higher scoring potential than the rest of the girls on the Olympic team
Starr
1. Wasn’t a Starr fan but she sold me at this competition. Excited for her future!
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2013
2022 and beyond is for Liu but they can try and dominate the years between then and now~
Bradie will already be 24 for 2022 Olympics. That's an age to retire... I wonder, though. There's going to be a couple of years during which the spot of the top US Lady might be up for grabs if she's ready for that role.
I totally agree, and after seeing the program a few times now, I would even say that the theme is much deeper than I initially thought it was. Of all the potential material within the Cinderella tale, Bradie brought forward the idea of time, which is such an interesting choice. The ticking clock and striking bells strongly interrupt the "dream" of the first section, and I think this juxtaposition creates something larger than both sections -- an awareness that the moment needed to realize a dream is fleeting, and that if you don't seize it while you are still within it, that moment may pass forever. It's pitch perfect for an Olympic program.
Of course, I'm an English major and love to read too much into everything... at the very least, I think it's fair to say that Bradie put a lot of thought into her program, it means something to her, and she has a much more mature take on the story than some junior who just wants to be a Disney princess.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2013
Question: does Pooja Kalyan not have the minimums for JW? :scratch:
Agree. I remember seeing a video of Starr when she was around 11. Thought she looked like a future star then. Will have to look for it.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2014
Nice analysis--it's very much a piece with a beginning, middle and end--and one where the musical cuts actually work--I'm a trained singer, so I tend to be very tuned into the connection between the music and the performance. Bradie could be "dancing" a little more to the music, but she's not disconnected from it--I think she's just been focused on doing everything as cleanly as possible. I see no reason, now that's she's on top of the podium that she won't work or rather relax a bit more into the performance.
The Bradie slams I've been reading in the forums are kind of discouraging--she's getting slammed, basically, because she wasn't anyone's favorite coming in--even though, it was clear if you'd paid attention to the fall competitions that Bradie was the only American skater who was cutting it internationally. (Which makes the claim I've seen that Bradie's not competitive internationally, but Ashley is, all the more confusing--that's not what the recent record shows.)
Mirai is going to her second Olympics after an 8 year break at 24. Kostner is going to her what, 3rd, 4th? At the tender age of 32. Yes, she is the exception to a rule, but 24 at Olympics is not unheard of.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2018
Isn't it better to have "easier" program and skate it clean than loaded program full of errors? Starr placed well for somebody fresh out of juniors, didn't she?
Certainly, it is more pleasant to watch.
Eh, I was at the arena yesterday--Starr has star power up the wazoo, but she skates like a junior--shallow edges, simpler connections between elements. Karen's lovely, though I felt she was conserving her energy between jumps. Bradie is faster and has incredibly tight, fast rotations--it really stood out during the warm up. Mirai had incredible height, Bradie was fast and tight--as a result, she can do more complex entries into her jumps. I think her upper body looks a little stiff, but she doesn't skate like a junior. There are almost no wasted strokes in her FS.
Not under the current judging system--better to have high-value elements and get some points for them even if you stumble.
Yes, I like that way of putting it -- that she's connected to the music, but maybe not as relaxed into it as she could be. Now that she's proven how solid her tech foundation is, hopefully she'll be able to stretch herself for her performance at the Olympics.
I think you're right that people are upset because she wasn't anyone's favorite... and I also wonder if some people are having such a knee-jerk reaction to her because she doesn't have a bold personality. Having followed American ladies' skating more closely the past few years, I get the impression that some fans are looking for an "it girl" to lead the American women, someone who is extroverted and intense and commands attention. Bradie is just not that kind of person. Frankly, I love that about her; but people who are looking for a loud, shiny personality will be disappointed.
Trying to figure out who will be in the mix for the Olympics in 4 years is impossible to predict. Who would have thought back in 2007 that Kimmie Meissner wouldn't be on the Olympic team in 2010 but a couple of skaters who were barely teenagers at the time and were total unknowns would be on the team. Or a former Novice skater who didn't even make Nationals in 2011 becoming US ladies champion in 2014.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
No.
She was not sent to any competitions where she could have earned them.
USFSA could of course send her to one and then announce the JWC team after seeing how she does, but that's not how they roll...
So speed = maturity?
Good point--that may be part of the enthusiasm over Starr Andrews--she's really a born performer and has a certain element of "cool" to her already--enough so that people are ignoring her technical issues.
Bradie's not cutting edge, but she's the first American skater who seems to have figured out how to skate under the new scoring system so that it works to her advantage--and she still tells a story even while backloading (I'm looking at you, Alina Zagitova--don't know what the hell's happening in that FS of yours.).
In my dreams, the 2022 Olympics roster contains: a recovered, elegant arty Polina, a sassy Starr Andrews who now has deep edges and an Alysa Liu who's gained some height on her jumps and survived adolescence. (Yes, I'm from the Bay Area and root for locals.)
But I'd also be happy to see Amber Glenn and Tessa Hong manage clean skates and Karen Chen get her jumps under control.
Meanwhile, in my dreams, Bradie surprises everyone with a bronze at the 2018 Olympics. Just because.
Kostner could probably keep going to the Olympics until she's 40 since she has no competition in Italy.
No, but complexity of connecting elements does--it builds points--no junior would be up to skating Bradie's choreography with its difficult jump entries. Part of the reason she can do those entries is because of her strong jumping technique.
Main issue with Bradie's skating, to me, is the upper-body stiffness--which seems more related to her history of back injuries than a juniorish approach to skating.
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