Yay Torgs!! Shame about that 2nd 3axel, the first one was quite pretty! Definitely looked like first time he's ever performed this program, and I expect both this FS and the SP to get better over the GP Series. On to Skate America! I have to get used to the music, I'm not familiar with Muse besides the same songs that have been used in other figure skating programs lol.
Andrew Torgashev
- Thread starter el henry
- Start date
Yay Torgs!! Shame about that 2nd 3axel, the first one was quite pretty! Definitely looked like first time he's ever performed this program, and I expect both this FS and the SP to get better over the GP Series. On to Skate America! I have to get used to the music, I'm not familiar with Muse besides the same songs that have been used in other figure skating programs lol.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
Now that I have watched again (football and life intervened
), all the choreo and the moves and the expression I expect from Andrew.
The 2S was definitely a pop (interesting that he is going for the 4S rather than the 4T these days), and yes, the fall for the second 3A was unexpected after the first 3A. Nothing he can't fix.
Onward and upward!
), all the choreo and the moves and the expression I expect from Andrew.The 2S was definitely a pop (interesting that he is going for the 4S rather than the 4T these days), and yes, the fall for the second 3A was unexpected after the first 3A. Nothing he can't fix.
Onward and upward!
- Joined
- May 28, 2018
It's a nice program for him and looks good on him. I think he lost focus when he popped and didn't get it back when it was time for the 3A, but he did pull it back together and the rest of the program was good. For an early season program, one might consider saying, pretty great! Nothing here that can't be fixed by Raf and Vera and a session or two with his sports pyschologist. If he can stay healthy, this could be a much better season for him.Now that I have watched again (football and life intervened
The 2S was definitely a pop (interesting that he is going for the 4S rather than the 4T these days), and yes, the fall for the second 3A was unexpected after the first 3A. Nothing he can't fix.
Onward and upward!
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
I'm more invested in the sports psychologist than tweaks to the jumps (although I am all for tweaks to the jumps. I'm all for anything that helps Andrew
).He didn't pop the 4S because he doesn't know how to jump a quad, he popped it because he popped it. He didn't fall on the second 3A because his 3A technique needs help, but as you pointed out, popping the 4S took him off his game.
Whatever gives Andrew consistency and belief in his own consistency will make him even better than he is.
Of course if I (or anyone, any coach in the universe, Raf, Brian, Frank Carroll, whoever) had the magic pill for that, we'd make a fortune. Easy to say and hard to do. 
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2012
I hope his injuries are healed well and not flaring up again. As long as he can compete at Stake America, it's okay.
I have been MIA from this thread lately, but I will be back next week. I have lots to share.
I have been MIA from this thread lately, but I will be back next week. I have lots to share.
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- Joined
- Jun 26, 2012
Nice feature on Andrew on the US Fan zone site:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com
Finally Healthy, Andrew Torgashev to Make Grand Prix Debut at Skate America with An Eye on the Future - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone
If you look at Andrew Torgashev's competitive results, something peculiar jumps out.
usfigureskatingfanzone.com
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
but didn't want to let down everyone who had supported him over the years.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2012
A short video with Andrew posted by USFS today. Filmed sometime before Lombardia. He talks about not taking opportunities for granted, having consistency in all aspects of life, and wanting to be different on the ice than other skaters.
www.youtube.com
I never posted about Lombardia. Yay Andrew for winning bronze. He landed a gorgeous 4S in a clean SP and only made 2 mistakes in the FS. I read through the Lombardia Men's SP and LP threads today and people had a lot to say about his SP outfit. It wasn't a problem for me because I was busy watching his glorious skating!
Welcome to the Andrew Fan Fest, @trishelle!
It's hard to believe it's Competition Week!
Inside The Season - Andrew Torgashev
Hear from Team USA's own Andrew Torgashev on his goals for the upcoming Grand Prix Series and beyond! #figureskating #usfigureskating #skateamerica #isugrand...
www.youtube.com
I never posted about Lombardia. Yay Andrew for winning bronze. He landed a gorgeous 4S in a clean SP and only made 2 mistakes in the FS. I read through the Lombardia Men's SP and LP threads today and people had a lot to say about his SP outfit. It wasn't a problem for me because I was busy watching his glorious skating!
Welcome to the Andrew Fan Fest, @trishelle!
It's hard to believe it's Competition Week!
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2012
I posted the short video from USFS, but really, it was nothing new, other than new practice footage. Andrew said pretty much the same things in June talking to Polina. I know the podcast was posted in this thread then, but I finally got around to transcribing most of it because it's so fascinating to hear Andrew's thoughts in a free, extended format, with little or no editing. If you're new to the thread, here's the link to the interview. The (partial) transcript follows.
What helped him stay injury-free last season: Not letting your wants and goals get in front of your needs. staying super honest to yourself and to what's going on, and to progress properly instead of getting ahead of yourself
Getting Ready for Sectionals: He started from 0 and built himself back up to get there. "It's not magic. A lot of grinding, lots of work, day in, day out, when nobody's at the rink you have to be here and when everyone's at the rink you have to be here; live life on the ice."
He worked on being 1% each day (spins have to be better, steps have to better, landing positions have to be better, fingers have to be finished, nice lines in shoulders). "It's all of these small details that we take for granted because we might've worked on them so much when we were younger that it's just natural. But when that goes away (and it goes away quick) it's very hard to get back." And, as an afterthought, Andrew added, "And of course technical things as well."
2023 Nationals LP Reaction: A rush of, I can't believe I did that. It felt so good. It was this rush of emotion of two years off, of all this grind, of calling my mom crying one day because I was like, "I don't know how much more I can do. How many more runthroughs can I do? What else do I have to do?" I just felt like all of that pain, suffering, joy, sweat, tears, it all came together and was worth it. I don't look at it as pain and suffering; I look at it as, I was building. It's not sore. It's I'm getting stronger.
Ideal Mindset: At the end of the day it doesn't matter whether it's Sectionals, Nationals, or Challenge Cup, the goal is the same always. It's to focus on each element and perform each element to the best of your ability. So it truly doesn't matter, when you’re thinking this way and if you achieve this you'll get the result you want, so I don't think it's necessary to think about the score. [But at Challenge Cup, he was thinking about the score the whole time.
]. Andrew tries to be realistic with himself about all possible outcomes, so if things don't go well he already knows his mindset.
2023 Worlds: He didn't talk about his skating at all. He talked about his teammates, specifically Brandon Frazier and Anthony Ponomarenko. No surprise, he gave glowing remarks about the Japanese audience. "There's no negative energy. All of these Japanese fans so love our sport, and it's not something all skaters will experience. When you're in an arena filled with people that really just don't care [where you're from] and just wanna see beautiful skating and wanna see you do your best, and they're cheering for you to do that, that's completely different to some JGP and JW that I've been to where it doesn't feel like that. The crowd was very respectful. To be able to experience and skate in a place like that is something I'll never forget. That will stay with me deep for a while. That was awesome."
2020 Junior Worlds/How Andrew Competes Successfully: That [long] program at Junior Worlds was the worst one I had done in months. And there was no good reason for why it happened that way, other than the fact that I just didn't feel consistent in anything that I was doing on the ice. Everything always felt like it was done differently. I just wasn't putting focus on the small details. [Summary: He wasn't thinking through carefully what he was doing.]
Some people have to think through everything. They have to have certain thought processes built up around their jumps and programs in order to achieve. That's the type of person that I am and I didn't have those [at 2020 JW]. [Back then,] consistently I would have a bad program at competitions, so it would make me look like an inconsistent skater; meanwhile on practice I was quite consistent. But I also never felt nervous. So it felt like a very fundamental problem that I had.
Skating and Adult Development: I feel like in skating, especially when you stay in it for such a long time, it can kind of hold you back from developing as a person. I think you got so caught up in the day-to-day that you're not working to elevate yourself outside of skating. Your entire image is skating and how can I be better at skating, because if I'll be better at skating, I'll be a better person. So this is a mindset I had to get away from as well.
Being Active/Outside: Having active hobbies, I found, was amazing, and things that I could do on my own, because I spend a lot of time on my own. biking, rock climbing, hiking, surfing, swimming, running Stay active and be outside, because it's bright inside the ice rink but those florescent lights are not Vitamin D.
Being Okay with Being Alone: Because I spend so much time alone, I got to know my identity a lot better. What my morals are, what my likes are, what my dislikes are, without the influence of parents or really really close friends that would influence your decisions to be more like them. And I was just truly able to figure out what it was I liked. I like to read. The point of this is to say that when we compete, it's just us on the ice. I feel like sometimes there's coaches that are so controlling and so demanding about what you're doing that you kind of don't know what to do when it comes time to be alone on the ice and compete. It's up to you. You have to figure all of it out right now and roll with those punches. The program may seem like four minutes, but you and I know that there's a lot of thoughts that happen in those four minutes and a lot of swing of emotions can happen.
Music and Choreography: I don't want to do something that's super repetitive. I also want to do something that's slow or weird. I realized it's very hard to pick music that not everyone has skated to and that's still interesting
I like movement. I like to be creative and be weird and do new things. That's a very fun aspect of skating for me. But, we have this all-important technical side, and at a certain point it becomes really hard to be emotionally involved in the choreography and play a character and also snap into a technical mindset to execute your jumps properly. Because jumps are very precise, while choreography is very fluid. So if you're somebody trying to do the most in both, I think it's very difficult to either not look stiff on your choreography, or be too fluid in your jumps. If your jumps don't work out well, who even needs your choreography, unfortunately. That's the way it's built here. [EDITORIAL COMMENT: Andrew, your true fans ALWAYS need and appreciate your choreography, even when your jumps are off. Always do it.
]
Misha wanted Andrew to have an emotional attachment to the music/program and Andrew said, "What emotional attachment? I have to do jumps. I want an emotional attachment to landing my jumps. I don't need the music. Just do something." Misha didn't wanna do it, because he knows Andrew enjoys that and that he spends a lot of effort on this creative side. Andrew is very glad that Misha didn't let Andrew just roll over and follow him. This year, Andrew didn't feel shy to give ideas or to show something that he thought would look good.
Goals: Progress safely and injury-free, work efficiently, do runthroughs even when you don't want to.
Parting Words: Gotta be motivated every day, even when you don't wanna be motivated. Gotta find a way. It's the 1%. He then sweetly thanked Polina for letting him talk in-depth about his story.
If you've bothered to read this whole post, you are a true Andrew fan.
I wanted the words preserved in this thread because it was so fascinating. Let's hope he has his program positive thought cues ready for SA! Lombardia was quite encouraging. If he finishes Top 8 at SA, he gets WS points. The podium is unrealistic, but I hope he finishes relatively high.
GO ANDREW!!!
Skate well, and please, be safe!
What helped him stay injury-free last season: Not letting your wants and goals get in front of your needs. staying super honest to yourself and to what's going on, and to progress properly instead of getting ahead of yourself
Getting Ready for Sectionals: He started from 0 and built himself back up to get there. "It's not magic. A lot of grinding, lots of work, day in, day out, when nobody's at the rink you have to be here and when everyone's at the rink you have to be here; live life on the ice."
He worked on being 1% each day (spins have to be better, steps have to better, landing positions have to be better, fingers have to be finished, nice lines in shoulders). "It's all of these small details that we take for granted because we might've worked on them so much when we were younger that it's just natural. But when that goes away (and it goes away quick) it's very hard to get back." And, as an afterthought, Andrew added, "And of course technical things as well."
2023 Nationals LP Reaction: A rush of, I can't believe I did that. It felt so good. It was this rush of emotion of two years off, of all this grind, of calling my mom crying one day because I was like, "I don't know how much more I can do. How many more runthroughs can I do? What else do I have to do?" I just felt like all of that pain, suffering, joy, sweat, tears, it all came together and was worth it. I don't look at it as pain and suffering; I look at it as, I was building. It's not sore. It's I'm getting stronger.
Ideal Mindset: At the end of the day it doesn't matter whether it's Sectionals, Nationals, or Challenge Cup, the goal is the same always. It's to focus on each element and perform each element to the best of your ability. So it truly doesn't matter, when you’re thinking this way and if you achieve this you'll get the result you want, so I don't think it's necessary to think about the score. [But at Challenge Cup, he was thinking about the score the whole time.
]. Andrew tries to be realistic with himself about all possible outcomes, so if things don't go well he already knows his mindset.2023 Worlds: He didn't talk about his skating at all. He talked about his teammates, specifically Brandon Frazier and Anthony Ponomarenko. No surprise, he gave glowing remarks about the Japanese audience. "There's no negative energy. All of these Japanese fans so love our sport, and it's not something all skaters will experience. When you're in an arena filled with people that really just don't care [where you're from] and just wanna see beautiful skating and wanna see you do your best, and they're cheering for you to do that, that's completely different to some JGP and JW that I've been to where it doesn't feel like that. The crowd was very respectful. To be able to experience and skate in a place like that is something I'll never forget. That will stay with me deep for a while. That was awesome."
2020 Junior Worlds/How Andrew Competes Successfully: That [long] program at Junior Worlds was the worst one I had done in months. And there was no good reason for why it happened that way, other than the fact that I just didn't feel consistent in anything that I was doing on the ice. Everything always felt like it was done differently. I just wasn't putting focus on the small details. [Summary: He wasn't thinking through carefully what he was doing.]
Some people have to think through everything. They have to have certain thought processes built up around their jumps and programs in order to achieve. That's the type of person that I am and I didn't have those [at 2020 JW]. [Back then,] consistently I would have a bad program at competitions, so it would make me look like an inconsistent skater; meanwhile on practice I was quite consistent. But I also never felt nervous. So it felt like a very fundamental problem that I had.
Skating and Adult Development: I feel like in skating, especially when you stay in it for such a long time, it can kind of hold you back from developing as a person. I think you got so caught up in the day-to-day that you're not working to elevate yourself outside of skating. Your entire image is skating and how can I be better at skating, because if I'll be better at skating, I'll be a better person. So this is a mindset I had to get away from as well.
Being Active/Outside: Having active hobbies, I found, was amazing, and things that I could do on my own, because I spend a lot of time on my own. biking, rock climbing, hiking, surfing, swimming, running Stay active and be outside, because it's bright inside the ice rink but those florescent lights are not Vitamin D.
Being Okay with Being Alone: Because I spend so much time alone, I got to know my identity a lot better. What my morals are, what my likes are, what my dislikes are, without the influence of parents or really really close friends that would influence your decisions to be more like them. And I was just truly able to figure out what it was I liked. I like to read. The point of this is to say that when we compete, it's just us on the ice. I feel like sometimes there's coaches that are so controlling and so demanding about what you're doing that you kind of don't know what to do when it comes time to be alone on the ice and compete. It's up to you. You have to figure all of it out right now and roll with those punches. The program may seem like four minutes, but you and I know that there's a lot of thoughts that happen in those four minutes and a lot of swing of emotions can happen.
Music and Choreography: I don't want to do something that's super repetitive. I also want to do something that's slow or weird. I realized it's very hard to pick music that not everyone has skated to and that's still interesting
I like movement. I like to be creative and be weird and do new things. That's a very fun aspect of skating for me. But, we have this all-important technical side, and at a certain point it becomes really hard to be emotionally involved in the choreography and play a character and also snap into a technical mindset to execute your jumps properly. Because jumps are very precise, while choreography is very fluid. So if you're somebody trying to do the most in both, I think it's very difficult to either not look stiff on your choreography, or be too fluid in your jumps. If your jumps don't work out well, who even needs your choreography, unfortunately. That's the way it's built here. [EDITORIAL COMMENT: Andrew, your true fans ALWAYS need and appreciate your choreography, even when your jumps are off. Always do it.
]Misha wanted Andrew to have an emotional attachment to the music/program and Andrew said, "What emotional attachment? I have to do jumps. I want an emotional attachment to landing my jumps. I don't need the music. Just do something."
Misha didn't wanna do it, because he knows Andrew enjoys that and that he spends a lot of effort on this creative side. Andrew is very glad that Misha didn't let Andrew just roll over and follow him. This year, Andrew didn't feel shy to give ideas or to show something that he thought would look good.Goals: Progress safely and injury-free, work efficiently, do runthroughs even when you don't want to.
Parting Words: Gotta be motivated every day, even when you don't wanna be motivated. Gotta find a way. It's the 1%. He then sweetly thanked Polina for letting him talk in-depth about his story.
If you've bothered to read this whole post, you are a true Andrew fan.
I wanted the words preserved in this thread because it was so fascinating. Let's hope he has his program positive thought cues ready for SA! Lombardia was quite encouraging. If he finishes Top 8 at SA, he gets WS points. The podium is unrealistic, but I hope he finishes relatively high.GO ANDREW!!!
Skate well, and please, be safe!
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Watching Andrew's practices yesterday and today on Peacock won't really alleviate any anxiety about him doing well at Skate America. You can never really predict how he will do in competition, of course, I just wish I could get a sense as to his confidence, especially with quads.
It appears that the 4T is back in the short program, if today's runthrough is an indication. I thought his 4S at Lombardia was beautiful, so I wonder if he has an injury or just lost confidence in the jump this week. His free skate runthrough yesterday did include 4S approach, which he tripled. He landed 1 4T during all of yesterday's practice (according to rockerskating), and 1 4T today fell on a few of other attempts and might have underrotated the last attempt. 1 real 4S attempt yesterday and he fell.
Still lighting candles for tonight! You got this Torgs LET'S GOOOOO
It appears that the 4T is back in the short program, if today's runthrough is an indication. I thought his 4S at Lombardia was beautiful, so I wonder if he has an injury or just lost confidence in the jump this week. His free skate runthrough yesterday did include 4S approach, which he tripled. He landed 1 4T during all of yesterday's practice (according to rockerskating), and 1 4T today fell on a few of other attempts and might have underrotated the last attempt. 1 real 4S attempt yesterday and he fell.
Still lighting candles for tonight! You got this Torgs LET'S GOOOOO
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2012
Andrew's last interview with Polina was so long and rich that I forgot to include some great stuff in my last post. It's in a logical but random order.
Competing at Sectionals: It shows you a different side of competitive skating. "I was taking for granted that I was achieving whatever I was archiving before injuries. It just seemed like it was always better or worse, but it was always moving in the direction that I thought I wanted. I always felt like progress was being made. I always took for granted going to Nationals every single year and getting internationals spring and/or fall. It was quite the reality check when that wasn't happening and there wasn't as much help and support and you had to figure it out on your own (had to motivate yourself and achieve that result on your own). I think it really helps put things in perspective, especially when your best memories are when everything's happening easily."
Challenge Cup was the first time he was the oldest skater on the team. He's with the Novices and Juniors and wondering where the time went. "I brought a razor to competition. I've never done that. I've never had to shave at competitions before. This is something completely new."
The Tech Min: I was so nervous for that, because when you look at the minimum score, it's super achievable. But I can't say that it's easy. I can only say that it's super achievable.
A tweet he saw said, "Somebody should have told Andrew that the point of the minimum score is not to get as close to the minimum score as you can."
Andrew basically said if you go in thinking that it's so easy, you're definitely not gonna get it. You're going to be complacent. You can't let your guard down. "I was so nervous I wasn't gonna get it." [He sure did cut it close!]
Importance of progressing safely: He tries to make as much gain as he can, safely, not getting too ambitious too quickly. As far as new jumps, Andrew says, "When something seems achievable, I think you need to take the proper steps to get there."
Where Andrew is Now: I'm getting to the point where I always dreamed of being. Not the point where I always thought of being. The one that I dreamed about. And now I see that it doesn't have to just be a dream. It can be realistic and there is a path there.
Polina: How does it feel to be in this wave [of Olympic contenders]?
Andrew: It feels great to be in the wave now. I don't mean to say that so casually. It truly feels great to talk about this not as a dream I once had but as something that's achievable with the right amount of focus and work. But two years ago it did seem more like just a dream that somebody could have. That a lot of people dream about going to the Olympics and a lot of people don't get there. It's a very small percentage of people that actually achieve that dream and are willing to make all those sacrifices. And, quite honestly, I think when I was young I was not willing to make all those sacrifices. Bless to my parents because I think without them I would not have achieved those Junior results and such. I don't think many people would know my name if my mom didn't push me as much as she did and if my dad didn't put as much effort in as he did. [I'm sure glad to know Andrew's name!]
It's Short Program Day at Andrew's first Senior GP!!!
I just hope the replay stays up on Peacock. I'm busy this evening and will watch tomorrow. I DVRed Tara and Johnny as well so I may share their compliments of Andrew. We shall see.
@trishelle, thanks for the practice report. With Andrew, I think we might always be holding our breath. But it's worth it for his skating and artistry.
Competing at Sectionals: It shows you a different side of competitive skating. "I was taking for granted that I was achieving whatever I was archiving before injuries. It just seemed like it was always better or worse, but it was always moving in the direction that I thought I wanted. I always felt like progress was being made. I always took for granted going to Nationals every single year and getting internationals spring and/or fall. It was quite the reality check when that wasn't happening and there wasn't as much help and support and you had to figure it out on your own (had to motivate yourself and achieve that result on your own). I think it really helps put things in perspective, especially when your best memories are when everything's happening easily."
Challenge Cup was the first time he was the oldest skater on the team. He's with the Novices and Juniors and wondering where the time went. "I brought a razor to competition. I've never done that. I've never had to shave at competitions before. This is something completely new."
The Tech Min: I was so nervous for that, because when you look at the minimum score, it's super achievable. But I can't say that it's easy. I can only say that it's super achievable.
A tweet he saw said, "Somebody should have told Andrew that the point of the minimum score is not to get as close to the minimum score as you can."
Andrew basically said if you go in thinking that it's so easy, you're definitely not gonna get it. You're going to be complacent. You can't let your guard down. "I was so nervous I wasn't gonna get it." [He sure did cut it close!]Importance of progressing safely: He tries to make as much gain as he can, safely, not getting too ambitious too quickly. As far as new jumps, Andrew says, "When something seems achievable, I think you need to take the proper steps to get there."
Where Andrew is Now: I'm getting to the point where I always dreamed of being. Not the point where I always thought of being. The one that I dreamed about. And now I see that it doesn't have to just be a dream. It can be realistic and there is a path there.
Polina: How does it feel to be in this wave [of Olympic contenders]?
Andrew: It feels great to be in the wave now. I don't mean to say that so casually. It truly feels great to talk about this not as a dream I once had but as something that's achievable with the right amount of focus and work. But two years ago it did seem more like just a dream that somebody could have. That a lot of people dream about going to the Olympics and a lot of people don't get there. It's a very small percentage of people that actually achieve that dream and are willing to make all those sacrifices. And, quite honestly, I think when I was young I was not willing to make all those sacrifices. Bless to my parents because I think without them I would not have achieved those Junior results and such. I don't think many people would know my name if my mom didn't push me as much as she did and if my dad didn't put as much effort in as he did. [I'm sure glad to know Andrew's name!]
It's Short Program Day at Andrew's first Senior GP!!!
I just hope the replay stays up on Peacock. I'm busy this evening and will watch tomorrow. I DVRed Tara and Johnny as well so I may share their compliments of Andrew. We shall see. @trishelle, thanks for the practice report. With Andrew, I think we might always be holding our breath. But it's worth it for his skating and artistry.
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