Jason Brown

[Mrs. P]

There was a cute video clip of the two of them at last years champ camp. But that’s about it. I’m sure there are no hard feelings, relationships change sometimes with distance, time.

 

[el henry]

Jason actually seems to get along with all the Russian ladies. Zhenya of course, but he’s taken photos Maria Sotskova and he took a photo with all the cutie juniors during JGPF/GPF last year. And I remember he and Adelina Sotnitkova had some fun pictures back in the day.

True story: I came back to skating with Jason’s performance at Nats. Since I never really followed the ladies, and had not followed them at all recently, I had no idea of the relative standings of the 2014 ladies. I saw Jason’s photos in 2014 with Adelina and another Russian lady, and they looked so happy together, I thought OK, I’ll root for Adelina.

Little did I know

 

[MGstyle]

I can imagine Jason is such a breath of fresh, sunny air to Russian girls. The Russians, by their culture/tradition, are known not to smile, laugh or act unnecessarily chummy with anyone unless they are on very familiar terms. That is something a foreigner should keep in mind when you come in contact with a Russian person. Uber-friendliness are looked upon with mistrust, or even terror. But I can bet Jason is a unique exception, his solar power can melt the thickest ice wall in an instant. :luv17::2thumbs:

 

[NoNameFace]

What is notable about Jason (well among MANY things) is his speed and his ice coverage. I actually giggled when the cameraman at GS was trying to follow him, after following so many slow skaters, and Jason made a quick transition in one direction and the camera starting going off in the other direction that Jason had been traveling in. The cameraman was having trouble keeping up with Jason.

I was at Skate Canada and the improvement between SCI and GS is almost unbelievable. It's a completely different mental attitude and confidence. His comment that his short plays to his strengths and his Free challenges them, explains everything. He is now focused on the details of the Short and it is close to perfect. And he is meeting the challenges of the Free, but still working hard toward mastery. He says that the program will be very different by Nationals. I anticipate an enhanced step sequence (he keeps getting level 3s on that) and they will try to solidify the quad into the program, but if not some solid combos and high GOEs will be the goal. I've been positive about the S&G program from the beginning. Even before he skated it at Autumn Classic, I could "see" it in my mind. I did think that the more pensive section was a tad too long and that they could have extended the Hazy Shade of Winter to the Springtime segment of the music, ending very upbeat. And they may do that. But I feel that Brian and Tracy and David together are trying to calm him down, get him to approach the program systematically and deliberately, to avoid the panic that causes him to revert to his old technique and foul things up. And it's working! Jason is super competitive, and being surrounded with great skaters every day and working to maximize his potential, is definitely helping him to grow and mature as a skater. But it's a process and the aim is to reach "maturity" in 2022 if he can. The new scoring system is more than just point changes, it's about details, precision, consistency and Jason can nail that. The new system doesn't diminish quads, but it wants them to be executed correctly and with some style. And that plays to Jason's skills and talents and attention to detail. I am very optimistic.

NoNameFace, thank you for your observations and eloquence! I really enjoyed reading everything that you wrote.

Thanks a lot for your kind words. What I like the most about this FF thread is keeping it real: talking about Jason things we like/do not like/discussing them in the most civil, respectful way, we can agree or disagree, but there is never like this hostile tension here. And there's this 'healthy' appreciation, interest in Jason expressed there that makes me keep on returning and posting. Besides, he is a very inspiring person and his attitude, positive, lively personality draws me in, mainly because I am the exact opposite, seeing usually the glass half empty than full and worrying over everything (although it affects me less now I feel, being more focused and engaged into following my passion for FS, going to competition this year live for the first time, making plans & having things on my mind to look forward to with excitement than worry).

As for first part I bolded - yes, it was quite funny to see cameraman losing Jason from view at places/not being quick enough to follow him. It is not usual to move with such complexity at high speed regarding men figure skating I feel - Jason for me has had always a great ease to his movement, that beautiful accentuation and presence on ice, being very visible and prominent by his whole body expression, not only face, but since last season I see more attention put on facilitating all of this with more speed. And it really shows its effect now: he has the beauty of movement, improved posture and head-to-arms line with visible more speed. I remember when I first saw him at practice in Grenoble, my first though was 'Wow, what a pure, clean movement, such ease and speed!'.

And as for confidence&growth parts bolded - I though about this before going to work today and - as usually - a thought struck me in bathroom (OT, seriously, the best thoughts FS-related, reflections on performances really come to me while in bathroom, it is super weird!) that more of speed, Jason standing somehow 'prouder' and 'taller' while performing, having that less exuberance to his expression, but something more deliberate and long-lasting are signs of him being more confident in a sense of changes done to his career and how he views his skating how after these changes and some period with new people in new environment. Scoring system changes are one thing that 'supports' skaters with abilities/approach as Jason's, another is mentioned by you training in quite competitive place surrounded by top/elite skaters from many countries, but I do feel that contributed to what we see/feel now watching Jason is how mentally nurturing these people/environment are. Don't get me wrong - watching Jason with Kori and Rohene, the uber-affectionate behaviour (hugs, smiles, hands' holding) was positive, but for me it did not hold that long-lasting mentally-supporting value in terms of progress, self-development, finding challenges outside of quads in his work; it was more and more that 'dark cloud' and non-satisfaction notion hanging above Jason I feel, with no quad in his stable and more emphasis being put on having quads and that tech advantage. I felt that this way of training, communion and attitude to it lost its merit and purpose as Jason became a more mature, still young, but a MAN. Seeing him now, after these few months at TCC, I can already see a new sense of maturity, purpose shown by his work, performance quality, expression, also in his technicalities - it looks like someone there helped Jason understand the value of what he already has, elevating his mindset over these 'dark' notions of lacking quads and tech advantage in competition, putting an effort to focus him on become a better skater, an ambassador of his own brand and steadily developing it than forcing himself in others' boots. In general, I see TCC not as a place of Brian and all success in the first place, but a place where different skaters can meet and share their stories,experiences, get encouragement to develop in their own pace, with help of knowledgeable specialists, but with stress put on individuality. With respect to that, I find Jason being a great addition to this place and feel that TCC crew learned a lot from Jason too

 

[Mrs. P]

Hey a non muted Golden Spin FS. Watch it while you can. https://youtu.be/13fTtxEjguI

 

[Bookseller]

NoNameFace, I agree with you 100%. When I went to SCI, i realized that I could no longer easily pick Jason out and it wasn't just the ponytail. His carriage and posture had changed completely. And in a later interview, he stated that TCC had been reworking everything, his jump technique, head placement etc. And that's when I realized what was so different. He holds his head differently and it's not completely natural yet, but it's getting there. Clearly he's been working with multiple coaches at TCC, but I believe that for the first few months, he worked mostly with Tracy. She was the one who most wanted him there, because she valued and was excited by the skills that he already had. I'm sure that she's working hard to help him become more independent and confident. He clearly had lost his confidence in the last two years, and he seems to be well on the way to getting it back.

I also believe that Brian has come around and also sees Jason as being a high value addition to the TCC team. Jason supports the other skaters, he has exceptional skating skills and he works really hard. And they in turn, support him. It's a very positive environment. I know he had support and love and encouragement with Kori, but it had gone as far as it could go. He needed more technical input and he needed more elite skaters around him. He's now where he should be and he'll be able to become the best skater that he can be.

I do hope that he continues to work with Rohene. I also hope that he develops new skills and levels that can be enhanced by other choreographers as well. But he is a work in progress and this year's programs are allowing him to grow.

 

[dorispulaski]

Congratulations to Jason for his win at GS !

And thank you for all the thoughtful analysis you have all provided!

I too enjoyed the aerial view of the FS, especially because it allowed me to appreciate the pattern of the choreography more fully.

And that reminds me that Jason says he is slow to learn choreography, an assertion I always found puzzling. But now I think that when Jason says "choreography," he means something different than an average skater means. It includes every beat of the music, every position of every finger, every angle of his head, every curve of his arm. It is a huge amount of information. His view of choreography was formed by having had his choreographer Rohene based at his rink for large swatches of his career, so that programs could be honed, refined and burnished to the smallest details.

From that perspective, I think the SP is a finished piece of art, but the FS is still a work in progress.

 

[Ross74]

I remember when I first saw him at practice in Grenoble, my first though was 'Wow, what a pure, clean movement, such ease and speed!'.

I first saw Jason skate live at the 2017 Nats send-off in CO. He was recovering from the stress fracture and I didn't expect much from the jumps but I was completely mesmerized by his movement on the ice. I couldn't believe that something so simple as skating around the rink could look so special. He has a gift.

 

[Jeanie19]

Knowing Jason, he's probably working on his Russian. He hangs out with the Japanese Ladies too. He didn't hang out with Zhenya before she arrived at TCC. He said they barely knew each other. But they've certainly become good friends now. I've never noticed him hanging out with Mariah much. Once she left Kori, things probably changed. I'm sure that their friendly, but perhaps not friends.

I don't think he hung out with Zhenya that much because they did not have many of the same ones. But 2015 nepala trophy they did hang out and 2017 Japan grand prix event, there are some pictures of them.

 

[Imov]

Happy to see Jason always finding way to enjoy inbetween competitions.
He really deserves the treat after working hard.

 

[skateflake]

Thank you so much NoNameFace for your in depth analyses. Reading them is like watching Jason skate in words. As usual, so little time to enjoy the posts but I think I have them on my device so I can savor them again and again later.

Really enjoy all the Golden Skate nice comments, especially on this BEST fan page.

 

[skateflake]

Jason Brown Fan Fest

While I was looking through the various ISU ranking pages after the GS of Zagreb, I did not see Max Aaron in the World Standings.
Where did he go? It still has retirees like Grant Hochstein and Adam Rippon.

I know he is not Jason, but I was looking for Jason stats when I noticed it.

 

[skateflake]

Oh, I wanted to say sorry to karne, you were missed.

On the day before IdFrance, I had been on my feet for 14 hours straight. To keep myself going, I did mental math to calculate when the Men's SP would start. It took 2 months of scheduling arrangements to be free to watch it live. How nice to have Friday all to myself, just enough time to check Jason's fanpage before the competition. Someone wrote "Congratulations to Jason on his record breaking SP score!" WHAT??!! It hit me immediately, my tired math forgot base 12 of time! I have never been so totally upset and completely happy at the same time!

But at least I got to read karne's PbP!!

 

[skateflake]

Well, it finally happened. After watching Jason's Free Skate videos thousands of times.

When the last FS began at Zagrab, I did not flinch at his costume or cringe at the music. In fact, I realized the tune I had been humming earlier that day was "Old Friends"!!!!

 

[skateflake]

Last post before I must leave. Jason Brown finally got a MEDAL this season and it is GOLD!

Jason is ranked third on the Challenger Series list!!!

 

[ice coverage]

While I was looking through the various ISU ranking pages after the GS of Zagreb, I did not see Max Aaron in the World Standings.
Where did he go? It still has retirees like Grant Hochstein and Adam Rippon. ...

FWIW:

This type of question came up on GS some years ago.

I don't think anyone on GS had a 100% definitive answer back then, but some believed that for a retiree who has disappeared from ISU standings, the skater's federation already had given formal notice to the ISU of the retirement, whereas for retirees who still do appear in ISU standings, the skater's federation had not yet given formal notice to the ISU.
This explanation made sense to me.

Max officially announced his retirement in April, IIRC.
Grant and Adam did not officially announce until months later, so it would not be surprising (IMO) if USFS has not yet given formal notice to the ISU re Grant and Adam.​

p.s. I had not realized that Max had disappeared, so I am feeling kinda sad to have this reminder of his absence. Miss him so much.
Hope everyone will think of Max when the U.S. men compete for the three spots on the team for 2019 Worlds.

 

[skateflake]

Thank you so much for the explanation, ice coverage. I miss Max, too, and will never forget Jason y him together, along with Grant at 4CC last winter!

Now I have another question. On the World Rankings for 12-3-2018, Alexander Saladin had 2583 points. He got 243 points in Zagreb for his 2nd Challenger. On 12-11-2018, his score is now 2826 points (2583 + 243 = 2826).

But on the World Rankings for 12-3-2018, Jason Brown had 3459 points. He got 300 points for winning Golden Spin, his 2nd Challenger. Yet on 12-11-2018 his score is now only 3570 points. 3459 + 300 = 3759.

Where am I messing up the math?

 

[skateflake]

Oh my goodness! Autocorrect strikes AGAIN!

I mean Alexander SAMARIN!!

 

[NanaPat]

Thank you so much for the explanation, ice coverage. I miss Max, too, and will never forget Jason y him together, along with Grant at 4CC last winter!

Now I have another question. On the World Rankings for 12-3-2018, Alexander Saladin had 2583 points. He got 243 points in Zagreb for his 2nd Challenger. On 12-11-2018, his score is now 2826 points (2583 + 243 = 2826).

But on the World Rankings for 12-3-2018, Jason Brown had 3459 points. He got 300 points for winning Golden Spin, his 2nd Challenger. Yet on 12-11-2018 his score is now only 3570 points. 3459 + 300 = 3759.

Where am I messing up the math?

They only count the best 4 of the 6 "Selected International Competition" scores. When the 300 appeared, Jason already had 4 of those scores (279, 219, 210, and 189). Because he can only count the best 4, when the 300 came in they counted 300, 279, 219, and 210 . The 189 was dropped (replaced by the 300). So his net score gain was 300-189=111. He went from 3459 + 111 = 3570.

Samarin only had points for 3 "Selected Competitions", so he got credit for all his new points. However, now he has 4, so if he does another one, he will have to drop his lowest score.

The same sort of thing is true of the Grand Prix points. Only (the best) 4 out of 6 scores that are shown are included in the total.

You can play with the numbers: add up all the numbers shown for a skater and compare with the ISU points total. Your total is almost always higher: you can figure out which scores were "discarded" in getting the ISU total. The only time it's the same (no discards) is for a skater with enough 0s in the table, like Keegan Messing or Misha Ge.

 

[Metis]

Interview with Orser. He has some lovely things to say about Jason. Brian calls him the “mayor of our community,” in addition to remarking that he’s the kind of skater who was made for the +5/-5 GOE scale.