Forgive me for being shallow :hopelessness:, but I thought the always-handsome Max looked absolutely radiant tonight.
I think his inner peace was showing through on the outside. :luv17:
Agree. He was more radiant, more effusive and expressive, than I have ever seen him. Here is a man with truly no regrets and truly at peace with his decision.
Here some transcription of Snugglebat's words today. Announcement speech and anything new that we didn't know before is in bold.
Q: What jump were you most excited to learn?
Max: So for me, I would say, it would be a triple Axel I guess. When I first moved here to Colorado Springs, everybody was..."everybody" [does the air quotes], as in the elder men, like Ryan Bradley, Brandon Mroz, they were all doing triple Axels and I knew if I wanted to be part of the group [more air quotes] I needed a triple Axel. I kept, every time during one of Tom's power classes I kept throwing myself into it, and eventually I got it! So I was able to call myself one of the big boys here, I really enjoyed it at the time and that was fun, and I really enjoyed the process, and hopefully you all will be there, and I bet all of you in here are probably doing triple Axels nowadays because that's how, the quad flip and the quad Lutz are the main things now [laughter], so I guess my era's coming now [laughter].
Q: When you finally landed it, how did that feel?
Max: It was really great! I remember, one of the first times I landed it, I remember just telling myself, if I can just jump high enough, I can probably do it [laughter]. Then again if you jump high enough you're gonna fall really hard. [more laughter] That was a big problem! But I finally figured it out, with Tom's help, and we had a lot of gamers where we were on the ice getting the triple Axel done, and of course I lost a lot of those gamers, those jump constests that we had, for maybe a couple of years and then eventually, I got one over, Ryan Bradley and Brandon Mroz, I beat them one time! But then again that was closer to the end of their career, and the start of mine, so [laughter]. But I don't tell that too often to people so don't tell anybody! [more laughter]
Q: And then as you guys moved through the ranks what was the most difficult jump for you?
Max: So I'm gonna say the same jump, um, because I actually never really learned a triple flip [sheepish laugh]. Everyone who asked why I never did a triple flip in my programs, it was because I actually did a triple Lutz, which I'd call a flip [air quotes] but was actually a Lutz. [laughter]
I had a really hard time learning that jump, I actually had a couple of stress fractures in my, in my leg because of trying to keep that edge on the inside edge, so you know what, in my career, it was just like, okay let's just add another quad, because if I can have that I won't need the triple flip, so. [laughter] I wouldn't recommend that! But if you want to add all the quads, be my guest, and actually that's kind of how it's going nowadays, so that's really cool and exciting. But I would say that, work on a jump you can't do, master all the jumps, and you're gonna need it.
Q: So you mentioned doing quads, how do you go about adding that extra rotation?
Max: Yeah, so, um, going up in rotation, first of all I always make sure I have solid technique, and I would make sure that I'd go over that every single day, on the ice, off the ice, making sure that I know what I'm doing exactly, and I'm solid, just like you're taking an exam at school, you don't want to go into an exam that you don't know anything about, same thing, you don't want to go into a jump that you don't know anything about, so it's learning it inside and out. And from there, realising, do I have enough height to actually add another rotation? From there, if I do - do I have enough fast twitch muscles, am I getting enough torque off the take off every single time. So I'm going through all of that and I can feel it, so when I attempt the jump whether it's off the ice or on the ice, I always get far enough around that I won't get hurt, so maybe I land on the quarter, so I get my confidence up knowing that I almost did it or maybe I fell backwards knowing I was clean, and that would just build my confidence up even more, and sooner or later, that jump's gonna come and it's gonna be mine. [big grin]
Q: And Max, what do you tell yourself when you're out of your comfort zone in competition?
Max: When I get out of my comfort zone, I know that the thing I'm going to be striving towards is the correct process, just like Mariah was saying, I'm just repeating what Mariah was saying [Mariah giggles]. I'm not that smart! Just kidding. [more laughs] Basically, it's really, working with Tom, and having the ability to work on something, maybe it's a different quadruple jump, it's taking the time to learn something the correct way, because when you get to our age - she's a little younger than me [gestures to Mariah] - when you get to our age, you want to have a solid foundation, because I always say to the younger kids, when you're building a house - in Arizona we build ours with cement, we don't have basements, so we have cement floors - so there's a cement floor, and if you build your house on the cement floor that's tilted or cracked, a couple of years down the road it probably will fall apart, correct? So why build your jump base on something that's not - that doesn't have a solid foundation. And that's something that, I think that's it's so big for you guys to learn here, there's so many great coaches that are here, willing to help you, and US Figure Skating put on this great event for you guys to learn. Not just to have one coach but multiple, and that's - you guys are so lucky to have this, back in my day - I can say that now right? - we didn't have this, so really take it all in, if you can take it in, hold onto everything you can, every single word they have, even the athletes that are here, helping at the front, even the demonstrators, listen to what they have, pick their brains as well because they're doing the jumps! So hear them out, it's really interesting to hear what they have to say, listen - I can't stress enough to listen - you want to build that base as strong as you can, so when you get to that Senior level and or maybe at an Olympic trials or the Olympic Games, you won't crack under pressure, you'll deliver. And that's what US Figure Skating wants, someone who is steady and will deliver every single time. Obviously, for you guys, enjoy the moment, right?
Q: about being called up to the Worlds team at the last minute.
Max: So, I actually was not prepared to go to the World Championships, to be completely honest with you guys. I was the third alternate as you guys know, and having Jason Brown as the first alternate and Ross Miner being the second, I really didn't that, um, that opportunity would come down that far. So, yes, shame on me, not training, I started to move onto a different path in life,
and I was actually training for a triathlon, so I guess I was in shape but uh, not skating shape, meaning that I wasn't doing the jumps I needed to do or the spins I needed to do, so, uh, when you - I guess first of all saying, when you sign on to a season, you must prepare, I will tell you guys, whether you are the first alternate or the third, that is a huge honour to have, and that's something I guess I abused, and that's something I should not have done. So hopefully you guys will be able to go on an event, a World Championships, a Junior World Championships, and even if you're an alternate, take that huge responsibility to train because you never know what could happen. But I was super happy to get the phone call, I think this was my fourth World Championships now, but I knew what to expect, I knew it was going to be a little harder to deal with, really only having two weeks of practice, really, just getting on the ice, two weeks of training, and then getting on the plane and getting over there, but I couldn't have done it without my coaches here in Colorado Springs, and the support from the team, and I guess, my role at that World Championships was to support the other men there, which was Nathan and Vincent, it worked out, I was going to, hopefully going to step up and take that third spot, and help them get the three spots for next season. So, something did happen, and I was able to hold my composure under the bright lights, and I'm glad we got it done, we got three spots for next year, but our men, their skating is so bright, and it's going to be so much fun to watch, and uh, I can't wait to see what you guys are all going to be doing in a year or two. I think I might see a couple of, maybe a World Champion over here somewhere [points to the audience], or maybe over here [gestures to another part of the audience]. I can't wait to, we can't wait to watch.
Q: How did they prepare mentally for Worlds when they weren't expecting to compete?
Max: Yeah, like I said earlier, I was definitely fortunate to have gone to a World Championships before, and I knew what to expect, obviously in my role, as being the third man, I guess my place, I was a little less stressed, than those two top men, that were Nathan and Vincent going for the medals now, which was going to be supportive of them, and if something would happen, like I said, you know, I would go in, hopefully slot in there and get that third spot. But I knew what to expect,
I knew - it sounds funny - but I knew what a World Championships event smells like - it really sounds funny, I always wondered, what sort of events, what they smell like, how the atmosphere is going to be, how loud it's going to be, the pressure that's going to be, at the hotel, what everyone's going to be talking about the dining hall, you name it, I knew what it was going to be like, and I wasn't nervous. I was more excited, to get that one last event, in the season, it's a huge honour to go to the World Championships, and I really enjoyed that.
Q: Max, you've already hinted at it a little before, so what's next for you?
Max: Yeah, so, I guess I'll take this time to say I'm retiring from the sport, I wanna move on, I'm actually working at Merrill Lynch, I told a couple of people, I already moved back home to Arizona. My time in the sport has really been something, I really enjoyed it, I can't thank everyone enough, uh, from the bottom of my heart, for everything they put into me, my parents, and my friends up here, it's really been a great ride, and I have no regrets. That's one thing I always told myself, in sport, in life, I want to have no regrets, and I can honestly say, with the help of my coaches and friends, that I have no regrets in the sport. And I can't tell you - I don't know of a better feeling, than leaving the sport in general, and having that. You know of course, becoming an Olympian, or having an Olympic medal would have been great to say, rather than my white [inaudible], but having the ability to say that I have no regrets, in my entire career of figure skating, to me that is my gold medal. So, um.
[loud applause]
Max: So with that being said, everyone here, whatever it takes, every single day, every single minute, enjoy it, enjoy the process, put the work and time into it, I'm telling you, nothing feels better than walking away from the sport, or whatever it's gonna be, whether it's gonna be because you want to win an Olympic medal, or whether it's that you want to go to school, give it everything you have, because you never want it to be your last time, and when it is, I want you to enjoy it and say look, I gave it everything I had, and I have no regrets. So just...enjoy that.
[more loud applause] [He glows with happiness.]
Q: Thankyou Max, for everything you've done for the sport, and if anyone has any finance questions...you know who to call now[laughter].
Q: As we wrap it up, just one last question, what is your favourite part about jumping? [Mariah goes blank, and side-eyes Max until he takes the microphone]
Max: My favourite part about jumping was, I guess, the feeling of flying, I guess I can say. Obviously I don't jump that high. [laughter] The feeling of just getting off the ice, and doing something that I guess not a lot of other people in the world can do. And at the time, not everyone was doing quad Sal, everyone's doing quad Sals now [laughs]. But doing something that no-one else could do at the time was really neat, so the opportunity - I bet all these boys in here can do a quad Sal, so it's probably not that cool. Guys back in my day, doing a quad Sal - [laughter]. But no, you know, that feeling of flying was my favourite.
***
I think listening to Max furious with himself over not training as third alternate was harder to listen to than the bit he actually made the announcement.
to the audience, sorta like of-course-you-saw-me-nudge-her-but-let's-pretend-that-I-did-not. 
.)
. Definitely sniffle-worthy :sad4: 
.
He did three triples and a couple of surprisingly good spins, and had a lot of nice edges. He has such a good feeling for pop/jazz/rock music and moves really well to it. In one of the group numbers, he was - very appropriately - the guy all the girls were swooning over - it was a great number! 
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