Nathan Chen

[surimi]

Not yet a fan, but stopping by to wish Nathan a FS that lifts both his spirits and his confidence. I hope he lets go of all pressure and doubt, and just shows what he can do. Good luck!

 

[purplecat]

I was sooo nervous, I literally wanna throw up even a couple of skaters before Nathan starts his SP.

I do not have that feeling when I watch my fav skater of all time Yuna Kim skated during her last OG.

That's how I know I really really love a skater - that throw up feeling lol. I always have gotten that feeling before my faves skate (at least in the big important events). And yes I too get that way for Nathan.

 

[yyyskate]

Coaching change is needed because it is either he himself or Raf constantly messing with the jump layout and not doing full runthrughs. Doing way more jumps on the side in practice sessions than his competitors is also an alarming sign. I recall in an interview Nathan said that Raf wanted him to focus on quality of jumps instead of quantity. In other words, Raf really fails to change Nathan's habbit.

I wish after this OG, Nathan could watch Yuzuru' practice clips and learn from it, just a few quads, lots of SS stroking practice, yet every jump Yuzuru did has insanely precision and quality.

A friend of mine who is a psychologist said to me last night that Nathan might be into novelty and not interested in sticking into a daily routine in his practices.
I have this feeling about Nathan too.
Unfortunately, that approach will not make a champion, I am afraid to say. Also, throwing a ton of unclean quads in the practice sessions is not really helping him in the judges' eyes, either. That approach also adds the risk of injuring himself.
again, suggest to watch Yuzuru's practice clip in this OG.
All in all, Nathan definitely has all the goods to be a champion, but he needs a strong team to help him put together all his talents. His current team has failed to do so. It is time for a big change. Dare I say, Nathan really needs someone to seriously discipline him.

I added my opinion in bold.

 

[yyyskate]

That's how I know I really really love a skater - that throw up feeling lol. I always have gotten that feeling before my faves skate (at least in the big important events). And yes I too get that way for Nathan.

Yuna is my all-time fav figure skater, but I have the confidence to watch her biggest event live, even during Sochi's FS, I was crying for her a couple of skaters before she even started, but I was crying because I knew no matter what she do she will never win (due to the scandalous judging back then).
but with Nathan, he is my sentimental fav skater, I literally threw up last night a couple of skaters before he even started. it is different feeling.

 

[Miss Ice]

Yuna is my all-time fav figure skater, but I have the confidence to watch her biggest event live, even during Sochi's FS, I was crying for her a couple of skaters before she even started, but I was crying because I knew no matter what she do she will never win (due to the scandalous judging back then).
but with Nathan, he is my sentimental fav skater, I literally threw up last night a couple of skaters before he even started. it is different feeling.

Aw, you're the kind of fan many up and rising skaters wish to have. :sad4:

Maybe funding in the US is also heavily correlated with how much media coverage you have? So Nathan (and/or his team) really couldn't say no to the press releases, random media and ads because this is the way to get funding here?

Since as far as I am aware, skaters from countries like Russia and Japan rely mostly on federal funding and it's not dependent on independent sponsors who want to feature them in commercials, videos, ads...

 

[lappo]

Aw, you're the kind of fan many up and rising skaters wish to have. :sad4:

Maybe funding in the US is also heavily correlated with how much media coverage you have? So Nathan (and/or his team) really couldn't say no to the press releases, random media and ads because this is the way to get funding here?

Since as far as I am aware, skaters from countries like Russia and Japan rely mostly on federal funding and it's not dependent on independent sponsors who want to feature them in commercials, videos, ads...

As far as I know, US skaters don't have much financial support from the Fed certainly not remotely close to what Russian and Japanese get from theirs. So, private fund (either from parents, benefactors, foundations) and sponsors are the only way to keep skating but with them of course come more obligations and certainly more pressure. Someone who has more knowledge could give information on the exact amount. Anyway, still heartbroken for Nathan.

 

[Sensation]

Praying he can do well tonight after all the disappointment...

 

[jackattack]

good luck to nathan! whatever happens, i just hope he has fun and enjoys the rest of the olympic experience. don't worry about what the world is expecting of you, just skate and have a good time and it'll all be okay!

 

[schizoanalyst]

A nice perspective from Sandra Bezic on Nathan: http://smb-creative.tumblr.com/post/170952295625/hype

She says a lot of what I think most of us are thinking and takes a few jabs at his coaching and the media climate (but of course doing it in the lovely and nice Sandra way)

 

[yyyskate]

A nice perspective form Sandra Bezic on Nathan: http://smb-creative.tumblr.com/post/170952295625/hype

She says a lot of what I think most of us are thinking and takes a few jabs at his coaching and the media climate (but of course doing it in the lovely and nice Sandra way)

100% agree with what Sandra wrote

 

[yyyskate]

Nathan looked demoralized in his practice right now. he is just going rounds and occasionally jump with less rotations.
3Lo, 3F, 3Lz, 3A(hand), 2T, 2T, 4T, 4T2T, 3S, 2S, 2S, 4S, 1A, 3A, 3F1/2Lo3S, runrhtu (3Lz, 3F, 3F3T, 4T, 4T2T, 4S(step,hand), 3A(step), 3F1/2Lo3S)
Hope Nathan can give a complete and memorable performance, I do not care about rotations anymore.

 

[schizoanalyst]

, runrhtu (3Lz, 3F, 3F3T, 4T, 4T2T, 4S(step,hand), 3A(step), 3F1/2Lo3S)

WTF? What is that layout? If Raf has decided Nathan should try to go “clean” with a “easier” 3-quad layout I’m going to explode. I highly doubt he is going to go clean with a nominally easier but again unfamiliar layout. Has he even performed a 3F+1Lo+3S in competition? Ever even in official practices till now? This isn’t an Adam situation where the 4Lz was always fake. He has this jump. Let him skate what he knows. Even if we are talking about taking out the 4Lz and 4F, why leave the 4S - arguably his weakest quad? This is amateur hour. This is malpractice.

Edit: Also, if he is demoralized, I don't think it helps to say "oh well, guess you can't do those quads, better go for triples."

Edit 2: Hopefully I'll be proven wrong tonight, he can't podium, and I just him to have a moment for himself

 

[sheetz]

Those first two jumps in the run thru are probably quads. It's a very doable layout for him so sending him good vibes for a clean skate.

 

[yyyskate]

if he is doing this lay-out as it is , then he will do 3F 3 times.

if it is 4Lz, 4F, 3F3T, 4T, 4T2T, 4S(step,hand), 3A(step), 3F1/2Lo3S
then he is going for 5 quads, repeat 4F and 3F, very easy to zayack tho

 

[yyyskate]

he can also go for 6 quads
4Lz, 4F, 4F3T, 4T, 4T2T, 4S(step,hand), 3A(step), 3F1/2Lo3S

repeat 4F and 4T

 

[frida80]

A nice perspective from Sandra Bezic on Nathan: http://smb-creative.tumblr.com/post/170952295625/hype

She says a lot of what I think most of us are thinking and takes a few jabs at his coaching and the media climate (but of course doing it in the lovely and nice Sandra way)

I agree. Around SA, things weren't coming together and I was pretty concerned. I'd hoped it would click, but it felt like there was too much going on. Commercials, PR events, five competitions, these costume changes and all this training.

What I liked about his FS at nationals is that was the moment it felt like Nathan took control of his skating and filtered out the world. He knew he could pull off his FS and silenced his own doubts.

Then the world came in again and he couldn't block them out. The USFS has a knack for destroying talented skaters. It's not as easy as blocking the media. USFS needed a star, and sold him on the idea of bringing back men's skating. So the Feds were constantly pressuring him. And he never really had a moment to simply train just to train.

It's so unfair. My baby...

 

[sherlock trollmes]

I don’t see him going for the 4f or 4lz and I’d rather he didn’t, anyway. It’s clear that they aren’t working for whatever reason at the moment - whether it’s injury or lack of training time or something else. I’d rather him try to go out of these Olympics on a positive note and attempt to skate a relatively clean program.

 

[hhh]

Agree with Sandra, and that his season was very packed with no breathing room to reflect and refine his programs.

Sending happy vibes to Nathan. Just enjoy and do the FS for yourself. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the Olympics experience, you deserve it Look forward to your next season and hope you pick Berkeley in the fall LoL

 

[oatmella]

I have been feeling so sad since yesterday
I just hope today he can skate well and end his first Olympics on a positive note.

 

[shine]

He was still doing 4Lz and 4F a couple of days ago....I really don't understand how he has just lost these jumps. Other skaters with these harder quads don't seem to have this kind of volatility where the jumps just become MIA all of a sudden. Is he over doing them in the training? Or maybe he's just taking them out because he's truly demoralized... I really wish I understood what's going on with him right now. The season really has been on a downward spiral since Rostelecom.