Nathan Chen

[heyheyhey]

^ Nobody said that he’s calculating the “exact points”, we and the video are obviously referring to general terms of what his strategy is.

 

[1111bm]

Sure didn't sound that way. Pointing out that he's good at calculating, calling him a math whiz etc. does imply that he's doing something more than the "regular strategizing" every skater does during their routine. And that video is hinting at that for sure, why else mention his math SATs, when actually all Nathan needs to know is the order of least to most lucrative jump?

 

[Mamamiia]

Sure didn't sound that way. Pointing out that he's good at calculating, calling him a math whiz etc. does imply that he's doing something more than the "regular strategizing" every skater does during their routine. And that video is hinting at that for sure, why else mention his math SATs, when actually all Nathan needs to know is the order of least to most lucrative jump?

I thought most skaters just stick to the layout, so if mistake happens, they will focus on the remaining elements instead of figuring out how and where to make it up.

 

[buttercup2015]

Nathan Chen commits to Yale this fall
http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/05/02/nathan-chen-yale-figure-skating/

.......................“Trying to figure out a long-term academic progression,” he said.
“Trying to figure out how to plan around [Beijing] ’22. I still have a lot of questions that I want answered, but I think that’ll come as time progresses..............................


................Chen does not plan to seek a second coach close to Yale to supplement his Southern California-based coach, Rafael Arutyunyan...................................

 

[1111bm]

Just thought of this footage for some reason, throwback to last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiy1dXsFtMU&t=1m24s

He was so excited for the olympic season back then.
I wish he would have had a better experience at the games and less messy skates throughout the season in general (because obviously the GP comps didn't go as he expected based on his training goals).

I thought most skaters just stick to the layout, so if mistake happens, they will focus on the remaining elements instead of figuring out how and where to make it up.

Well most don't actually have the ability to switch too much around (also, sticking to a fixed layout might be the better strategy, less prone to making even more mistakes), but I'm pretty sure they are still aware of how much any mistake cost them.
But yeah, changes during a program are mostly on combos though, when they didn't get the second jump done at an earlier point.

 

[shine]

Nathan talked about how he calculates points in this video https://youtu.be/jziRzx_rejw?t=3m53s

Hmm.. But he’s talking about “calculating” how much energy he has to make up for a specific jump. To me that doesn’t sound like he’s actually calculating points in his head but rather just trying to see if he’s capable of making up that jump given hows he’s current feeling and what elements he still has to complete..

 

[shine]

People, he’s not calculating the exact points of different jumps while he’s skating!
He’s just re-evaluating his options when a mistake happens (which all skaters do to varying extends and obviously within their, often limited, jumping abilities). And you don't need to know or calculate the exact points, to know that a 4Lz has a higher BV than a 4T or 3Lz.
So this is just a silly video, and Nathan’s SAT score is basically irrelevant to the point, that they’re trying to make.

And I definitely hope he isn’t! Can you imagine how distracting that would be to the performance? :noshake:

Also, having a knack for numbers i.e. being good at doing quick mental calculations isn’t necessarily (or at all) related to being good at math.
Don’t you know, there’s this old joke, that mathmaticians (and that would include statisticians) are bad at calculating because they can’t deal with numbers (because they only work with constants and variables).

Haha, agreed. I have a stats background and naturally people always ask me to figure out the bill after a meal but I just tell them I do math, not arithmetics there’s definitely a difference (not to say Nathan couldn’t be good at both though).
and yeah, an undergrad Econ major is def less demanding than a stats major.

 

[heyheyhey]

What are the chances Nathan gets France as GP? I read somewhere that him getting France might make the assignment for the other guys more difficult (like Shoma and Hanyu might have to do NHK together or one of the guys might have to do back to back GP assignments with little rest in between).

He’s the current World Champ so he kinda gets priority but I’m not totally sure how the GP assignments work yet

Also came across this today, some nice commentary about Nathan

https://twitter.com/yamazaki21/status/991283098800214017?s=21

 

[Mamamiia]

Hmm.. But he’s talking about “calculating” how much energy he has to make up for a specific jump. To me that doesn’t sound like he’s actually calculating points in his head but rather just trying to see if he’s capable of making up that jump given hows he’s current feeling and what elements he still has to complete..

I think it's both, I can imagine there is this little technical mark box hanging somewhere in his brain like what we see on the tv screen. Given it's really only 1-2nd grade math and he knows the elements too well, it perhaps just happens automatically. I would guess he even does this calculation in his daily practice so he can score himself and keep tracking his training. With his mathmatical mind it's perhaps so automatic that it becomes more distractive if not allowed to do the calculation lol

 

[heyheyhey]

New ISU world standings are out and Nathan is officially ranked #1 for the first time (I think...). Let’s hope he stays there

http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wsmen.htm

 

[yyyskate]

From the NBC article.
it seems, Nathan will mostly train on his own in the Champion ice rink 30mins away from Campus
And our wishful thinking, he will have another specialist to work on his SS etc. (even special offer from Yale, such as using the on-campus rink) seems will NOT happen.

This article is by Nick who is a trusted reporter by Team Nathan. Thus, it should be PC and somewhat insightful.

my gut feeling from this is that: Nathan may have investigated and planned his accademic decisions early but he seems is indeed a little clueless about his figure skating traning or the specifics how to juggle skating and college. What I am saying is that, he is not like what we have hoped figured out everything way ahead.
Sounded like there are still lots of uncertainty. and the choice he made is not centered about doing the best for his figure skating.
just my humble gut feeling after read this. To be honest, I do not like it (or should I say I am a little concerned..), it reminds me of my gut feeling of Nathan's OG season...

I still could choose to believe that Nathan is holding cards close to himself... Also this season is the least significant season for him in the next 4 years.

about GP, Nathan will very possbily go to SA and France. Some people has already do the calculation, Nathan goes to SA and France is the only way that all seeded skaters (top 3) won't be in the same GP and won't have back to back GPs. it seems like that is what Nathan will choose to do. There are some rumor about Yuzuru choose France, so Nathan may meet Yuzuru in france.

 

[yyyskate]

as far as figure skating training " take the reins myself" from this article is pretty much it.

Now, I just hope Nathan can learn components and artistry related stuff from his choregraphers as much as possible...

 

[heyheyhey]

He told us before this article that this is a test year for him, some things he will simply have to actually do it and experience before he knows if it’s totally feasible or not, no matter how much planning. It’s the perfect year for it so we will see but I’m not worried. Like he said, if it works, great, if it doesn’t, he’ll recalibrate from there. Nothing else we can ask of him. He can’t know until he tries.

About GP, wouldn’t Hanyu and Shoma then have to do NHK together? Hmm, idk that Japan will want that

 

[sheetz]

If it were just him I could maybe believe this was an impulsive decision, but I can't believe Yuki would encourage him to potentially damage his skating career on a whim. It's her job to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid.

 

[yyyskate]

^^but some wishful thinking that majority fans here seems considered plausible, like a specialist on-site to keep an eye on him or help with his components. also possible package from Yale (ice time, more flexible schedule etc.) seems is not the main reason why he chose Yale instead of other schools (e.g. the 2 safty net schools in NoCal).

 

[yyyskate]

I do NOT think this is Nathan's own impulsive decision, I believe it is a collobrative decision of Nathan's team.

but Nathan's team is (I quote) a little "inexperiened" as demonstrated in Nathan's OG season.

 

[heyheyhey]

Well he gave us his reasons on going and one of them seemed to be that they’re willing to work with him schedule wise (plus their breaks are very convenient with his competitions) so I don’t think that the article contradicts that. But things like course schedule and being able to plan training around that, he just can’t know yet until he actually picks his courses when the time comes.

He has an Olympic level training ground 30 mins away (similar to Colorado Springs), that’s extremely convenient. He’s not gonna find that in Cali schools. The specialist thing is something he can add on anytime, if he feels it’s necessary, he’ll have options nearby. There’s logic to his choice imo but certain things are gonna be in limbo until he actually goes through it and can plan accordingly. That’s natural, he can’t have all the answers right now and I hope he’s not pressured to. He just needs to experience it and take it day by day. This would be the case even if he decided to go to Cali schools.

 

[oatmella]

‘take the reins myself’ ...

Unless Nathan is really playing his cards close to his chest, and there’s a lot he isn’t telling us

It doesn’t seem like he made his Yale decision at all based on what’s going to work best for his skating career - he chose the school based on personal reasons and academics (which is honestly fine)

I guess Nathan has basically been taking the reins himself since after worlds - so this will be a continuation of that

I think in the back of his mind (or not so back), he knows that skating is risky - it might not work out with injuries. He is not willing to sacrifice his academics and choice of college for skating - at this point. Or at least he wants to see how it all plays out

As for Yuki - she’s his agent. As far as I know she isn’t an expert in figure skating or managing that. She cares about his sponsorships, shows, contracts, IMG getting their cut. Not saying she doesn’t care about Nathan beyond that, but that’s her job.

 

[Mamamiia]

^^but some wishful thinking that majority fans here seems considered plausible, like a specialist on-site to keep an eye on him or help with his components. also possible package from Yale (ice time, more flexible schedule etc.) seems is not the main reason why he chose Yale instead of other schools (e.g. the 2 safty net schools in NoCal).

Regarding onsite specialist etc, I would interpret it as some details are still to be worked out so he is not comfortable disclosing them yet. No way he is cluless.

 

[sheetz]

‘
As for Yuki - she’s his agent. As far as I know she isn’t an expert in figure skating or managing that. She cares about his sponsorships, shows, contracts, IMG getting their cut. Not saying she doesn’t care about Nathan beyond that, but that’s her job.

But if he starts skating poorly all that other stuff will go away. It's her job to make sure he keeps them.