Pairing 14 year old girls with 20 year old guys

[KwanFan1212]

Hey Heather, just wanted to say hi! Thanks for everything at nationals!

Hi Darby! You're very welcome and I'm glad I got the chance to meet you in St. Paul! I promised I would post more so these comments were step one for me, LOL

 

[childfreegirl]

I think the Kwans and Hughes families did the impossible-raised three normal kids who skated at the top and went on to college.

One can also argue that the Kwans and the Hughes were very fortunate in that the locations that they lived to begin with were condusive to top level training. Not everyone is that fortunate.

 

[Tinymavy15]

my input on the subject:

in an ideal word, yes, it would be better if 14-year old girls were paired with 13-year old boys. I think that most people, esp young people are more comforable working with sombody close to thier own age. However skating is not an ideal world. Boys reach thier peak older than girls do (when was the last time we had an underage men's champion?) and esp when pais skating is consierned cannot do the lifting and throwing required before are a certain age. Boys on the whole reach puberty later than girls, so a 14 year old boys often look like shrimp compared to a girl of the same class. Also, boys of 14/15 are often skating singles, and only when they move up the levels, and realize that they will have to land that 3 axel all the time that they swich to pairs. Girls of 15 ideally should have all thier triples (at least 3 or four) if the want to be competitive in the future. So the ages when boys and girls realize that making it in singles just isn't gonna happen are diffrent. I am a 15 years old myslef, and I have to say that I would not mind if my pairs partner was 4 or so years older than myself. I think it would make me more mature in my skating and that we could get along. Let's face it.... with the shortage of males in this sport girls are lucky to get a partner in the first place!

 

[chuckm]

17-year-old Caitlin Yankowskas has teamed up with 22-year-old John Coughlin (who split with Bridget Namiotka after finishing 9th at last year's Nationals in Senior Pairs), and after being together only 5 months, they finished a good 6th at Nationals in the Senior ranks.

That's pretty amazing, because Caitlin won the silver medal as a Novice in 2007, paired with Daniyel Cohen.

I think this team has HUGE possibilities for the future.

 

[oleada]

I agree, Yankowskas and Coughlin were fabulous!

 

[nadster]

Actually, they probably would have already checked that. I think medically, a woman will only grow for one to two years after her first menstrual cycle. So, for all we know, it could be a non-issue for them. I know most girls that age (its mine, as well) are usually done growing for the most part.

But, they could always hit very bad luck within the next year.

I don't think you can put hard and fast rules on growth. I am a woman and grew 3 full inches taller after my 19th birthday. My mother was shocked because she thought I was done growing.

 

[waxel]

This topic crossed my mind while watching all levels at Nats.The Rockne-Keanu age difference doesn't seem to bother me- but there was one team- I think Jr. but may have even been novice- that had a WILDLY large age disparity. I'm talking something like she was 12 and he was 23. I don't recall their names, but it was slightly disturbing in that he was a fully grown man and she was a child. I don't really attach a weird sexual vibe to it-- but I do wonder what could these young/old teams have to talk about outside of skating??

 

[dutchherder]

Could I just insert something a bit nitpicky here? Keauna wins national championships with Rockne-- Keanu had an excellent adventure AND a bogus journey with Bill.

 

[oleada]

This topic crossed my mind while watching all levels at Nats.The Rockne-Keanu age difference doesn't seem to bother me- but there was one team- I think Jr. but may have even been novice- that had a WILDLY large age disparity. I'm talking something like she was 12 and he was 23. I don't recall their names, but it was slightly disturbing in that he was a fully grown man and she was a child. I don't really attach a weird sexual vibe to it-- but I do wonder what could these young/old teams have to talk about outside of skating??

I think you are talking about the team of Kelly/Woodruff (Junior). He is 24 and she is at least ten years younger. I understand why the male partner is usually older (guys mature later, etc..) but that is way too much of an age difference.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Age doesn't bother me, but height does. I can't be bothered with a team of a male over 6 ft and a female less tha 5 feet. I don't need the highest lifts in the competition as much as I need rapport between the couple. Brother an sister are ok with me, but father and daughter just don't work for me. The Hubbles, the Zaretskis and the Kerrs are just fine. Romance isn't necessary but rapport is.

Joe

 

[_Ladybug_]

. Brother an sister are ok with me, but father and daughter just don't work for me. The Hubbles, the Zaretskis and the Kerrs are just fine. Romance isn't necessary but rapport is.

Joe

Has there ever been a father/daughter pair? Is that even possible given how far apart the ages would be?

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Has there ever been a father/daughter pair? Is that even possible given how far apart the ages would be?

I meant that in height only, not literally, and I don't want to mention anything further on it.

Joe

 

[chuckm]

Another very promising team: Tanovich and Chau. Tracy turned 11 in August and Michael was 17 in November. They won't be able to compete in the JGP until the fall of 2010, when she will be 14 and he almost 20. So they will have a year or two in the JGP before he ages out.

This is their 4th year together. They won bronze as Novices in 1006, and won the Novice title last year. They won silver in Junior this year, and look to be the favorites for the Junior title next year.

 

[KwanFan1212]

Tanovich and Chau were one of my favorite junior teams in St. Paul! Since they're both pretty tiny right now, the age difference doesn't even phase me. I wish they could compete on the junior circuit sooner but by the time they are age eligible, they'll have tons of experience to help them out. They were adorable on the podium last week. Michael kept trying to be taller so he could be seen over Tracy's head, LOL

 

[hongligl]

A good example of this could work is S/Z. Her father almost begged Bin Yao to pair Shen with Zhao when she was really young. Look what they've achieved. The down side of this kind of partnership is that when the girl is still in her prime, her partner could be too old to compete anymore.

 

[hockeyfan228]

Then she finds a younger, but adult, one and brings him up to her level, like Langlois did with Hay.

 

[skatingfan04]

I don't like these types of pairings at all. Firts of all, in most cases, they are so physically mismatched that every element ends up looking awkward, no matter how well they execute it. Then there's the age eligability factor. Lokk at McLauchlin/Brubaker. Look at teams like Moscovich/Moscovich or Kirkland/Radford. By the time the girl is old enough to go senior, the guy is almost too old. Also, with a large age gap, it makes any chemistry between the pair seem inappropriate. I'm one opf those people who feel that chemistry between a pairs team is an essential part of any performance.

 

[chuckm]

Chemistry is a good thing to have but it isn't an essential. Gordeeva / Grinkov had great chemistry, but Totmianina / Marinin did not, and yet both Pairs won the OGM. Teams like Menno and Sand had great chemistry, but never quite made it to the top of the World podium because they were technically not as good as the top teams.

A lot of what posters interpret as 'chemistry' is interaction, but interaction is something that can be learned, so it is not innate. Right now, McLaughlin / Brubaker can't be said to have chemistry (if they did, it would be icky, considering their ages). But they are learning to interact so at some point in the future, they may appear to have chemistry. Savchenko / Szolkowy didn't appear to have chemistry when they started out, but they sure do now.

 

[Ptichka]

"Chemistry" and "romantic chemistry" are not quite synonymous. Take Anissina & Peizerat - there was nothing romantic about their rapport at all, yet they had a very special chemistry between them nonetheless. An even more stark example for me is, going a bit back into history, Bestemianova & Bukin - no romance at all, but their chemistry, meaning just the way the two of them related to each other on ice, was certainly unique. Chuckm's example of Savchenko & Szolkowy is certainly another good one - they are dating other people, yet they do have their own "chemistry" on the ice. In that sense, why couldn't a 14 y.o. and a 20 y.o. have chemistry on ice - not romantic chemistry, of course.

 

[bruises]

I know they don't skate pairs, but Tanith and Ben have great chemistry on ice. And they are both in relationships with different people.