It seems there is so much talk about Patrick slacking off and that the reason he parted with Krall was that she was too strict and working him too hard. I find such opinions baseless and not supported by facts but speculations based on preconceived opinions.
Fact is Patrick has been reported to be working very hard without taking time off and his work ethics continue to impress his new collaborators and observers. Fact is his already superb skating skills and artistry could not possibly have improved so much over last few months without dedicated training on his part. Jumps are the highest risk elements in skating and the first to suffer in less than optimal conditions. Whatever he lacked at JO, be it insufficient familiarity with the new program and its rhythm, or any physical and/or mental impediment, it showed up in the jumps, specifically in inability to land them. I am quite sure he will overcome whatever it was, because he always does and learns from each experience.
As for Krall, I have felt for a long time before their parting way that she was way too rigid in her training regiment. She prided herself on planning/controlling Patrick's every minute of every day. Patrick mentioned she often called early and wake him up. She is very scientific, thus Dartfish and regimented training. Some people may need such whip cracking to get moving but the highest achievements and level of performances do not come as a result of pure hard work and discipline. There are too many hard working and disciplined failures in this world. Elite skaters are hard working and disciplined, Patrick being one of the most acknowledged. He has always been highly motivated and motivating to those who train with him. Everybody, even the best, loses motivation once in a while as reactions to events in their career or life but they bounce back. But hard work and discipline is not enough, or even the most important factors in success.
In life and in most endeavours, it is extremely important to know yourself, including your body, your mind, temperament, what makes you tick and what you just can't stand........ There is a flow and rhythm to everything, time, energy, mood, etc. While the Western mind conceives time as linear to be divided into blocks for tasks and activities, time is actually experienced very differently as we all know how it can speed up or slow down greatly. Ditto personal energy which expands and contracts. There are frustrating and tiring times we can't push through anything and there are times we can accomplish a lot easily in a short time. In the proverbial zone, inspirations, solutions, insights, and effortless work come to us and that is when we are the most productive. It all about ability to focus on the moment and the activity at hand. Such periods should be optimally taken advantage of to make best use of the time and energy. It would also be extremely beneficial and advantageous to know how to get into the zone more often, especially at the most opportune times, like at a competition, for example.
In fact, I think such mind power and control is the most important determining factor for success. Good health supports clarity and power of the mind and there is a rhythm and cycle to our body we should abide by.
All that ^^^ is to say at Patrick's level of skating, overly strict and micro-managed time and training regiment is actually limiting to his development and nurturing of his talents. He has become wiser with age to his own body and mind and is following them and his instincts. No one knows his mind and body better than himself and he is also the most motivated about his own success and is taking charge of how he is achieving it. Krall was right for him to acquire the quad jump, which Johnson also contributed a lot with apt inspiration and understanding of movements. Patrick didn't "get rid of" Krall, who left him partly because of his changing approach to his own training. The team around him was having problems which disturbed Patrick greatly before Nice Worlds but he quickly accepted the change and the challenges and moved on, sticking to his targets and goals.
All that ^^^
is not to say Patrick does not need a skating technical coach but that it is too quick to conclude that he has lost his skating abilities or jumps and that it's all because he is lazy, distracted, unmotivated, spoiled, etc. as if he flipped his character completely and suddenly. It is just a pre-season cheesefest competition. Nobody should get so judged with speculative convictions and verdicts based on one bad skate, especially when the skate also showed brilliance in all areas outside of the jumps. Maybe it's just because it's Patrick. But it seems overly concerned fans are just as capable of seeing what they believe and quick to conclude. I say, let's not create scenarios to fit one's beliefs but look at the facts and wait for more facts.
One of my favorite quotes: A few observations and much reasoning lead to error; many observations and a little reasoning lead to truth. -Alexis Carrel
:yay:
arty:
