TSL interview with Ilia Malinin

[bekalc]

But isn't he going to get exposure at this year's Worlds? Assuming he meets the SP standard which I assume he will.

He should get as much exposure as possible and if he had skated well at the Olympics he might have a better shot at medaling at this years worlds.

FURTHERMORE if we are talking about consistency it would make more sense to put him at the Olympics where no spots are on the line. The whole thing is silly.

 

[el henry]

How we got from an interview with Ilia to a contentious debate that's already raging on at least two other threads is mystifying.

I'm trying to get to the other thread, really I am.

I hope that those who have listened to the interview can substantiate that Ilia said he was staying with his parents this next season and not going to Raf full time. If so, I am glad he is keeping at least somewhat of a normal teen experience.

 

[moonvine]

At the Olympic Games, you won't be ranked by what you did during the season and last season. You will be ranked right there on the Olympic ice. Ilia beat Jason soundly at nationals. Chances are Ilia will beat Jason again at their next competition.

And yet USFS has criteria for the Olympic Team and stuck to it.

 

[yelyoh]

I'm trying to get to the other thread, really I am.

I hope that those who have listened to the interview can substantiate that Ilia said he was staying with his parents this next season and not going to Raf full time. If so, I am glad he is keeping at least somewhat of a normal teen experience.

Yes he said for the time being they are not moving to CA.

 

[yelyoh]

He should get as much exposure as possible and if he had skated well at the Olympics he might have a better shot at medaling at this years worlds.

FURTHERMORE if we are talking about consistency it would make more sense to put him at the Olympics where no spots are on the line. The whole thing is silly.

Well if Nathan does Worlds, and there is no word he is not, spots will not be on the line. Second what consistency are you talking about? And hey one person's silly is another person's sagacious.

 

[apgold]

She left the main show in late 2016, but returned to do live shows on Patreon with Dave at the end of 2019. She sometimes fills in for Jonathan Beyer on the main show from time to time when he's not available. I definitely prefer the Patreon show with Jenny because she keeps Dave in line and also keeps him from saying anything too stupid.

I usually don't tune into the Patreon shows but occasionally watch an archive if I have time. I notice Dave is little more restrained when he's with Jenny, I think because he respects her experiences as an elite competitive skater. Although Dave himself is an accomplished adult level skater and his stories of his coach Galina are pretty funny.

I did watch the Ilia interview. I thought it was good and Ilia seems like he's got his head on straight. I'm glad Dave stayed away from the Olympic team selection controversy and focused more on Worlds (where will he get his minimums?) Would be interesting if he moves to California after finishing school to work with Raf full time.

 

[TontoK]

I hope that those who have listened to the interview can substantiate that Ilia said he was staying with his parents this next season and not going to Raf full time. If so, I am glad he is keeping at least somewhat of a normal teen experience.

It wasn't a long interview, but it was interesting. I'm working from memory here, so take these highlights for what they're worth:

His sister is six and doing Intermediate moves.
He passed many tests early (I know this has to do with USFSA tests - like Senior Moves in the Field - but I'm not conversant with these).
He enjoys working with Raf... he emphasized "with his team"... and I don't know who exactly that includes.
He mentioned skating on the same practice ice as Nathan when he worked with Raf there. When asked if he was in awe or intimidated (words to that effect) he said "no." When he practices, his focus is on what he needs to accomplish, not anyone else. He said his parents have known Raf a long time, so he wasn't nervous about working with him.
He was pleased and a little surprised at his silver finish at Nationals, but also stated that clean skating was his objective all year long. I don't think he was surprised he skated clean - it was more than he was surprised at his placement.
He said he attempted a 4-quad long early in the season (I think he said Skate MIlwaulkee) but "that didn't go well" (said with a wry grin) and reaching this level of fitness and technique took a lot of work over the course of the season.
When asked if he was moving to California, he seemed to nix that idea, at least for now. I got the idea he would not leave his family, and he said he still has a year of high school and also friends.
He said he could see himself trying a 4/4 combo in competition. He talked about the quality of the first jump being critical to having enough flow to pull off the second half. The next thing he'd like to work on is a 4Z/4T combo.
He said he'd "played around" with a 4A, but that was just for fun.
He learned his non-axel triples in this order: Sal, Toe, Lutz, Loop, and Flip. That pattern carried over to his quads. He said 4F is the least stable of his quads, and needed much more consistency before putting it in a program.
His Mom is the task-master coach, and his Dad is more laid back. If things go badly at practice, he can expect some at-home feedback, but most of the time the coach/student situation is left at the rink. (I think I've got that right).

 

[Mathman]

At the Olympic Games, you won't be ranked by what you did during the season and last season. You will be ranked right there on the Olympic ice. Ilia beat Jason soundly at nationals. Chances are Ilia will beat Jason again at their next competition.

That is my point exactlty. At the Olympic Games the skaters will not be judged by how well they performed at 2022 U,S, Nationals. They will be judged by what they put on the ice in Beijing. In a month we will know how Jason skated. We will never know what Ilia might have done.

 

[moonvine]

That is my point exactlty. At the Olympic Games the skaters will not be judged by how well they performed at 2022 U,S, Nationals. They will be judged by what they put on the ice in Beijing. In a month we will know how Jason skated. We will never know what Ilia might have done.

And if Ilia had been sent we would never know how Jason would have done. We also will never know how Jimmy Ma, Camden, etc would have done. Unless God forbid we have a withdrawal.

 

[ice coverage]

Well if Nathan does Worlds, and there is no word he is not, spots will not be on the line. ...

Wrong! Nathan alone cannot earn three spots, even if he wins. (Unless the U.S. were to decide to send only Nathan without any other men.)
I hope that all three U.S. men at 2022 Worlds have good placements, but the close call at 2018 Worlds showed that nothing should be taken for granted. Without third alternate Max Aaron's 11th place, Nathan's first place would have been insufficient to earn three spots.

... I did watch the Ilia interview. I thought it was good and Ilia seems like he's got his head on straight. I'm glad Dave stayed away from the Olympic team selection controversy and focused more on Worlds (where will he get his minimums?) Would be interesting if he moves to California after finishing school to work with Raf full time.

I generally avoid TSL, but I made an exception to hear from Ilia.
I do give Dave credit for not stirring the pot re Olympic team selection.

My favorite part was the end when Dave asked about soccer, and Ilia said he used to always have a soccer ball at competitions.
Brought back pleasant memories of 2019 JGP Lake Placid, where Ilia and Joe Klein often were companions in the stands together, sometimes playing with a soccer ball.

---

TSL is substantiating Ilia and that is not what he needs. ...

... How do you know what Malinin needs?

I'm also not sure what you mean by "substantiating". Perhaps you could tease out your thoughts?

I too have no idea what "substantiating" means.

I am no cheerleader for TSL, but the new U.S. men's silver medalist is a legitimate subject for an interview.

 

[lurkz2]

He enjoys working with Raf... he emphasized "with his team"... and I don't know who exactly that includes.

The only other Team Raf person I know of is Nadia Kanaeva who's listed as his choreographer in his ISU bio. She choreographed most of Nathan's Junior programs (including the Michael Jackson SP) as well as Prince Igor.

 

[mrrice]

Nope. In my opinion, there is no excuse for making a racist “joke.” Not ok to make “jokes” about people from different races, genders, sexual orientations, etc.

There is so much content out there with content creators that don’t act like that. I can’t keep up with it all.

I don’t plan on “getting over it.” I don’t listen to him and am not going to.

On the other hand I love Ice Tea Pod where they would never act like this.

I agree, the fact that race still comes up is something I thought we'd be passed by now. We've had skaters of every race in skating. To me, it's a non issue.

 

[SaDa]

I knew Ilia was learning his jumps with Raf but did not realize Raf's team was also helping him with his spins, SS, and choreo. Interesting bit of info. And Ilia says when he's skating down in Cali with Nathan and other high-level skaters, he's motivated because he tries to impress them and not look bad in front of them. He's so young and honest, lol.

 

[yelyoh]

Wrong! Nathan alone cannot earn three spots, even if he wins. (Unless the U.S. were to decide to send only Nathan without any other men.)
I hope that all three U.S. men at 2022 Worlds have good placements, but the close call at 2018 Worlds showed that nothing should be taken for granted. Without third alternate Max Aaron's 11th place, Nathan's first place would have been insufficient to earn three spots.



I generally avoid TSL, but I made an exception to hear from Ilia.
I do give Dave credit for not stirring the pot re Olympic team selection.

My favorite part was the end when Dave asked about soccer, and Ilia said he used to always have a soccer ball at competitions.
Brought back pleasant memories of 2019 JGP Lake Placid, where Ilia and Joe Klein often were companions in the stands together, sometimes playing with a soccer ball.


I too have no idea what "substantiating" means.

I am no cheerleader for TSL, but the new U.S. men's silver medalist is a legitimate subject for an interview.

Well gee I guess your "wrong" is the definitive response to what I wrote. I assure you I realize Nathan alone cannot guarantee three spots. Have a little faith in the US men if you can manage it. And blah blah blah ice coverage.

 

[Arriba627]

On the other hand I love Ice Tea Pod where they would never act like this.

This shows how different we all are. Several people suggested Ice Tea to me and I listened for about 3 minutes and was done. I'll never listen to them again. I do listen to TSL even though I probably disagree with at least half of what they say. I guess we like what we like.

 

[gravy]

Excerpted.

How do you know what Malinin needs?

I'm also not sure what you mean by "substantiating". Perhaps you could tease out your thoughts?

I would take his opinions on TSL with a grain of salt. He's had a personal bone to pick ever since he asked them to be a host on their show and got turned down.

 

[TontoK]

The only other Team Raf person I know of is Nadia Kanaeva who's listed as his choreographer in his ISU bio. She choreographed most of Nathan's Junior programs (including the Michael Jackson SP) as well as Prince Igor.

That may be, but I wondered if he might have done some work with Brezina or Adam or someone like that, not credited as a coach or choreographer... just lending a hand to help out a youngster.

Caveat: that was just a question that came to me while watching, attempting to interpret the context of what he was saying. He did not actually say that.

 

[lurkz2]

That may be, but I wondered if he might have done some work with Brezina or Adam or someone like that, not credited as a coach or choreographer... just lending a hand to help out a youngster.

Caveat: that was just a question that came to me while watching, attempting to interpret the context of what he was saying. He did not actually say that.

That's also how I interpreted what he said

 

[Tahuu]

And yet USFS has criteria for the Olympic Team and stuck to it.

No, they didn't. They used the median scores and national placement to put skaters in Priority Groups, ie, both Jason and Ilia in Group 3, for Olympic spot consideration; but they failed to use scoring trend and scores at major competitions close to the Olympics (GPF and Nationals) to differentiate them as they state in their selection criteria. If they stuck to it, it'd be Ilian who would get the Olympic spot over Jason.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

I too have no idea what "substantiating" means.

I am no cheerleader for TSL, but the new U.S. men's silver medalist is a legitimate subject for an interview.

I don't know what substantiating means, but to substantiate is to provide evidence or proof of something. I assume substantiating is present participle of that - providing proof or evidence/in process of providing proof or evidence/continually providing proof or evidence?