I know many here don't like Brian but there is something to be said about how he protects his skaters during the Olympics.
I agree. Yesterday, it was as if there was a protective force field surrounding Yuzuru.
I was very saddened when Yuzuru left Nanami, but I have come to really like Brian . . . in the last two years. From watching the interaction, I also have the sense that Brian knows how to well protect his skaters and to move in and help lift them up when they are down or vulnerable. Yuzuru is one tough spirit (compassionate, artistic and tenacious) who never gives up, but there have been times when I worried about his vulnerability and how fast he could come back. (Always knew that he would though.) At worlds, last year (when Yuzu was coming off injury and illness), after the short, I was worried about his confidence and composure. He is very very critical of himself and, last year, at worlds, (let us remember we are talking about an 18 year old kid who pulled up stakes and was living in a foreign city for year in rather isolated circumstances) he had to come back and skate after one of the most disappointing short skates of his life. Yet, Hanyu showed up for the fs and gave one of the grittiest toughest never-surrender performances of any skater that I have ever seen. That 2013 Worlds performance, although not his best skate, was way beyond expectation (for me) of being possible for anyone and so, for me, it is one of his most important of his skates to re-watch. It was a triumph of spirit and tenacity of a incredibly special athlete. This year, after Skate Canada, I was worried about his nervousness and whether he would overcome that nervousness enough to be Olympic podium contender. Yet at TEB, he came back fully confident (and you could see the difference even as soon as he took the ice for practice and warm-up). If we think back to that period between Skate Canada and TEB, most of us felt he would prevail eventually but that not so quickly. This year, basically from TEB on, it has been as if Hanyu has been able to focus on his skating without getting thrown off mentally. Even when he missed his salchows, he picked himself up and put himself back in the zone right in the same skate. Even a ditch can't dampen his spirit as that skate at TEB showed everyone. But now at the Olympics, watching Yuzuru skate yesterday and re-watching it several times, I don't ever think that I have seen him so calm and yet so focussed and precise. I have to think that Brian has been a part of that mental development and helped him do that, and I also have come to feel, from my observations, that when Yuzu has a vulnerable moment, Brian knows how to move in and help Yuzuru counteract it fast.