Jason Brown making progress on quads

[noskates]

The comment about Jason having 3 extra weeks to train before the team competition is sort of odd. He was off the ice for how many months before the TCC while his competitors were training? Not a factor.

 

[Giselle]

TSL hinted at Vincent Restencourt (joined Kori's group to help Jason with the quad) leaving 7K for Tammy Gambill's group.
Does anyone know if it's a done deal? I wonder if Kori hired someone else to replace him.

 

[katmari]

Thanks for the article Mrs. P.

For me, the quad is just one element in a four and a half minute program and the over emphasis on it above all other elements is detrimental to the sport. That said, Jason wants to be a medal contender and knows he needs a quad (or quads) in his arsenal so I support his efforts. I also believe that adding a quad will have the additional benefit of raising his PCS score which has been under marked for years.

Go Jason!

 

[karne]

The comment about Jason having 3 extra weeks to train before the team competition is sort of odd. He was off the ice for how many months before the TCC while his competitors were training? Not a factor.

It's a factor for him. I think the comment was more in the context of that Jason had three more weeks to train for TCC than he would have if he had gone to Worlds, which enabled him to recover better and be readier.

 

[Tavi...]

TSL hinted at Vincent Restencourt (joined Kori's group to help Jason with the quad) leaving 7K for Tammy Gambill's group.
Does anyone know if it's a done deal? I wonder if Kori hired someone else to replace him.

He's no longer at 7K and it looks like he's with Tammy G's group.

https://instagram.com/p/BEUKutSifyW/

Cecily Morrow starts at 7K in June. Not sure whether she "replaces" him but she has some major chops:

http://www.skate7k.com/page/show/1531457-7k-staff

 

[skylark]

Yes!!!



The simple black costume stays for next year! Yay!

Thanks for the great article, Paula and Mrs. P!

The clip of Jason doing a triple axel loop triple flip combo is way cool, too. I hope he includes it in his free next year. I love how he keeps the flow through the whole sequence!

So, you're saying that Mrs P is Mai Hoang, the author of the article? And Paula is Gsk8, who posted the article? Just to clarify. I like to understand.

 

[skylark]

What are you looking forward to seeing the most of Brown this upcoming season?

What I'm most looking forward to is seeing the skating genius, Jason Brown, creating his magic. And we all get to participate in the experience of that magic.

His skates at TCC reminded me how much I'd missed him. The way he draws us onto the ice, so that we can have the emotional experience of movement and music, all the interpretative nuances that make a work of art, is wondrous. It's his feeling for the ice, how he caresses it, his passion for movement and music and audience that set him apart.

How anyone can reduce Jason's performance and awesome technical ability to "he has a quad, or he doesn't have a quad," is a mystery to me. But, to each his own.

A small detail: when I watched TCC, I realized that his Biellman spin is practically the only Biellman spin I really like. Many skaters wrench their bodies up into it. Jason's is, like all his elements, a movement on the way to the next; a smooth part of the whole. Gorgeous.

 

[Jammers]

If he wants quads he must do quads in every sp and lp in every competition. Every country but US understands this.

The top US Junior men are doing quads now and not waiting until they are 20 or so to start doing them. The landscape of Men's

 

[Jammers]

If he wants quads he must do quads in every sp and lp in every competition. Every country but US understands this.

The top US Junior men are now doing quads and not waiting until they are almost 20 to get them. The landscape of Men's skating changed over the last 5 years and now it's imperative that you have a quad or quads to even challenge internationally now so they are starting out much younger. The current top US Men came up when it wasn't as important so with the exception of Max most don't have quads but in about 3 years when the top juniors come up i see all the top US Men doing quads which includes Nathan, Vincent, Andrew Torgashev, Alexei Krasnozhon and Tomoki Hiwatashi.

 

[ice coverage]

It's a factor for him. I think the comment was more in the context of that Jason had three more weeks to train for TCC than he would have if he had gone to Worlds, which enabled him to recover better and be readier.

[SUB][/SUB]Yes :agree:, thanks for reinforcing my context, karne .

I would add that the GS article mentions a tangible marker of continuing improvement in Jason's readiness right up to TCC (emphasis added):

... The 2015 U.S. National champion was back on the ice in early February. He started skating programs approximately six weeks before Team Challenge Cup and was doing clean run-throughs by the week before the competition ....​

So Kori's hypothesis that Jason could have placed fourth at Worlds is open to question, IMO. For me, it is only a possibility and not a probability.

---

Meanwhile .... Jason has arrived in Israel .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFw7Ug5TXHS/ (May 23)​

Wishing him a wonderful trip :yay:.

---

ETA:

... in about 3 years when the top juniors come up i see all the top US Men doing quads which includes Nathan, Vincent, Andrew Torgashev, Alexei Krasnozhon and Tomoki Hiwatashi.

BTW, just noticed that Tom Z says that Vincent has a quad lutz in the works :

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFHLGI_uuHc/ (May 7)​

 

[caitie]

If Jason had been placed on the World team, he may have returned to the ice more quickly on an accelerated timetable. I think Kori's comments were fair. Tom Z and Raf advocate for their students just as much, IMO. And given that the rumor is USFS asked Jason to withdraw from TCC, that is really important right now.

 

[karne]

And given that the rumor is USFS asked Jason to withdraw from TCC, that is really important right now.

You mean that nasty rumour that no-one knows for sure is even true, but has apparently been taken as gospel because hey ho, another chance to Max-bash?

I think it is evident that he needed those extra three weeks. I also think that if he and Kori had taken a more accelerated timetable on his return, then we might be having another topic of discussion, including wistful sighs that he rushed it too fast and hurt his back again...

 

[Ares]

You mean that nasty rumour that no-one knows for sure is even true, but has apparently been taken as gospel because hey ho, another chance to Max-bash?

I think it is evident that he needed those extra three weeks. I also think that if he and Kori had taken a more accelerated timetable on his return, then we might be having another topic of discussion, including wistful sighs that he rushed it too fast and hurt his back again...

That injury of Jason makes me wonder whether it's not correlated to him doing layback spins that put excessive stress on his back. Plushenko also has similar problems.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Re: What Is Done Is Done

One of my favorite lines from Torch Song Trilogy: "I have enough dealing with the What Now's to worry about the What If's."

Looking forward to the new season is much more satisfying than grumbling about the what if's of the old.

Terrific article, Mrs. P.

 

[Mrs. P]

Thank you for the kind words everyone. I just got back from a short vacation, so I'm now catching up on the discussion.

There is a lot of reaction regarding Kori's comments regarding her petition for Jason to be a world team. Mathman and catie are both correct that she feels her job is to advocate for Jason and that is the spirit she submitted the petition. The quote was very much in the context of how she felt Jason would have contributed to the team. She acknowledged and accepted that USFS came to a different conclusion regarding what was best for Team USA.

There was a few things I was not able to include in the story due to space -- I felt the story was pretty long as it is -- I'd be glad to note those things here, if people would like.

 

[Tavi...]

Thank you for the kind words everyone. I just got back from a short vacation, so I'm now catching up on the discussion.

There is a lot of reaction regarding Kori's comments regarding her petition for Jason to be a world team. Mathman and catie are both correct that she feels her job is to advocate for Jason and that is the spirit she submitted the petition. The quote was very much in the context of how she felt Jason would have contributed to the team. She acknowledged and accepted that USFS came to a different conclusion regarding what was best for Team USA.

There was a few things I was not able to include in the story due to space -- I felt the story was pretty long as it is -- I'd be glad to note those things here, if people would like.

Hi Mrs P - thanks again for a great article - it was especially welcome at this time of year when not much is going on. I would love it if you would tell us the things you weren't able to include in the story.

 

[ice coverage]

Thank you for the kind words everyone. I just got back from a short vacation, so I'm now catching up on the discussion.

There is a lot of reaction regarding Kori's comments regarding her petition for Jason to be a world team. Mathman and catie are both correct that she feels her job is to advocate for Jason and that is the spirit she submitted the petition. The quote was very much in the context of how she felt Jason would have contributed to the team. She acknowledged and accepted that USFS came to a different conclusion regarding what was best for Team USA.

There was a few things I was not able to include in the story due to space -- I felt the story was pretty long as it is -- I'd be glad to note those things here, if people would like.

Agree with Tavi that we would be all ears/eyes for any additional reporting that you could not include in the article, Mrs. P.

---

As for the coach's role as advocate for the skater, I will repeat that I agree in general with those saying that all coaches should and do play this role.

But for me, I wish that Kori could have expressed her advocacy for Jason without going so far as to refer to a specific placement at Worlds.
None of us will ever know whether Jason would have placed fourth there -- no matter whether he would have trained on a different timetable (which I agree is possible), no matter what he did at TCC, etc.
All of the Jason-specific variables aside, the bottom line is that for any skater, competitions can defy expectations, one way or the other. Just ask Hanyu and Javi; etc.

Some posts in this thread have cited Raf's advocacy for his skaters. I agree that Raf is as an advocate, as he should be.
For example, I'm sure that Raf feels bullish about what-might-have-been if Nathan had not been injured at the Nats gala. And I'm sure that Raf wants Nathan to take as much momentum into next season as possible, as the U.S. men start jockeying for the two spots.
So in light of the discussion in this thread, I am curious:

Has Raf ever gone so far as to say in public that he feels an un-injured Nathan would have achieved such-and-such placement at 2016 Worlds?
AFAIK, Raf has not ... but I do not know everything that he has said to the press.​

 

[Mrs. P]

FWIW: Frank Carroll made some comments in 2011 to Phil Hersh (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...chael-flatt-injuury-world-figure-skating.html) regarding how Mirai would have placed if she had been sent (i.e. Rachael Flatt would have withdrawn and disclosed her injury) to the 2011 Worlds:

Frank Carroll has a lot of questions about why an injured Rachael Flatt skated at the World Figure Skating Championships that ended Saturday in Moscow.

But there is no question in his mind that the skater he coaches, Mirai Nagasu, would have done well enough replacing Flatt to earn the United States three spots at the next worlds.

To earn the maximum three places, the finishes of U.S. women Alissa Czisny and Flatt needed to total 13 or fewer. Czisny finished 5th, Flatt 12th.

Nagasu was the first alternate.

I asked Carroll Monday by telephone if Nagasu would have been ready to skate had she been told she was going April 22 -- the day Flatt said learned she had a stress fracture in the right leg. That was three days before Flatt left for Moscow and a week before the women's event began at worlds.

``Of course,'' Carroll said. ``Mirai is in great shape - better than she has been her whole life. She took the responsibility of being ready as the alternate very seriously.

``This cost us three spots.''

When I pointed out there was no guarantee Nagasu would have skated well enough to help get the third spot, Carroll didn't buy it.

``She blew those other American girls (Flatt and Czisny) out of the water at Four Continents,'' he said.

Nagasu wound up third (189.46) to Flatt's fourth (180.31) and Czisny's fifth (168.81) at the Four Continents Championships in February.

 

[ice coverage]

FWIW: Frank Carroll made some comments in 2011 to Phil Hersh (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...chael-flatt-injuury-world-figure-skating.html) regarding how Mirai would have placed if she had been sent (i.e. Rachael Flatt would have withdrawn and disclosed her injury):

Thx, Mrs. P .

Frank's words -- the outright "cost us three spots" -- make me frown as much as Kori's ... as much as I like both of the coaches and as much as I like both Jason and Mirai.

But good to know.

 

[Mathman]

But for me, I wish that Kori could have expressed her advocacy for Jason without going so far as to refer to a specific placement at Worlds.

Good grief, Golden. Why are you on such a tirade? Jason might have got fourth. OK. He might have got fifth. OK. There, I said it.

Go Grant Hochstein.