Tom Zakrajsek on Nagasu and Aaron

[gsk8]

Our illustrious Ted Flett interviewed Coach Tom Zakrajsek in Colorado Springs, Colo. - July 2017

Enjoy!

 

[karne]

It was ninth.

Tom taunts us all by saying that Max has great new programs and then doesn't tell us what they are


Not happy with the hint dropped that Zhou is already getting preferential treatment from the USFS...


EDIT

OMG, Tom reveals that two options on the table for Mirai were either Queen or Firebird. Mirai said that Max got to her preferred music first. I have a lot of feelings about this.


Please, please tell me that there is a Max one. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? (I daren't hope that someone got Josh to talk on camera.)

 

[xeyra]

It was ninth.
EDIT

OMG, Tom reveals that two options on the table for Mirai were either Queen or Firebird. Mirai said that Max got to her preferred music first. I have a lot of feelings about this.


Please, please tell me that there is a Max one. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? (I daren't hope that someone got Josh to talk on camera.)

If Max does Firebird, it'll be one more stamp on my Bingo card.

But I'd prefer a Queen program a lot more. Which song, though!?

 

[Interspectator]

I, too, am interested to see Max's new programs.

 

[mrrice]

If it's between Queen or Firebird, I'd go with Firebird. Max is so fast that I could see him flying across the ice like a bird. This is kind of off topic but, is Adam keeping his bird from last year? It might be interesting to see competing birds at Nationals.

 

[Mathman]

Wow, what an insightful interview.

Tom Z has a reputation for being all about the tech, so it was interesting that he discussed the complete program and the artistic side. Going forward, it sound like he has great plans for his three elite skaters. He has a nice blend of optimism and realism. I liked his observation on Olympic music, that it should be something "iconic" that the audience, including the judges, would "get" right away.

He mentioned "social media" several times. I wonder if he reads Golden Skate. Was he talking about us when he said, stop nit-picking these wonderful athletes who put in so many hours developing their program? I totally agree. :yes:

 

[Mathman]

"zuh-CRAY-zik" Now I know.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

He mentioned "social media" several times. I wonder if he reads Golden Skate. Was he talking about us when he said, stop nit-picking these wonderful athletes who put in so many hours developing their program? I totally agree. :yes:

The athletes are wonderful and hard-working, but if you choose to be a public figure like an Olympic hopeful, you have to be able to handle a bit of criticism.

 

[Mathman]

The athletes are wonderful and hard-working, but if you choose to be a public figure like an Olympic hopeful, you have to be able to handle a bit of criticism.

Still, as Teddy Roosevelt famously said:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

 

[gsk8]

I like that he said, "Diversity in men’s skating should be celebrated" regarding quads. So true!!!

 

[apgold]

Ted did a great job getting Tom to dish on some details we didn't know before (except confirming Max's programs - poor Karne). I haven't always loved Ted's interviews (his questions about Eteri's skincare was cringeworthy), but kudos to him.

I learned more about Vincent's coaching staff - having a team of coaches (Tom, Drew and Tammy), sometimes in different locations, working on various parts of the skater's packaging is becoming more of the norm.

 

[Mathman]

One thing that came through in the interview was how much the coach is committed to his skaters. I had pictured Tom Z as more the stern taskmaster who lays down the law. Here he showed a more empathetic side.

His comments about how the process of choreography and interpretation go were interesting. Speaking mostly about Mirai, he said that at the beginning everything is worked out by the coaches and choreographers an the skater is expected to toe the line. Then as the season progresses the skater has more and more input as she makes the program her own.

 

[el henry]

This video served its purpose: made me see Tom Z. in an entirely different light.

Based on his blogs, I had thought he would be a self-promoter, but here, he seems thoughtful, concerned, and has me even feeling kindly to Vincent Zhou, who Tom says wants to develop the whole package. He doesn't like folks who criticize skaters for being just jumpers (who, me? ) but he also doesn't like folks who criticize skaters for not having jumps.

I think Ted Flett is doing a great job being folksy, but also getting info. And makes me think of Bill "Cowboy" Flett, a right winger for the Flyers in the 70s. Bravo for Canadians named Flett

 

[karne]

I'm still a little miffed that he tried to demote Max to a lower Nationals finish than he actually achieved, though.

 

[mrrice]

This video served its purpose: made me see Tom Z. in an entirely different light.

Based on his blogs, I had thought he would be a self-promoter, but here, he seems thoughtful, concerned, and has me even feeling kindly to Vincent Zhou, who Tom says wants to develop the whole package. He doesn't like folks who criticize skaters for being just jumpers (who, me? ) but he also doesn't like folks who criticize skaters for not having jumps.

I think Ted Flett is doing a great job being folksy, but also getting info. And makes me think of Bill "Cowboy" Flett, a right winger for the Flyers in the 70s. Bravo for Canadians named Flett

I have always had a healthy respect for Tom. IMO, His skaters are some of the best competitors out there and now that they are getting the right choreographers, things are going very well. I am very excited to see Max......... and his new programs. As for Vincent, I think everyone in the US should be excited for him. He looks great already and it's still summer. His presentation skills will improve with age but, you can see that he really has a "Feel" for the music. He's still quite young and his performance skills will improve with age and maturity.

Who are Tom's top ladies? I know he has Mirai but, who else is in Tom's stable of skaters?

 

[brightphoton]

Hmmm, and I thought Mirai was hands-off with the choreography/music. Tom was really hands-off with the choreography/music. He didn't even know what music Mirai chose. Jeff Buttle is running the ship. I wonder what his dibs logic was then.

Interviewer: We now know the music for her long program. It's Miss Saigon. Mirai shared that with us. We know last year's long program, the two of you didn't quite agree what the approach should be. Can you tell us about that experience? Did you give a thumbs up, thumbs down on Miss Saigon? Were there other options?

Tom Zakrajsek: Well, first of all, I don't know if I should say what the plan was going in, but there were two ... I thought there were two pieces on the table: Queen and Firebird. Haha, and it ended up being Miss Saigon. It ended up being nothing like what we had talked about prior. When she came back and she started showing glimpses of it, I asked her if I was going to be surprised, and she said no. When I heard Miss Saigon, I said to Tru, this is Miss Saigon, right? He said, yeah. I said, I thought she was doing Firebird. Did she get a new short? The way I work with many of the top choreographers, is that they are experts. I don't have to have a say in the music. Miss Saigon is iconic. It's a great piece of music. It's probably the best choice, and I totally trust Jeff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkmIIuIhDMA&t=16m54s

Maybe Jeff didn't want Mirai doing Firebird because Mirai already skated to it. He'd get compared to Bebe Liang's choreography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhusabzV1k&t=1m44s

 

[Mathman]

Hmmm, and I thought Mirai was hands-off with the choreography/music. Tom was really hands-off with the choreography/music. He didn't even know what music Mirai chose. Jeff Buttle is running the ship. I wonder what his dibs logic was then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkmIIuIhDMA&t=16m54s

Maybe Jeff didn't want Mirai doing Firebird because Mirai already skated to it. He'd get compared to Bebe Liang's choreography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhusabzV1k&t=1m44s

She looks great in that clip. Did Bebe win the contest?

I, too, was surprised that Tom did not have a hand in the music selection. From the interview I get the impression that Tom is the CEO overseeing the whole shebang, but that the other coaches are the ones that actually work with Mirai day to day. (Just guessing here.)

 

[frida80]

They probably didn't talk about Max's programs since Max probably has his own interview we are here is going to reveal them himself. It does make the guessing game were interesting.

 

[musicfan80]

They probably didn't talk about Max's programs since Max probably has his own interview we are here is going to reveal them himself. It does make the guessing game were interesting.

I'm thinking (and hoping) that Golden Skate also interviewed Max and he will talk about his programs plus anything else that he wants to talk about his life. I wonder if they went around and interviewed more of the Colorado Springs area skaters. Maybe they also interviewed Alexa & Chris Knierim - I'm excited to hear an update from them as well. If they actually also interviewed Joshua Farris, I may need someone here to check on me from my shock - it's likely that he wasn't to be found at the World Ice Arena.

 

[mrrice]

They probably didn't talk about Max's programs since Max probably has his own interview we are here is going to reveal them himself. It does make the guessing game were interesting.

Doesn't Max Instagram or whatever these skaters use to post their progress? I can't believe we haven't heard more about his new programs. I know how much he wants to be an Olympian and I'm surprised he's not being followed by a film crew at this point. Maybe he's decided that he wants to keep a low profile until he debuts his new programs....