00:00 Evgenia Medvedeva 30:00 Marin Honda 37:00 Rika Kihira 43:00 Sotskova, konstantinova, tennell 53:00 Aymoz, samarin, aliev 57:00 jason brown 1:04:00 nathan chen 1:17:00 pairs 1:28:00 ice dance

You guys are spot-on about Medvedeva. I'm just so tired of the panicking/knee-jerk reaction every time she goes out to skate but that's inevitable this season. It's just so unrealistic to expect great programs, great jumps, great SS, and the same consistency after moving to work with a completely different team halfway around the world. Practice is one thing, breaking the old habits that creep out come competition will take a while. I agree she shouldn't go to nationals but I don't know if she feels she can afford to do that.

@lenavinogradova950

5 жыл бұрын

The thing is she really can't afford to miss the nationals, as things stand right now there are five ladies that can possibly qualify for the world team this season, and only three spots. She has to go if she wants to compete at the worlds.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

The skating community always discusses that things will take time and then panics. It is hard to remember that you are in it for the long haul when you are suddenly off the podium for the first time in your career.

@heyimaj111

5 жыл бұрын

Exactly. You want the skaters to look big picture but then we put them under a microscope at every competition.

@lenavinogradova950

5 жыл бұрын

@mish098aimer Exactly she has to go to nationals in order not to loose her funding, but at the same time she needs more time than a month to prepare for it otherwise another disaster might happen, and I am not talking about the placement, if she is off podium at nationals that will be such a confidence killer for her. We understand that she doesn't have to win everything, but I am not sure she does. Or the sponsors.

Evgenia is under ridiculous scrutiny and needs a sports psychologist and I hope her team is having her see one starting this week. If any gymnastics fans recall 2013 when Simone Biles had a meltdown at the US Classic and withdrew from competing her last event, vault. Six weeks later after working with a psychologist she won Nationals and has been undefeated since.

TIMESTAMPS: 1:05 - Dave’s Mandy Wötzel moment 1:58 - Intro to Ladies & Evgenia Medvedeva + a small discussion on countries' Nationals (at 4:40) 30:20 - Marin Honda 32:30 - Marin and Eunsoo, and how they're like Dave's nephews 36:27 - Mai Mihara 37:47 - Rika Kihira 43:00 - Maria Sotskova 44:10 - Stanislava Konstantinova 44:31 - Bradie Tennell 53:05 - Kevin Aymoz FS kudos 54:48 - Alexander Samarin 55:15 - Dimitri Aliev 56:13 - Romain Ponsart 57:24 - Jason Brown + lil bit on Stephen Gogolev (59:03) 1:04:02 - Nathan Chen 1:04:30 - Karma for Kanada 1:06:26 - Back to Nathan Chen + 1:12:03 - Dave's honest rant about college athletes 1:17:40 - Tarah Kayne & Danny O'Shea 1:20:55 - Vanessa James & Morgan Cipres 1:23:13 - North Korean team Ryom Tae-ok & Kim Ju-sik 1:25:03 - Aleksandra Boikova & Dimitrii Kozlovskii + Tamara Moskvina 1:27:40 - Shoutout to Camille Ruest & Drew Wolfe 1:27:52 - Papadakis & Cizeron 1:32:43 - Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker + Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier 1:35:33 - Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov 1:36:54 - Ice dance politics 1:38:18 - How Hubbell & Donohue fits into the top ice dance teams picture + the Montreal camp 1:43:30 - Closing comments

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

You are really beating Brent lately!

@nvadqs

5 жыл бұрын

That was fast

@claudsk33

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson 💁‍♀️do I win something? maybe some pink rhinestone skates?

Loved everything you said about Evgenia’s situation. I have rarely seen Brian look like this. He looks devastated and i think this whole thing is hitting him quite hard. I hope everything works out in the end for their team but i don’t think skipping nationals will do it for Rusfed. She still needs their support for scores and she does not want to become the girl that skips competitions now. She needs to keep fighting. Also really loved your points about Rika. She is a great competitor. She has learned how to handle pressure and fight the right battles on the ice. Watching her grow is so incredibly interesting. She is going to come to GPF guns blazing and I’m ready for this showdown between her, Alina and Tuktamysheva.

@PtolemyXVII

5 жыл бұрын

esml best of luck to Alina. I hope she will become gpf champion, she worked hard and she deserves it

@BillyWhaler

5 жыл бұрын

Not a fan of how coaches have handled Med in the Kiss and Cry. Bad body language from a coach isn’t what the athlete needs in adversity.

@sambitachoudhury5905

5 жыл бұрын

angeliqueinhollywood Everyone has worked hard, all 6 of them. Some struggles are public some are not. May be the best skater that day win

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

@@BillyWhaler we don't know the skater. She might prefer not to be touched or soothed in times of difficulty

@heyimaj111

5 жыл бұрын

I’m pretty sure Brian gave her a very positive and upbeat pep talk after the short. Hopefully he tried to raise her spirits after the long too and we just didn’t get to see it in the kiss and cry.

Rika kihira and G/P were my favourite of the event. It will be interesting to see rika and alina face off in the final. I like both alina and rika but I like rika's programs more this season.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It will be quite a show down!

@nicolechan4807

5 жыл бұрын

cherry blossom I want rika to beat Alina to show her who is queen!!

@grisgris6908

5 жыл бұрын

@@nicolechan4807 I agree! When I saw Rika at NHK it made me forget about the Russians.

@loveyunakim

5 жыл бұрын

cherry blossom im with you!

@amaliaromero467

5 жыл бұрын

the music of alina are beautifull

Papadakis/Cizeron brought in Lambiel to add another choreographic voice for the FD this year, much like last year when they brought in ABT principal Jeffery Cirio. A general impression is that, whether we like the music or not, the choreography flowed in subtle ways with the phrasing in the songs. And there's an emphasis on responding to the mood of the music over showiness. Their sliding move, for example, is far less showy and eye-catching than Hawayek/Baker's but there's a tender beauty to it that can be really touching, when then first look down and then turn and slide on both knees while looking up as if in prayers. The character step sequence showed some real "dancing" that we've never seen other teams do. I too noticed what Jonathan referred to as the "off" in synchronization in that sequence--not totally in sync and he was dancing with a sharpness and abandon while she had more relaxed line, but further viewing led me to believe this might be the way it was conceived, in a moment of genuine freedom of expression, that each conveys the feelings of a man and a woman in a relationship as portrayed in the song with slightly different emphases and power. I agree that Gabreilla has shown steady improvement over the seasons. In last year's Beethoven program, her one-foot sequences in the circular step sequence had a sureness and depth of edge not at all lesser than that of Guillaume. Her confidence grew and her emotional projection really surfaced as well. There's a natural sincerity in the intensity that she brings, which I imagine plays for the judges at rinkside really well.

I love how you mentioned that Rika needs to land triple axel after triple axel in front of Alina in practice at the Final because that’s basically how Alina won the Olympics. She kept landing those crazy 5 triple combos in practice and everyone else was just like how do we compete with that.

@papillon5839

5 жыл бұрын

How do you know that's what other skaters thought? Can you read minds? All skaters are focused on themselves, they all know about their own strengths and weaknesess, and even Zagitova is not perfect, for example her " 5 triple combo" was underrotated. Skaters have eyes, you know? They still beat her ass at worlds....

With Medvedeva at the moment I'm a bit confused. We have Brian saying that this is a long term process and that a lot needs to be changed, which sure I can see the argument for, but I don't understand how he expected these goals to coincide with Medvedeva doing the GP series and going to the GPF (he might not have expected her to win everything but I do think they expected her to qualify for the final). Added to this is the fact that Brian isn't just reworking the technique on almost all of her jumps but giving Medvedeva a new program style to adjust to and new elements (like the loop combos) that she has never done in competition before. Given this is a supposed to be a long term process I don't understand the purpose of making all of these changes in one season - whilst Zhenya is also competing internationally. Maybe if they'd taken the year off, let her really heal up, work on her basics, and then done a total revamp it might have worked out but it all seems very rushed. I wonder if it might have been better to pace her a little. For example decide to either stretch her choreographically in the free by giving her a different style of music OR decide to stretch her technically and really work on getting an improved/flat edge Lutz in there. Similarly, even if we just focus on the jumps for a moment, I don't understand why they thought during a season when they are already changing a lot of the technique on her jumps, they also had to change her layout...even adding upgrades. The 2A-3Lo is a perfect example of this, they took a jump which they had just completely changed/upgraded the technique on (and as a result has been a little iffy in competition this season) and then put a 3Loop combo on it - something Zhenya had never done in competition before! This is meant to be a long term strategy, they have four years. Why are they rushing to increase Zhenya's tech before she's stabilised what she has? Overall I think this mixed strategy has done Zhenya no favours. I think perhaps Brian was maybe too optimistic/relying to much on her mental strength and her determination but there is only so much you can do in six months and I think they overloaded her. Maybe it's like you say and there its a lack of seeing the forest for the trees but I really hope they step back and reassess their plan/goals for this season. Zhenya's confidence seems to have been very badly dented. She came in looking visibly tense and was cautious throughout both her programs. It seemed like she gave up half way through the FS, not even trying to add a combination to her 3S. (sorry for the essay)

@badmiracle

5 жыл бұрын

Ellery Ellery i think she had to compete this season in order for rusfed to help pay for her training in canada. or maybe she herself wanted to compete - she seems (or seemed) to enjoy the thrill of competition. maybe she thought the pressure would help. i think she’s been much too hard on herself and expecting too much right away. she admitted in an interview after her free program yesterday that she understands its a process, but that she also is the person who wants things quickly, right away. if nothing else, i hope this competition was a real wake up call to the entire team to pump the brakes a bit. calm down. give her jumps and combos she’s comfortable with, ones she can still nail easily even with her improving technique. yes, she nailed that 2A+3Lo in practice again and again but was clearly terrified going in for it in competition. too much pressure, too much new. poor girl. :(

@mackoCF445

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah pacing her a little more probably would be better. Skaters don’t want to miss competitions unless they are injured, ill, etc, and you can’t overload her with new things, especially as her body is changing, and expect her to feel confident in competition.

@amef8229

5 жыл бұрын

I do agree with most of your points. The change in jump layouts are especially confusing to me, Brain generally strike me as a more conservative coach (based on observing his plans for javi all these years), I wonder how much of the change is idea from Zhenya’s end. Dave did say there are many cooks in the kitchen at Zhenya’s training situation now, I feel she might be a little bit eager to throw in the 2A3lo as a statement to Eteri, that she has the capability to upgrade her jumps and it is the coaching team that has set her back. I remember reading after Pyeongchang that she was unhappy her old coach team held her back in the technical development which resulted in her disadvantaged against Alina. Another confusion I have with the Orser strategy, he’s always known for the complete package approach of his skaters. However, the Medvedeva that he presented to us this GP season is someone who is getting less committed to the music everytime she came out, she’s just going through the movements in both sp and fs, spins are sloppy and not held in nice positions, transitions are watered down. I understand she is going through a lot of changes and is trying to rework jump techniques, but other than the axel there isn’t really much improvement reflected in the actual competition so far. Sure, it all takes time, I just wonder why they couldn’t spend a little more time to polish the overall program. It feels right now Zhenya is throwing everything away just to land the axel and the lz that is still on inside edge.

@angieng8633

5 жыл бұрын

Yuzuru sorta went thru the whole thing during his 1st year with Orser. Change choreographer, change training style, move halfway across the globe. AND language barrier. Still qualified GPF in 2012 and finished 2nd. Remember Orser said he asked Yuzuru to do jump A, Yuzuru did jump B. I.e. back then, Yuzuru couldnt even differentiate the name of the jumps in English. So I reckon Orser thinks Yuna could do it, Yuzuru could do it, Evgenia can too. Evgenia did fine during practice. I think what Orser didnt account for was how the pressure and negative remarks got to Evgenia. After the LP, she said it"s 100% mental.

@papillon5839

5 жыл бұрын

But Yuzuru was off the worlds podium in that year...

Another point about Nathan...There was an article in a Russian magazine that was from an interview with Raf, and he said Nathan felt he had to try to do Yale this year because he was offered $100K scholarship from them. That made me understand better why he is at least trying to do both this year. Skating is so short term in the grand scheme of life and how do you turn down a scholarship of that size to such a prestigious school. It is a great boost for post-skating life. And you are not guaranteed a full ride scholarship if you delay attending.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It is very true. I believe they will have to work something out.

@meaganbooks179

5 жыл бұрын

so agree he also having an normal teenager as a student at a school he always dreams going to since he was a child he has great support by his friends and family always be their for him

@meaganbooks179

5 жыл бұрын

@asilem well their's always haters Yale been his dream school since he was young it's his life really fans can't do anything but just respect him but he dose want to go the next games where his mom was born in

@meaganbooks179

5 жыл бұрын

@asilem also the fact he really miss bring in public school their was an artical that he really didn't want to be homeschool he wanted social but help his skating he almost retird from skating after the games becuase he want to go to college but but back in Nowember he want to try bith he dosen't want to be on the ice all day or be in every competion skating take alot away from you so i so underdtand plus he started to ,love and enjuy skating then he was in the past he has good family and friends who is their their for him no mater what who love and care for him

@sugarplum2467

5 жыл бұрын

It's not short term if you're a name like Nathan and you love it. You can coach, choreograph, make tours, etc etc. You don't have to go do something else. Used to be all the great skaters remained in the sport, it's sad that it's now considered a kid's sport and then you go to college.

Medvedeva’s jumping technique needs lots of fine-tuning. The upper body rotation that used to be her best weapon isn’t gonna sail her through the jumps anymore. And i agree with you guys, the Eteri school jumping technique doesn’t fair well when a skater matures

@muertaperofeliz

5 жыл бұрын

por cierto ella ya maduro hace tiempo, tiene 19 años

@kenanquitco

5 жыл бұрын

Vas Kam well Their referring to the “Eteri School” as a collective term. Whoever teaches jumping in their camp and not Eteri herself, if she has no input on it whatsoever. Zhenya grew up in her camp so whatever technique she grew up with is from the Eteri camp.

@luisluna964

5 жыл бұрын

@@muertaperofeliz su busto creció entre el año pasado y este... Eso explica la aparición de tantos fallos

@muertaperofeliz

5 жыл бұрын

@@luisluna964 😱

@elccollins99

5 жыл бұрын

Vas Kam That’s interesting. What else has Zhenya’s aunt written?

Totally agree about Medvedeva! It is a hell of a change the one she is undergoing, and it wouldn't be a change in depth if it could be done in three months! Thinking of Osmond three GP ago and now it's what really shows what endurance really does if you are talented and she is! P/C one foof stseq it's AWESOME!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It will take two full years to really see a big change in Zhenya. Everyone needs to be patient and encourage her to keep going. Plushenko was very encouraging on social media.

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Plushy was a good, supportive voice. He knew either he or Yagudin would have to leave Mishin.

@simpletruth5927

5 жыл бұрын

I'm afraid those russian media will ruin her career. Her confidence is down already

@meaganbooks179

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson he is very supporter of her he believe in Evgenia!!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I believe they share an agent as well.

Good recap guys!! Zagitova is almost done growing. Her jumps were in a slump but they are getting stronger as she adapts. Plus she is jumping more with her legs now. I think she will have longevity if she pursues it. She deserves a little more credit. One may dislike her programs but by and large no one has been more consistent in last 2 years. Those Japanese skaters need to start being consistent so they can be at top of podium. They win then 2 weeks later they fall off. Judges want to give all the points to them but, even the American, don’t like inconsistent programs. Evgenia has bad lutz but she has +5 sow-IMO. She needs to do 2 in free if she was smart.

50:48 speaking of hair!! did anyone notice evgenia went back to her old hairstyle? she (her team) had changed it to a sleeker, far more sophisticated look for skate canada, but she was back to those "rolled" sides for both programs this time. they make her look old (in an unflattering granny type way) and unfashionable. i think the fact that she went back to this hairstyle is very telling of her clinging on to this small bit familiarity and comfort when everything else around her is completely different. its like going back to her old technique at the last moment. it may seem small/trivial, but i really think the hairstyle move here is indicative of some level of panic.

@autumnrorrer9742

5 жыл бұрын

Yes! I thought her hairstyle at ACI (esp. the bangs) were very cute and worked well with her SP. When she went back to her old style, I had a similar thought as you did, but I also thought maybe she ultimately didn't like the bangs during jumps, spins, etc. What did you think about the change of her SP dress? The sleeves and dark blue/indigo color reminded me of a couple of her dresses from previous seasons (i.e. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

The hair reminds me of Star Wars.

It’s so ridiculous that Evgenia scored the highest PCS in her short and free program. It was higher than Rika, Mai and Marin! Evgenia made mistakes and not feeling her programs, she was just dragging herself through the program. I saw under rotations called for the rest of the skaters but Evgenia only had one which was the combination jump she made mistake on. She had a 3F 2T 2T combination jump which looked as if it was single but got +2a GOEs from a few judges.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Yuzu Hanyu some things never change. She is a two time world champion and an Olympic silver medalist.

@dc19921000

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Her PCS are already lower than they were before. She's been consistently getting lower PCS than Satoko this season. This never happened before, IIRC.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

@@dc19921000 Satoko deserves higher PCS than Evgenia, IMO. Satoko's skating skills and interpretation have been amazing. Evgenia has had consistency and politics on her side for the past several seasons.

@dc19921000

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson totally agree with you. my point was that Evgenia is being scored relatively accurately in PCS compared to previous years.

I agree with you about Medvedeva. She's a woman not a child anymore. She started to struggle last year and people are acting like it's all Brian's doing. This is all a part of the process. People need to pump the breaks with the panic. Rome wasn't built in a day it's going to take time. I didn't like the comment Johnny Weir made, saying that the 2018 Olympics will be her last if she doesn't do something fast. I think that was a dangerous thing to say when her mentality is already strained.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Johnny knows how to keep the Russian crowd very happy. His commentary is utterly useless.

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson drink every time he says "creating a moment"

@gisellakarina4390

5 жыл бұрын

@@DD-d6d3 AAHAHAHAHAH AM LAUGHING LIKE A MANIACCC.... THIS IS SPOT ONNNN

You've got to remember, Evgenia is for the first time making her own decisions on music choices etc and this is a foreign experience for her. She is transferring from puppet to artist. I'm hoping for her it works.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It will take time!

@tonymatthewaustin9597

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson She looks lost which is something never looked like before. SHE, is having a culture shock.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It looks more like a complete lack of confidence and panic to me.

@lingyitong4609

5 жыл бұрын

I strongly disagree. She was a puppet when she skated Anna Karenina? She's an artist this season? If you don't have proper techniques, you are nothing in figure skating cause it's always a competing sport. A lot of skaters don't get to choose music when they are young. Russian coaches are not forcing her doing anything.

@melissatowner8556

5 жыл бұрын

@@lingyitong4609 There is a Japanese doc with Eteri saying that Evgenia was begging to turn her AK ex into her free skate. They agreed and she was very excited.

Should Medvedeva go to Nationals? Yes, that's the only way to go to Euro and Worlds. The president of Rus Fed said yesterday "It's too early to judge about results with new trainer. We all should calmdown and let Evgenia quiet time to prepare for Nationals". I believe that these words were addressed to FS Russian world to stop speculations about her participation in Nationals Rules for national team: first two sport are first two places from Nationals. Third spot can be chosen by fed decision. In recent years Rus fed stricly followed this rule and didn't "over-use" their right to chose the third one. In most cases first three from National were in the team. Fed used its right for third spot in rather exceptional cases when a clear star missed the Nationals due to health or other serious reason. It was the case with Medvedeva last year. That's why Konstantinova was sent to Worlds, she was #4 at Nationals and Med decided not to go. Even if Konstantinova was not the best option in March, but they try to play with clear rules. Otherwise it is a disaster. Is Medvedeva is a clear star this year to go to Euro and Worlds without Nationals? I don't think so . If she were in GPF and had solid performances there - it would be different story. They could have allowed her not to have another inter-continent flight for Nationals. But not now

You guys were cracking me up with the talk about Tracy. Totally agree, love her expressions and love her! I think she'll be a good influence on Zhenya over the coming years. I appreciate your well thought out critique of her situation too. I hope everyone gives them space to work out their issues. It'll take time, and I'll be here for it when it all comes together.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Tracy is such a secret star of the Kiss and Cry!

"hanyu is going for +5s at everything, and Nathan is just trying to survive" such gold haha. But in all seriousness, I wish them both well. I like hanyu more, but I hope Nathan gets to shine as well!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I do as well. It will be hard to balance school and skating.

@mooony94

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson lol this didn't age well, nathan is a legend, an alien.

I hope whomever is working with Evgenia and her fans really listen to your explanation about what's going on. You guys are so on the money. I think eventually she'll be back to a high level. She has two more seasons until the next Olympics, and she can do this. She's still changing and growing and it's not fair that people are crapping on her at this point. I think the Orser-Medvedeva partnership can yield a lot of fruit.

@stephenvalentinemusi

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson Exactly! I agree!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It will be interesting to see how GOE will be judged with the juniors who can do the quads. Their quads don't have great height or execution. They are certainly completed. I actually think Evgenia should consider doing a 3S or 3Lo with her arms above her head, an entrance and a held landing in the short instead of a lutz which is rather risky. I think she could really do well becoming a top GOE skater. She may not be differentiated at first, but going for quality will really help her later in her career. She would actually earn so many more points going for a Level 4 spin with +4 or 5 GOE. Her flutz is never going to score that well.

@colormyworld249

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Sasha's quads do have great height, though. But there's also Sinitsyna, Kanysheva, and probably dozens of unknowns who have better jump technique, skating skills, musicality, etc. Just so many skaters in Russia. And the success of the current girls probably give more popularity to the sport and encourage more girls to take skating seriously, further saturating the field. And I think Evgenia's technique will be difficult to rework. Even amongst Eteri's camp, she probably has the worse jump technique. Her salchow is the best in the field, I think, but her loop is becoming wonky. It's a big problem, but sadly not the only problem. I'm not sure what's happening to her spins and she doesn't seem to be able to interpret any programs that aren't of the pantomiming variety she's done in the past. I think she has an almost impossible shot at Beijing, and who knows, the current juniors may not even qualify either.

@officeaddict33

5 жыл бұрын

The challenges for Evgenia are immense. Her body won't likely get smaller, her increasing height is going to work against her, her sloppy skating skills are much more evident now that she does not have cluttered choreography, her confidence is gone, Trusova and the quad girls are nipping at her heels and the Japanese women have already surpassed her. And she looks very unhappy. I have to disagree with the Skating Lesson for once. Medvedeva is done.

Love how this starts with Jonathan and his Hermes pillow and Dave with his bloody chin. This is the best! I LOVE YOU GUYS SOO MUCH! And yes, please more insta stories, so good!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Just did some for you!

@melissamoralez4298

5 жыл бұрын

You’re so good to me/us !! Thank you tons!

As someone who was at this event in Grenoble. It was quite intense.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

We need details.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

@kleinegritzige She said it was intense. Intense how?

@officeaddict33

5 жыл бұрын

Don't tease us. Tell us.

@TheFrancoFiles

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson just the energy in the arena. For most of the skater it felt like it was a do or die moment. Especially watching the last groups warm-ups. And Rika did that 3a in the warm up in front of everyone during the last minute of the warm up.

@TheFrancoFiles

5 жыл бұрын

@@BlueNight349 and she did the last minute of the warm in front of my section it was life inducing.

I dont think Nathan has anything to be alarmed about. He's a smart guy who has been open about his intent to win gold in Beijing. Which goes to say - he knows what he's doing. This season was always going to be a wash for Nathan. Quite frankly, I'm surprised he didn't take this season off after the stress of last season. I think the long term plan is to not peak too early, and really kick things into gear next season.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

How much did you make decisions that were 100% informed and wise at 19...

@dmjrjrj

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson he said this season is a test trial for him, to see if he can handle both. If he can’t, he’ll re-adjust. He can’t have all the info unless he tries. People should let him have that without anticipating his failure. Honestly US figure skating should be grateful that he’s trying to do both instead just retiring early and going to Yale only. Yale is a bigger deal and US FS needs him more than he needs them. He’s managing a lot better than other skaters with his new environment, situation, workload etc. He deserves more credit for what he’s accomplishing so far imo

You're right that Medvedeva was going to run into some of these issues regardless once her body changed. And it's so difficult for skaters to try to make big offseason changes when, as you mentioned, the skaters feel pressure to have it all together by the time Grand Prix season starts. I know you keep saying finish your antibiotic, but it's like trying to finish a year's worth of antibiotics in a three month span so that the skaters can be ready for competition season.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Good analogy!

Choosing two new music styles for this season was a bad move. They are trying to change too much at once. After this weekend I was actually thinking they should put that program on the backburner and redo her "Experience" exhibition (something more her style) as the short program. She clearly is not comfortable. Between now and Russian Nationals Sandra has to help with the packaging of that program if they are going to keep it - including costume. I also would love it if she went to Nationals with her for support. In the future choreographically I hope to see the side of Zhenya that made her special but a little reinvented. At this point, I don't recognize her.

@badmiracle

5 жыл бұрын

Melissa Towner i do not understand the logic of brian going to nationals with yuzu instead of zhenya. i mean, i do - i understand he and yuzu have worked together much longer and it’s a promise brian made to him and i respect that, but yuzu is so adored in his country while zhenya is being more and more ostracized from her home every day. she could really use the extra support, i think. hopefully she and tracy will be able to make do. it would be lovely if sandra went as well. i’ll be honest - i think her SP this season is adorable, and it’s stellar when she actually performs it like she did at the test skates and ACI (even at skate canada it wasn’t bad! she smiled even bigger after her fall and kept it going til the end), but with the amount of pressure on her and how miserable she looked on friday it won’t go over well at nationals if she can’t sell it 110%

@melissatowner8556

5 жыл бұрын

@@badmiracle Yuzu is injured now and may not be able to compete in Japan Nationals. It would be a disaster to perform the short program with a murder stare at Russian Nationals. I hope she can figure things out because she is fabulous.

@badmiracle

5 жыл бұрын

Melissa Towner ack, i completely forgot about his injury at rostelecom 😪 i presume that’s probably weighing very heavily on brian’s mind right now as well. if yuzu does end up withdrawing from nationals then i would hope brian steps up and is there for zhenya in russia. they’re both experiencing torrents of negativity from the russian press, but if she’s going to keep her head up and go to face her old coach, training mates and a country that is split down the middle between loving her and absolutely despising her, i’d hope he would too. side note: i think her current exhibition piece (beautiful mess) could potentially be a lovely program in competition if it were reworked just with more technically difficult elements/jumps (and a different costume ofc.) she seems to have the most emotional connection to it out of anything this season. i loved her experience exhibition as well.

@user-yj6wo8bf9m

5 жыл бұрын

@mish098aimer Yes, I would also see there is a connection between Tracey and Zenia, while I don't see it between Brian and Zenia, maybe Zenia would like a closer one, but Orser seems to be keeping it on distance. I was telling in other comments, Zenia was used to her "mother" Eteri and that is where she drew her mental strength now if Tracey can give her some of that, would greatly help this young girl, who is all alone in a far land.

Is anyone as impressed with Alina’s Charlotte-into-2A? Who else has done that? I watched it, like, 836368 times.

@mariamrusishvili1724

5 жыл бұрын

I would be if she could catch the moment and make me enjoy it ... like a lot of other extremely difficult things she does

@juanantoniomoreno3409

5 жыл бұрын

@@mariamrusishvili1724 Exactly! I don't care about that move unless she skated to the beat of the music and hit an appropiate body position.

I wonder how serious Evgenia's injuries are. We knew about her stress fracture on the leg, not full healed for long time. Then she cannot do layback spins due to back injury and struggles with spins in general. Just recently, she talked about how she works in nutritionist to basically learn to eat in healthy way... i wonder if maybe these injuries are not causing her mental problems, because she sees she cannot do as much as she used to, she cannot train so hard, she is experiencing problems and it is freaking her out... i know it is just a speculation, but there seems to be a lot of problems.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Injuries are a normal part of athletics and they can certainly contribute to nerves and stress.

Evgenia looked miserable before and after both her short and long programs. She looked happy and absolutely transformed before, during and after her Gala performance of "Beautiful Mess". We're watching an artist mature; it takes time and patience.

I came back to college tonight after break and felt exactly the panic about finals that you were mentioning...but that had to take a backseat so I could watch TSL! Thank you so much for all the work you put into these videos, which are hilarious, thoughtful, and consistently one of my favorite parts of the week.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Erin Magner

I think it says a lot about the ISU that so many people say Medvedeva's skating skills arn't great and yet she got 9.25-9.75 in SP and 9.50-9.75 in FS at Olympics

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

Different judging system back in Feb 2018

@benbailey159bb

5 жыл бұрын

@@DD-d6d3 no the components are still the same

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It was a joke, but she had politics on her side. The girl ahead of her also didn't have great SS. Tom Dickson did a good job explaining this on the recap, but fans weren't ready to hear this at the time (they rarely are until someone is failing).

@elccollins99

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson David. Where can I find Tom Dickson’s recap?

Nice recap! Thanks for all of the time and work you both do putting out these videos so quickly after the competitions have finished. :)

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy the videos!

Couldn’t have said it better!, they need to not panic about Medvedeva her strength has always been her mental toughness, I believe she will fight soon as the tools are sharp enough

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Agreed!

Yay! It’s up!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoy it!

dave and jonathan never fails to help me get through the week.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

@MegBobergMKB

5 жыл бұрын

Same

@MegBobergMKB

5 жыл бұрын

That, and reading the comments on their videos gives me SO MUCH LIFE.

This came out right as I started baking my bread for the week, the exact perfect thing to watch while my bread is proving, this is what a quality Sunday should be!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

:)

Love how intense your faces are talking about P/C's rotational lift.

I was just scrawling through youtube (normally i get notified when you guys upload, but my phone's battery run out) and I was like ''Omg Why I haven't watch this video with medvedeva's face, it must be a documentary or something'' then I read the title and said '' FINALLY BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ALL DAY''.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

My thumbnail was effective!

I loved Marin, love her short and personally although I’m no expert, I agree with Jonathan and thought she was underscored on her PCS. I feel really bad for Evgenia, poor girl, hopefully she won’t lose sight of her long term goals. Also about what you said about longevity I really hope Alina has longevity, I love her, maybe she’ll need a new coach, Raf maybe? Although I think it’s harder for her to leave Russia I think as she’s already far from her family already in Moscow, can’t imagine if she wasn’t on the other side of the world

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I am not sure others will leave Russia after they see how Medvedeva has been vilified. She will have to start winning competitions for others to seek outside coaching.

@afeelingone

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson Sorry, I have to correct you here. Evgenia was critisized by the Russian fs fans not because she left Russia, but rather for the way she treated her long-time coach (not answering her calls and messages, not speaking to her about her plans to leave, not telling her thank you for all that success she had achieved with her). Also people remember her saying in the interview after the Olympics that she would definitely stay with her coach in the future, and at the same time having talks with Brian about changing to his team.

Also about Med stress makes you go back for the old habits and old techniques. I think she should just focus on training this year. Unfortunately I think she has to do Nationals. Highly appreciated your talk about Evgenia cause it’s so on point. PCS was just a crime in France. Especially in the short her having higher points than Marin when she was so disconnected was so triggering.

@DSQueenie

5 жыл бұрын

Justyna Żółkiewska she should have taken this year off but I guess hindsight is 20/20...

@justynazokiewska8223

5 жыл бұрын

DSQueenie competing for Russia doesn’t help either

I choked on my tea at the Canada comments 😂

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It's funny because it is true ;)

Just opened the bottle of Chartreuse I bought in Grenoble this weekend and rewatching the recap. My highlight was seeing Jason’s short in person. He was absolutely mesmerizing.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Take photos for us. Hope you had a great time!

im soooo glad Kevin Aymoz's work is gaining traction! I'd love for him for to be a little more polished so more people could look at his programs skated cleanly. And yes, I think the lovely French showmanship is what makes his skating so fascinating. lol.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Love it!

Regardless of the skating skills, the "fixing" of technique, etc..these programs, especially the short, just do not work for Evgenia. These programs do not set her up for success in these season of transition. She looks tortured skating them.

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

I think she's having a rough season but I don't think it's the programs' fault

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

The short worked at the Russian test skate when she actually performed it. At the present moment, she is so stressed that she is not giving it any energy. And the dress is completely wrong.

@grisgris6908

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Completely agree, she skated it lighthearted and free-I still thought it was an "unnatural" choice of music for her.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Grisgris * in the long run, it will make her a better performer if she really commits to the program and sells it.

@nvadqs

5 жыл бұрын

The choreography is so good in both of them! She did sell the SD and Russian Tests!

I love Rika’s free program, it’s different. The short program is nice but more generic loveliness. All the triple axels are a risk but could give her a chance against Zagitova. Bradie’s hair was better. Tarah & Danny shouldn’t have gotten a level on the d-spiral and the double axel mistake was rather lightly penalized. The US judge gave their twist the same score as Boikova & Kozlovskii who have a clearly superior twist. Their throw landings were better this week, but they’re small and watered down. Vanessa & Morgan were shaky throughout the short but recovered well in the free. The men’s field isn’t super deep right now and Hanyu’s status is questionable so Nathan may not even need the quad lutz, although it would definitely help and is his most impressive quad. Everyone needs a coach not just a Skype coach.

I love the coach Jonathan! Amazing video you guys did it again!!!! 😘😘😘😘😘

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Look at you, TSL - 18,000 views!!! Kudos! Keep up the great work!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Kevin Aymoz was such a gem back in juniors. Kudos for John and Sylvia for getting his jumps together. Okay they seem wonky but at least he lands them. This was such a messy area for him. Check out Kevin’s Nemesis/Condolence free and the Nathan Lanier from 15/16 season too.

I love Marin's short program! I wasn't much of fan before but this program really changed my perception of her. In terms of interpretation and presentation, she is miles ahead of everyone else at this event. It's ridiculous that this program is not getting 9's while Evgenia and Alina got high 9's for those awful Eteri programs.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

You should rewatch Marin's programs. She has had many fantastic programs!

On Gaboise teams. You are 100% right about the teams doing better if they have their own original ideas. Fear and Gibson picked their own Free Dance theme and it shows. I hope for next season everyone there is on notice about this.

How many skaters/coaches will (secretly) watch your videos to see what suggestions you make? I hope someone at Cricket sees this for Med.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Mischa Med more than will admit it.

...Wow, you are 100% correct about her skates! I thought I was the only one that thought her skates weren't working, they look odd with the bedazzled "inserts" or groove slits imprint thingymajigs, they are distracting and do not blend with her outfits. And I was telling my nieces that her skates remind me of these Barbie doll skates my sister used to have for her Barbie Doll, they opened up from the front and then clicked shut.😬

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

kerducky she looks like a mature, beautiful woman now and should be packaged as such. The skates lack maturity.

@kerducky

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Yes, thank you "maturity" that is the word! I don't know why I couldn't muster that up yesterday 🤗

@JackAShepherd

5 жыл бұрын

kerducky Better than Madi’s tan boots, Man

@kerducky

5 жыл бұрын

@@JackAShepherd 😆 , oh I've seen the tan skates and it's odd because it looks like a not so clean white skate and it's like "🙅🏾‍♀️" and you know what's funny as a child my younger sister and I couldn't and I mean "COULD NOT" stand tan boots or the brown skates, it would just ruin the whole program for us lol! And don't think poorly of me, but we somehow also thought that if a skater wore "brown skates" she couldn't afford the "white skates", ugh 😳I know, I know "boot preference" wasn't even considered in our kid brains lol! But this year I understand that brown boots or the tights over the skate gives the illusion of a longer legs which equals a taller skater AND these days when I watch skating and I see a nude boot it actually compliments the outfit most times...oh my sister would probably be cringing right now, 🤯😬 I think she still prefers white skates all day every day lol☺

What happened with Stephan and Brian? I thought they were okay?

I really liked the stationary lift that opened the free dance for the French, but I just feel that their other lifts (the rotational one where she three herself basically in a hug at him for example) don’t have the technical difficulty of other teams in seasons past. I am much more interested in dance because of the creativity with the choreography and lifts more so than pairs where the skills are much the same for everyone. I’d really like to see more lifts in ice dance where athleticism, strength and balance are required from both parties, not this flopping and letting the man do all the work!

Respectfully speaking, I think when Yuna did Les miserable she wasn’t with Brian. It was choreographed by David but she was training in Korea for the last few years of her career.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

That is correct. Did we say she was with Brian? I brought up Les Miserable to talk about how skaters can let powerful music do more of the work of creating a powerful program. Evgenia's tango isn't very melodic.

@mikeokubo7061

5 жыл бұрын

I thought you were referring to les miserable being a lot about the musical moments and for the tango Yuna learned how to not only use the music to make moments. And that Brian had something to do with it! Now I fully understand!! I agree, Evgenia’s tango is simply not “her”.

Great episode guys! x

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I see a lot of potential with medvedeva. I personally think the programs could be amazing if more focus was put on spins and performance. I think the jumps all need to change. She should be doing Triple Toe Triple Toe in short and long, easier jumps. No Lutz. Lets go full carolina and make this technically irrelevant and work only on performance. I think she has it in her to be the artist. She could still win a short program with just PCS, a rizzano, a triple loop, and a double Axel, get 3rd in long and settle for second.

I, too, am very interested in the ice dance podium going forward.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It will be so fascinating to watch!

Agree on so many things with both you. You are right saying Medvedeva just doesn’t believe in her programs. Honestly, I’m underwhelmed by the material she is given. Hope Evgenia “keeps on taking her antibiotics”, Jonathan! It might pay out but not this season unfortunately. P/C are magical ice dancers but when I start breaking down their elements... beatable!? Both Spanish, Russian, Canadian teams have way more original programs that I look forward to this season. I hope P/C are challenged soon to realize they have to step out of their comfort zone more. I absolutely love this post Olympic Grand Prix season. Jason was fantastic - so happy for him.

I was screaming "Yaass!" while Jason nailed those programs. I hope he only goes up from here. I love his performance and presence on ice. 💕 Rika Kihira looks so nice on ice for me. You can really tell that the choreography for her long program was so polished and it's really working for her. I'm so excited to see both of her short and long performed cleanly side by side and see just how much points she could earn with 2 flawless performances. Eunsoo just looks gorgeous and really promising. She's like the right amount of delicate and strength. Love them both 💜

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Jason looked fantastic in the short!

Jonathan, you were spot on about that weird energy going on in the K&C. Brian and Tracy looked very troubled and you could have cut the bad energy between the three with a knife.

@BigBlueSky123

5 жыл бұрын

Jontor11 All three of them are trained performers - they could have at least pretended to get along and to comfort each other... one would think.

Re: Marin, the whole pink cutesy thing is really well received in Japan. She is in the top three sponsor wise in Japan after Hanyu and Mao.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

DSQueenie are there articles that track this?

@esml373

5 жыл бұрын

asilem Marin is very popular among japanese fans and she stayed popular even when she was losing and delivering disappointing performances. At IDF she got the most gifts thrown on the ice, even more than Medvedeva who’s a lot more popular. I don’t know if Rika’s popularity will be like hers someday. Japan just really loves Marin

@DSQueenie

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson They do but I can’t find my source anymore as it’s in Japanese. In the meantime a good gage of how many sponsors a skater has in Japan is to google their name in Kanji and add “cm” to the end, Japanese word for commercial.

@eyesthere

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson there are corporate surveys released every summer.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

@@eyesthere Do you have a link?

I agree that the technique Eteri teaches (or at least allows to develop without correction) becomes increasingly problematic as a skater grows and develops. However, I think that the way that Eteri trains her skaters creates a level of consistency and confidence that allows skaters who are naturally very expressive (Evgenia, Alena Kostornaia, Yulia Lipnitskaia, Anna Shcherbakova, Kamila Valieva) to create amazing performances as long as the technique is working for them. She also seems to make calculations about the technical content based on the artistic ability of the skater. Evgenia kept her conservative SP content (3F3T, 3Lo, 2A) for three seasons even though she was easily doing harder jumps in practice (she could have done a 3Lz3T and 3F easily - the Lutz was pretty consistent and got good GEO and no edge call despite the inside edge). It also seemed conservative to not have her do a 3S3Lo in the long program. She almost always has a great axis on the 3S and she easily could have done the 3Lo off of it (which we saw in practice videos). But, by doing jumps that were relatively easy for her, Evgenia was able to get the GEOs, give an amazing performance, and win. Looking at Eteri's junior ladies, it seems she has changed her approach somewhat since the Olympics didn't work out the way that she expected (and wanted). I think Alena Kostornaia is her most expressive student right now, and she is skating a relatively conservative program to give a great performance that will get the GEOs and PCS, but she's also working to improve her technical content in practice with a plan to increase it in competition as soon as she's ready (having the 2A as the first jump in both programs will make it as comfortable as possible to add the 3A as soon as she's ready). Trusova, by contrast, is a great skater but not as expressive, and I think this is part of why they are putting so many (too many?!) quads in her program so quickly. She's obviously a great jumper and I can see why she is training all of those quads, but I think that if she were as musical as Kostornaia, Eteri would be more concerned about the PCS and might not have her doing so many. However, Shcherbakova is also quite expressive, so I'm surprised that Eteri's pushing her to do the quad Lutz twice her in freeskate... maybe my theory is wrong. Back to Evgenia - I think she's eager to increase the technical content (as she should be), and from watching her practice I do think that she's making some good improvements (the 2A3Lo looked great, the 3S looks higher, and the 3Lz looks like it's slowly moving in the right direction). However, she's dealing with so many changes right now and although she can physically handle an increase in the technical content, she's clearly feeling more stress in competition than she is used to, and I don't think now is the time to make SO MANY changes. She wants to improve her artistry, skating skills, and jumps (as she should) but to try to do all of it at once in both programs and with a new coach and a new choreographer doesn't make sense. I think it's a good idea to push her artistically with an unusual music choice for the short (I like the Orange Colored Sky program when she performs it well, even though there's a lot of room for improvement), but having the 3Lz as the first jump looks very stressful and takes her focus away from the performance. I think it would have been good for to keep her old SP jump content at least for the Grand Prix assignments. Since she is reworking her jump technique right now, I think it would have been wise to give her something she's more comfortable with for the long program (she needs to feel as comfortable as possible to get through seven jumping passes and give a good performance). She could have made one small upgrade, adding a 3S3Lo (I'm a little surprised that they tried to add a 2A3Lo, even though it looks good in practice - her technique on the Salchow has been great for years and she can trust that she will have a good takeoff, axis, and flow to get the 3Lo done). For the next month I think she needs to train her programs with her old technical content, make sure she's hitting all of her spin positions, go to Russian Nationals and skate clean (which I really think she can do!) to get a spot at worlds. I think she should then skip Euros to change her LP and make any technical upgrades that she's ready for. Also, I doubt anyone will agree with me on this, but I think she should be training a 4S (and I think she should have started training it several years ago - she could be landing it in competition by now). I understand why Eteri didn't want to take the risk, but I don't think she can count on achieving her goal of winning the Olympics without at least one quad. I think her 3T often looks quite good as well, and for many skaters it's the easiest quad to learn, and I think it would be wise for her to work on that as well (at least train it on the harness and see how it goes). *side note* I think it's a little depressing to see her finally getting the edge called now when she is working to improve it - and it does look like she's moving in the right direction, despite the set up that I think is making it harder. She could benefit from trying a flat/inside edge and then pull to the outside, as many skaters with good Lutz technique do. It is very hard to maintain the strong outside edge she sets before even reaching back, not to mention the inside - outside pull approach might help her feel the timing of the jump better. She could still do it from a cross to keep the entry feeling somewhat familiar).

OMG was cackling at the Canada Karma section. Old man cackling, wheezing, needed a nebulizer laughing. So good.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

You said what I was thinking about pairs. The Russian pair has nice qualities and good athleticism and looks a bit less Jr this year. I was surprised by the Level 2 call on Kayne/O'Shea's death spiral. Her head never got to knee level, never mind stay there for a full revolution which is required for it to count as an actual death spiral. They had generous GOE elsewhere, including the twist which didn't clear Danny's head at all in the SP and barely cleared his head in the LP. I agree with Dave that Tarah does her face well. She sells the choreo, maybe a little too much when she kisses Danny in their SP ending pose while he's smiling and not kissing her back lol. They aren't the most talented pair by any stretch of the imagination, but they fight. I agree that Ruest/Wolfe's Turning Page program is better, although it's tough comparing a SP vs LP. This pairs field wasn't deep and they were giving big GOE to anything decent. James/Cipres were off at times, but still great in the LP, and you wouldn't want them to be at their best at an event like this anyway.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I think their old short was even better about showing them off, but it was not very Colorado at all.

I hear so much criticism about Evgenia’s programs but the thing is we’ve never seen them performed adequately. I think they have a lot of potential. Imagine the first time hearing a classic opera and the performer missing every third note and being a nervous wreck. You would not walk away thinking how well it was composed. I hope you guys aren’t annoyed with Evgenia discrediting the story about Eteri telling her to quit. Evgenia is just being smart and minimizing public drama. She has enough to deal with already. By my logic it clearly happened though. Your source is credible and it explains Evgenia ghosting Eteri and announcing her departure through the media. Clearly Eteri said something that infuriated her. I think the strange attitude that you saw in the kiss and cry was the team in shock. The shock at realizing Evgenia’s problems are much more psychological than physical. I think they had a lot of confidence in her at practice and for her to come out and collapse was alarming. I’ve seen some shots of Evgenia’s face prior to the skate and I see fear in her eyes- something I never thought I’d see from her. I think there is something deeply wrong that involves a toxic interaction between hate from her country and her parent’s divorce. I think eteri was in a sense a father figure to Evgenia (strong, dominant, tough love) and without her there is a major void to fill. I like Brian a lot and I’m glad she’s with him but he can’t fill it.

@DD-d6d3

5 жыл бұрын

I think Zhenya needs a good sports psychologist

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

We have no issue with Evgenia denying the story, which was very smart once the Russian media starting going crazy over it. I was responding to fans who assumed it had to be false. We heard the story from several sources. As for the programs, we have seen the programs four times and they don't seem to be helping her.

@PtolemyXVII

5 жыл бұрын

She just had bad choreography and bad music choices from David Wilson. I'm sure if she changes choreographers to either Benoit or shae Lynn she can focus on performance instead of telegraphing her jumping passes. It's hard to perform when you're constantly changing the layout of your programme

@jimmyplank9824

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson Jonathan has really upped the production value on his side of the screen. Meanwhile, you’re in front of a blank wall bleeding from your chin. You don’t know it, but it’s a competition! Go team Jonathan!

Like Eteri that's what matters! Love the opera comment.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Janet John :)

Is the next "+5 -5 video" about the Key Points in the Pattern dance? I was very surprised by the Level 1 of P/C.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It is, yes.

@nvadqs

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson thanks a lot

As a yalie currently in New Haven freaking out over finals, I have no idea how Nathan plans to do this lol. It's just not advisable. I'm sure yale will let him leave and come back to finish his degree anytime he wants. There's no way he's somehow going to tackle finals and... the grand prix final (!!!) at the same time. edit: oh lord and he thinks he's going to be premed... god bless his heart. If you think you can take organic chemistry and even pass much less thrive while also being an olympic level athlete... I don't know what to tell ya.

@jorgebonilla2234

5 жыл бұрын

@asilem I think the come to jesus moment will happen academically not athletically, when he realizes he literally can't take or study for finals because he's in canada competing.

@jorgebonilla2234

5 жыл бұрын

@mish098aimer Is she an elite olympic athlete? That has to literally leave the country around exam time for major international competitions? The thought of someone getting through ochem while taking six classes is laughable enough, but while being a top athlete? unthinkable.

@dmjrjrj

5 жыл бұрын

I mean I found organic chem so easy I could practically do it in my sleep so it depends what his courses are, how he schedules them, and how easy/hard they are for him individually. You can’t place your/other peoples limitations onto him. Everything is not the same level of difficulty for everyone. He may be able to do it, he may not but it’s always annoying when it feels like people are waiting to be proven right for him to fail rather than just waiting it out and see. He won two Grand Prixs & is in the final while somehow taking a full course, he’s obviously more capable than most. People should wish him the best and commend him for doing what he’s doing. He got a full ride & that’s so much bigger than skating anyways but it’s cool that he’s trying to reach both his dreams eventhough everyone keeps trying to discourage him.

@jorgebonilla2234

5 жыл бұрын

@@dmjrjrj Organic chemistry is not easy at ivy league schools. I've had a shit ton of premed friends at both ivies I've attended, and this is unequivocal. No one wants him to fail, they're just realistic about what he can do at one time. There's no reason why he needs to be trying to be pre-med at Yale until after the next olympics. He can complete his BA when he retires. There's nothing wrong with that, and the school is willing to do it. They do it for olympic athletes all the time. It's his pride and naivete that are leading him to burn the candle at both ends.

@jorgebonilla2234

5 жыл бұрын

@mish098aimer sweetie. being a college athlete and an olympic international athlete are not comparable. Especially because college athletics explicitly are tailored to the academic calendar, while a sport like figure skating explicitly conflicts with it.

Can we get the final answer on Nathan’s free? I heard Marie France and Sam Chouinard

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Bnizzofashizzo correct.

Why are you so worried about getting in trouble? You're saying what us realists are thinking. Keep it real.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It is a different time with everyone getting offended. We also got vilified on social media for something a guest said that we didn't even agree with. You would be reluctant before speaking as well.

@tc5044

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson It's unfortunate and I don't doubt you for a second. It's too bad. I live for your recaps and interviews. You're always saying what I am thinking and what I didn't even realize I was thinking.

Now you made me feel bad Dave, because I love Marin's blades 😁 If something pink must go I choose the dress (and I like that dress too) Sooo looking forward to the interview with Lisa McKinnon!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

They're not as offensive as Evgenia's boots, but they are definitely juniorish.

@avg18

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson we can agree on that. I still like those blades better than the gold blades I think Miki used, for some reason . I also agree about Evgenia's boots, needs something more classic. Or just cover them like Sasha used to do.

@papillon5839

5 жыл бұрын

"juniorish"? LOL Just because something is "pink" it's "juniorish", ok then....The prejudice is just amazing. I didn't know colors have something to do with "maturity". So, at what age should people stop wearing pink?

Applause for being so nice and sensitive (Dave)! I was getting sick of the snark but, well, then Ashley retired and now you’re a beacon of loveliness.

another great episode! i did want to make a small correction that marie france and sam choiunard (spelling?) did nathan's FS and not romain.. also - along with phil going to yale.. yuki his agent did also! and img does all the yale athletics stuff..who can we get to go to lakewood when he's on winter break to stage an intervention???

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I misspoke. I read this and know it is Sam. I don't know why I said that. M-F has too many attractive men around!

I was most exited about EM moving to Canada. Collaboration of Russian and Canadian great skating schools could bring us something exciting, something we haven't seen before. But it does not seem Orser trying to combine two schools, instead he is trying to substitute one with another. Try to make Evgenia lose her muscles memory she was developing since she was 4 yo and get another one. Obviously it's going to take time, even 2 years sound very optimistic. That explains her jumps failures and how heavy she is looking on ice now. But it does not give an answer to another question. How on earth could they give her these two horrible programs?! They are bad on so many levels, music choice, choreography, transitions and composition wise. It was David Wilson's idea to give her "Orange colored skies", what was he thinking? Evgenia obviously got no idea of jazz, I don't blame her, how many 18 yo girls do? She does not feel the music and can not perform to it. Tango could work though, but 70% of the program is not a tango but some noise. Seriously it looks like they tried their best to give her most unfitting programs you could imagine. And for Christ sake, I've heard there is some sort of civilization in Canada. Can you please find Evgenia one proper dress for crying out loud?! I am kind of mad. Still hope things will improve with the time but these programs... What could be an excuse for such a lousy job?

@hana.372

5 жыл бұрын

If me not wrong ,the music is medvedeva choice herself ,even brian and tracy said the music is to heavy for her, thats what i heard.

@gtestkey

5 жыл бұрын

@@hana.372 Well, I am not entirely sure, but there was info that SP music been proposed by David Wilson and for FS Medvedeva wanted tango, but music been chosen by Tracy. Both are definitely heavy especially for transition period.

@nenavujicin7882

5 жыл бұрын

gtestkey ,absolutely agree with you about Evgenia's new (horrible) programs...bad choreo;bad choice of music ;and also bad costumes...

Nathan’s choreographer for the long is Sam Chouinard, Dave. Marie France camp choreo!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I love your Nathan obsession. Yes, I misspoke.

Aw poor Simon. He has become a bit more opinionated but he’s not that bad! Be yeah remember last years Euros? Med was getting scores that did not match she was laying down. That layback spin that travelled 4 foot, as shown by Koola King, and she beat Kostner who was magical.

Was waiting for you to comment on Brian's 205 remark!

Can the solid skating skills foundation built for years help to ease girls’ growing pains and body changes? I mean if so, girls should be patient on practicing the basics, not rushing to difficult jumps. Quick success with high tech scores and be done with it and having a career finished at teens' age. To me this is not building a career, but a robot producing factory.

I would definitely say that Janny's position is more like Alexa and Chris (The Knierems) as they went to a different coach and want immediate results, it doesn't work like that and the way the Russian Federation and fans turned on her is very sad, Eteri could have helped minimize the pr backlash against Janny but is choosing not to and actually adding to it. I'd want her to forget this season and just work on what she needs to do and come back next year or the year after and look towards Tuktymesheva as some inspiration for waiting it out and doing what needs to be done after your body changes.

The important thing Evgenia should consider is if she still wants to skate if she probably won't medal/win. Skating is only part of life after all, and we don't know what the circumstances are for retired skaters in Russia. Let alone for her, if she goes down the current narrative. If yes, just stick with Orser's plan all the way and we know eventually she will become a better skater. Going back to old technique is clearly not gonna work for her. I'm interested to know if Flutz can actually be fixed. There were many famous Flutz skaters who tried to fix it, but not much success. I'd be interest to know why they lutz is so hard to fix, while lip seems to get fixed easily. Both Yuna and Yuzuru used to have edge call on flip.

Samarin is Kovtun 2.0, tbh. I pray kolyada gets it together.

@sparkl121

5 жыл бұрын

@Bailey Orr Yep, I believe he's assigned to Talinn Trophy happening this week- never cared for his skating, but I am curious.

@elccollins99

5 жыл бұрын

What do mean that he’s Kovtun 2.0?

If I was Medevedeva I would have gone to Brian to learn quads knowing that Trusova et al will be in seniors in the not too distant future

I agree it’s about the long term. Not too many skaters who are successful in a post Olympic system keep up the momentum the next three years, so if you’re going to hit the reset mode and reinvent yourself. This is the time.. However it’s going to be an uphill battle. Not a quick result ... She’s going to Struggle and be surpassed. She may have some dark times but I think if she keeps a right mindset. She will be successful again and I agree a or semi break would have been better.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I agree with you 100%

@Eeyora1

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson remember a few years back when Jonathan was talking about skaters having delayed adolescence? Like Gracie undergoing teenage angst at 22. I think this is Evgenia’s awkward stage. Like many of us undergo at 12/13. Although I would have killed to look her that age.

when you're too early and someone hasn't listed the time points yet and you have to watch through the whole 1 hour 45 minutes

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I feel so sorry for you. It must be awful!

@bluecarps

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson it's nothing against you guys...I don't even have the patience to sit through whole competitions 😫and you guys do sometimes tend to go off on a tangent even mentioning inside jokes at points and I'm like 😩*insert Judge Judy tapping her watch gif*

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

@@bluecarps I think the comment may come across a bit rude to people who spends hours of their free time working on these for you...

@bluecarps

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson oh sorry about that...I did click the moment it popped up on my suggestions, hence I'm "too" early..I thought including that part (about being early) showed how I was eagerly waiting for the vid...us gen -Zs and our 2 minute attention span 😷smh

@msmo2060

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson haha... btw, Thankyou for this!!

Totally right about Michelle btw.

Hello Dave and Jonathan. Enjoyed the review and I wanted to comment on Ice dance( my favorite discipline). Madison and Zach were impressive at Skate America. I am a huge fan of this team and the FD surprised me at Skate America. I was there in Everett and their love of the music comes across in person. The choreographed sequence was wonderful to see live. The FD is growing on me and I expect the FD will look different than what we watched in Skate Canada. At the GPF, I am expecting seeing H/D on the same ice as S/B or S/K will really highlight Madison/Zach's skating skills(both partners are strong skaters), their edges and their connection. S/B - Alexandra Stepanova still needs to work on her skating skills and IMO is the weakest ice dancer out of skaters that will be at the GPF. She needs to work on her posture, line, edge quality and extension. Guignard/Fabbri are underrated as a team. I've had the pleasure of seeing them skate live twice(Skate America in 2016 and 2018) and both are very good skaters. They are coached by one of the greatest female ice dancers ever and Barbara Fusar Poli will have them ready to compete. .

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed the episode!

Brian Orser said in several interviews since Evgenia started working with him that the TCC method takes about 18 months before it clicks. They’ve only been a team for a little over five months. I think going into panic mode is premature. What do you think about Evgenia working with a sports psychologist?

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

It is very true. I think I have heard him say 2 years elsewhere. Saying not to panic and actually not panicking as a type A personality are two very different things. I’m not sure if Evgenia has a sports psychologist. It could certainly benefit her if the person is skilled. Honestly, I think it would be most helpful if she could relax, trust the process and keep pushing to make improvements. Her confidence will emerge when she is confident in her new technique and way of skating. I think a fresh start with new programs will also help next season. She likely has so many negative emotions associated with both programs at this point.

Dave, so you went to penn state and were on their gymnastics team?

Dave, do you have the goss on why Gabby’s not doing TTYCT? Was she invited but wanted to do the GPS (till she stepped away this season)? Did she not wanna be second-fiddle to Kaetlyn? Was she not invited? ‘Cause I just realized that Gabby was on the “team” (FS, no less - and a great one at that) and Kaitlyn & Andrew weren’t (though I love them to death and am of course thrilled to see them). Any insider info?

I was so happy Marin did decently! I was wondering whether you would be pleased with her progress or still annoyed with her because she popped those jumps, LOL. (Also definitely should have been fifth above Konstantinova.) Good episode :)

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I see improvement for sure. She must keep working hard and it will happen for her.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

She absolutely should've been ahead of Kostantinova!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I believe the judges weren't expecting her to perform well and judged her as such...

Totally share Jonathan's love for Dimitri Aliev! Also totally on board for him and Kolyada on the podium.

Loved this edition & I, too, am intrigued by Kevin A. Here is an observation, though. I think his LP music choice really helps. I love it. So, then I was interested in more of the Irrepressibles...Sylvia & John must like it too, b/c I noticed that Haven & Brandon skate to them. Then, of course, Romain Ponsart & Hawayek & Baker. Must be the choice for 2018. I'm late to the Irreprssibles party, I know :) Better late than never!

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

:) Good research!

Thanks for doing this so quickly as always! Must say the kiss and cry with Medvedeva was quite heartbreaking to watch knowing how many people was already online writing hateful comments about her. By the way she said in an interview that she did not expect so much hatred and that she is now completely switching off social media which I think is a very smart decision. I hope they will keep working and try to see the big picture and not all this nonsense. My first comment after seeing Jason's short was: "Well he did not stop taking his antibiotics" :) And oh how angry it makes me to see the scores Sinitsina and Katsalapov are getting. Yes, they are quite technical, but their programs are boring, she isn't exciting at all, it's all political and it infuriates me. Especially here with Piper and Paul who are one of my favourites, who are so unique and have a fantastic free dance (now my second favourite of the season after the French). Also very excited about this Moskvina team, hoping for a good long carrier from them, they are the most interesting "junior" team for sure.

@surdina88

5 жыл бұрын

I also sometimes imagine Cricket club as a tv show and it's time to bring Javi back so he can fix everyone (starting with Brian!) :))

Dave, Thanksgiving weekend was where I finished those 20 page, English Major papers. There was no fun until Christmas. LOL.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

TB Zero fun!

@tb4522

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheSkatingLesson Seriously. My poor mom would try and make it nice for me, but it was all about studying for me. Same with Easter Vacation. I certainly never had the time for a crazy Spring Break weekend. Damn. No wonder I'm still boring! Lol.

Any news about Chock/Bates for the season?

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Unclear. They are supposed to be back for Nationals.

Dave and Jonathan! You haven’t mentioned P/C’s tango! I love it personally, they just need to sort out the first pattern. They both look hot as hell, too.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

I like the program overall. It definitely looks "new," but I see a great deal of potential.

The link to the judging system doesn't work.

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

mailchi.mp/27b47bb41228/judgingguide

Hey Dave! I was just watching medvedeva again from France and I was wondering I was looking at her spins I just can't figure out why they are not good is it the speed or the lack of changes of position? Thanks

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

If you watch Medvedeva's change combination spin, her camel is typically held long enough. She must hold her leg at the camel position for two full revolutions. If you watch her camel, it is only in position for 1.5-1.75 revolutions before she drops into a sit spin to grab her leg and do her upright position. Also, her camel has quite a bent free leg that really is not stretched. It is likely that she has neglected her spins as she focused on fixing her jump technique and may be rushing them/developing some bad habits.

@TheGymnast71

5 жыл бұрын

TheSkatingLesson wow Dave that helps so much thank you!!!! I realize from you I don't really know a lot about ice skating!😊😊or at least this new system

@TheSkatingLesson

5 жыл бұрын

Paula Dimicello you’re welcome! We are all learning together. The more we learn, the more there is to learn.

Dave, I felt a pang of hurt for poor Tracey in the K&C after his FS, Jason whispered something in Brian's ear, and Tracey, who has such an expressive face, had a look of, 'Oh, I thought I was your special friend!' 😦