Davis & White #15: The Polka Connection

[Piper]

"Today we spoke with Meryl Davis and Charlie White who shared the secret to the astounding success of Southeast Michigan skaters."
Podcast (13 minutes): http://www.michiganradio.org/post/as...chigan-skaters

Thank you very much.
Could you please tell the highlights? It's rather hard for me to understand English in audio.

[CassAgain]

Thank you very much.
Could you please tell the highlights? It's rather hard for me to understand English in audio.

Hard work, working hard, working a lot, hard at work, lots of work, equally hard working, mutually self motivated, not pressured by family, have a goal, not swaggery but also not intimidated, everything at Canton is peachy, Marina's a genius.

[professordeb]

Hard work, working hard, working a lot, hard at work, lots of work, equally hard working, mutually self motivated, not pressured by family, have a goal, not swaggery but also not intimidated, everything at Canton is peachy, Marina's a genius.

I found this "summary" brought a smile to my face. It's true, they are hard working and always working hard. Marina's a genius? OK!

[sap5]

I'm happy that the interviewer asked some interesting questions!

[Piper]

Hard work, working hard, working a lot, hard at work, lots of work, equally hard working, mutually self motivated, not pressured by family, have a goal, not swaggery but also not intimidated, everything at Canton is peachy, Marina's a genius.

Nothing new,then ))

[mollymgr]

Nothing new,then ))

Here is a rough outline.

How is SE Michigan so successful?
Success of Southeast Michigan in ice dance is attributed to great Russian coaches and kids with great work ethic…they described a typical day. School is a good distraction and great way to unwind.
How many times do they practice their programs?
They would have practiced it thousands of times...5 hours a day/5 days a week from May to March…this is required for perfection...they enjoy practice as well as competition.
How much time do they spend with each other off ice? At competitions or skating shows...don't really hang out after practice.
How do they cope with all the titles/fame? They get recognized at Nationals but they like the anonymity at home/campus.

This has been a good year. They feel confident with their programs. How do they feel about competing in their competitor's home country?...they have had previous experience with the Olympics being in Canada...they don't think about it too much. Canada has great skating fans and there will be great energy in the stadium. They plan to go out and do their thing.

How much input do they have in their programs?
Obviously, their coach Marina has a lot of input and is incredibly talented. They are in awe of her genius. They have more say now than they did before WRT choreo and music.

Is the judging different at National's vs. International? No, not that much. Their programs adapt as the season goes on and they try to stay consistent.
What about all the articles written about them, does it affect them? They do not pay attention to media. They have a great coaching team and experienced people around them. They do read the DFP articles.
Don't you need swagger or arrogance to be a National Champion? It takes nerves of steel but they wouldn't say swag or swagger. They have confidence from years of experience, knowing what to expect. At competitions, they let their bodies take over.
Did their parents have to twist their arms when they were young? No. They are of the belief that if they want something badly enough, they can make it happen. They have always been hardworking and driven. They have been fortunate to have parents that have the right balance in encouraging them but not pushing too much.
What will be the future of the sport? The future is exciting and has been growing exponentially in the US. There is a lot of talent in novice and juvenile. This is an exciting time in the US. The changes have been in the last two Olympics cycles.
Training with V/M...what is that like? Helps push each other. They see the hard work they put in. The have mutual respect, they have all been through the same things over the years.

[Piper]

Here is a rough outline.

Thank you.

[mollymgr]

Nice article about Meryl in the London Free Press.

[CassAgain]

What a great story--thanks for the link!

[professordeb]

O.M.G. -- that's a great story and right in my back yard, so to speak. Bright's Grove (aka BG) is just a 10 minute drive from the outskirts and her grandparents met there. How sweet. I think Meryl may have inherited their sweetness.

[circuscandy]

That's such a lovely story.

Worlds is really going to have an awesome atmosphere this year.

[lmarie086]

Oh my gosh, that story just melted my heart. I had no idea Meryl had such ties to the area!

Good luck Meryl and Charlie!

[shan]

Cute story about Meryl and her family.



at the some of the comments below the article...

[lmarie086]

^Oooh, I'm tempted to respond...but I won't. People who are determined to spout bitterness like that, regardless of who they're rooting for, will never be anything but narrow minded. So any effort is wasted on them.

[Cachoo]

Yep--don't feed the trolls. I enjoyed the story as well. And I'm psyched for Worlds---I wish I could travel to Canada to see the competition. London, Ontario sounds lovely.

[circuscandy]

When I read the article, the comments were positive. I knew it was too good to last. Alas.

[liv]

That was a nice article. I never mind reading about a skater's family and story.

As for the later comments, there will always be idiots who just can't accept something for what it is.

[Scrufflet]

A lovely story indeed! And do ignore the comments and please note that a Canadian newspaper published it! From what I've seen over the years, Canadian fs fans love good skating no matter who is doing it!

[mollymgr]

I loved the article. We don't see too many articles about figure skating in general and most of the time it is about programs, training and other similar rehashed topics. This one was refreshing in that sense.

[mollymgr]

The icenetwork teleconference is finally up.