What next for Dornbush, Farris, Rippon, and Mahbanoozadeh?

[OnyxRose81]

Farris is the only one who I don't think would be crushed if he doesn't make it to Sochi. He's so incredibly young and I even think that his camp said the ultimate goal was 2018.

ITA with Richard's bad luck. I'm kind of scared that he'll never realize his potential because something will stop him, be it injury or illness.

Adam, Jeremy, and Armin will skate one more year. TBH, Armin should head to school in the Fall. I can't fathom a world where he'll be near a Worlds or Olympic team in the future.

[Polymer Bob]

I wonder what's next for Stephen Carrier.

[pinky166]

If the USA gets three spots, I really think Farris will be a strong contender - and even if he doesn't, I wouldn't underrated his chances. Steady improvement, strong coaching staff, solid all-around skills....

Maybe I'm biased, but I thought he deserved to be a close 3rd here, maybe even 2nd given Ross popped the axel and some of his landings weren't so great. Not shocked by the result and he does need that 4t more consistent if he wants to really gun for a Sochi spot, but it seems he usually gets full rotation on the quad even when he falls, so under COP, that's good at least. I hope the 4th place at Nationals has given him confidence, now he knows he's one of the top guys in the US, and really can contend for the Sochi team even if 2018 is his ultimate goal (obviously if he hopes to win or medal, 2018 is much more realistic in that sense).

I feel like leading up to this event, it was a bit uncertain, Josh had scores on the junior circuit comparable to the international scores of guys like Miner, Rippon, Dornbush, but they weren't competing at the same events or even the same level, so it was hard to gauge how he really stacked up to those guys. Nationals clarified that he is a top senior man, despite the 4th place that maybe should have been 3rd, his scores were strong, really strong, and he was closer to the marks of Abbott, Miner, and Aaron than to Rippon, Dornbush, Johnson, and Brown (not that they were clean, but Josh wasn't totally clean either). Hopefully he can move forward from this, his jumps are gorgeous, his spins are very nice, and the artistry is coming along. More strength should help with the quad and speed too, which I would assume he'll gain naturally with age. Also did you see his gala? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rxGhml4aBg not tinkly piano music but he still held my interest so maybe he can explore his style more.

The field at Junior Worlds is actually likely to be very competitive, with Han Yan, Jin and his quads, Tanaka and Hino, Brown and Omori capable of scoring big if they hit their 3axels, and then Kovtun (if he even goes? I know it's looking likely he'll go to senior Worlds, but maybe the Russian Fed will send him to both?), so it will be interesting to see what happens there. Hopefully Josh and Jason will both compete on senior GP next season. I know it sounds like a bit of a pipe dream, but if Jason gets the 3a consistent and starts putting a quad out in his FS, idk, he could be in the mix for Sochi too, USFS loves him so much and his spins are gorgeous.

Dornbush and Farris probably have the best chance of this group of guys to make the Sochi team, but even those two are likely considered longshots.

Interesting comments about the quad and Dornbush, as his 4t is actually quite nice and fairly consistent. However, 3a used to be his money jump, and while it is still a great jump for him, that 3a-2t-2lo combo he does is , it does seem that since adding the quad to his programs, his consistency on the 3a has suffered. The quality of that jump is still great, it just seems hit and miss for him these past two seasons, which is a shame. But it might just be due to his boot issues.

Also, I thought Adam looked a little faster and his jumps a bit bigger at Nationals. I do think he's improving under Raphael. He still needs to be trying a quad, and can't afford for his attempts to be getting << like they usually were last season, but idk, he could still pull it together in time. The USFS obviously still supports him and rewards him for what he does well. And his 3a looks better even though it's not textbook. Jump quality in general isn't as good as Farris or Dornbush, but while the latter two are also good spinners, Adam picks up major GOE points for his spins so idk, it should be interesting.

[blue_idealist]

I wonder what's next for Stephen Carrier.

Yeah, I wish he could get near the podium again. I like him but he's been competing for YEARS.

[Sylvia]

Carriere was near the podium at 2012 Nationals (6th), and he had a very good comeback in the FS at this year's Nationals -- from 17th in SP to 9th in FS for 10th overall, which could give him another Senior B assignment next season.

Published on IN on Feb. 1st: Five favorite things with Stephen Carriere

[merrywidow]

I'm a believer of Max, Ross & Ricky & if we have 3 spots for the Olympics those are the 3 guys I'm looking to to make US fans proud. Armin is not done & will be back in the mix next year as will Josh. I'm banking on Jason becoming consistent with his triple axle this year & if so, even without a quad, he will be a contender at Nationals '14. I plan on watching to see how all these guys do this summer & fall. I'd like to see Carriere move up again as I was impressed by his FS at '12 Nat'ls. They all need quads with the exception of Brown IMO.

[apatinar]

I totally think that Farris can grab a 3rd spot, if there is one, and head to Sochi! I am TOTALLY on the Farris bandwagon.. He should have been 3rd at this years nationals... I think the judges are becoming fed up with Jeremy and his BS... How many times can we see a bad skate from Jeremy and then he is in the Kiss and Cry saying something stupid about it with Yuka just looking at him almost like saying "Jeremy, you are making an ass out of yourself - just stop the crap and deliver a good freeskate!"
The problem with Dornbush is that when he burst onto the scene, it was a character piece - Sherlock Holmes - that totally hid all of his weaknesses and displayed his strength of performance... Without a character piece, the judges can now see poor posture amongst other things..
I don't see Adam getting a consistent quad and I think he will be the male Caroline Zhang- a world junior champion with so much potential never realized - although he did get a trip to worlds at least..
Armin will be an eternal middle of the pack skater - the male Christina Gao at best.. There are too many boys out there now who are better
Max Aaron and Ross Miner are the REAL DEALS!!! These are boys who come to the table ready to compete! These 2 would make a fine team for Sochi!!!

[LilJen]

Carriere was near the podium at 2012 Nationals (6th), and he had a very good comeback in the FS at this year's Nationals -- from 17th in SP to 9th in FS for 10th overall, which could give him another Senior B assignment next season.

Published on IN on Feb. 1st: Five favorite things with Stephen Carriere

Dear Stephen:

Your resolution to read a book a week this year is admirable; however, Les Miserables and Anna Karenina will slow down your pace drastically. I wouldn't recommend adding in, say, War and Peace or The Brothers Karamazov either. Just so you know.

Fellow lover of classic literature,

LilJen

[arakwafan2006]

Dornbush: Persistence i believe will pay off for him. I believe that he is a very good skater. To me, it does not look like he's really mentally all there when he competes. It's almost like his mind is a bit busy and not really in the moment. He appears like he's thinking ahead of himself and when the moment comes, his mind is ahead of his body. It's worth noting that it takes a lot of skaters years to figure out how to compete at the Sr. level. One thing thats for certain is that Tammy has done a great job with him.

Rippon: Reminds me of what i heard someone say about making soup. " you build good soup you dont just throw it together and it takes time". I think that he's with the right coach. To me, his reaction almost said " i squoze too hard" as opposed to " yup...i've been making these mistakes in practice". This new relationship is an adjustment. Rafael is clearly not the nourishing hugging hold hands and sing Kumbaya like Yuka and Jason are. I like that Adam is being challenged and held accountable for his performances. I think that ultimately it will work for him. I would advise that he goes back to a more classical program however. The Incredibles number was super spiffy but not for Adam IMO.

Mahbanoozadeh: He needs to learn how to relax when he competes. You can see he's well trained and in shape. Competition and practice are different things. He will learn.

In all seriousness, many performers, take Beyonce come up with alter-ego's for a reason. She's in her private life shy and private but as a performer she's another person. The reason is because its tough to put that work out there and execute it perfectly. I dont want to see skaters referring to themselves as Sasha Fierce however i think the theory of being able to transport yourself into another dimension holds true. I will say again that most skating fans dont go and watch their favorite skaters occasionally train at their practice rinks. What you will find is that they have large success rates with executing the elements we see them miss in events. In some cases, it has nothing to do with the training of the athlete. It all has to do with the skaters ability to compete on a stage. How many of the men even on the international circuit could do what Michelle Kwan did in 2004 when that "nut" ran onto the ice when she was called, calm herself, calm the audience and deliver? What made her so great was not her technical ability but her ability to execute when it counted over and over again.

They say that public speaking is the #1 fear that people have. Imagine what the skaters go through...

[merrywidow]

The next thing for Dornbush is joining Aaron & Miner at 4 CC's this week. He replaces Adam Rippon.

[Sylvia]

I've been posting this link all over FSU today! Dornbush replaces Rippon at Four Continents - press release: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=48962&type=media
"Rippon, who placed fifth at the 2013 U.S. Championships, sustained an ankle injury on Saturday. He is expected to make a full recovery."

There are some post-FS quotes in this Nationals wrap-up article (scroll down to the last section titled "Rippon likes training 'up the mountain'"): http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news
Excerpts:

While Rippon enjoyed his tenure in Detroit, he gives credit to Arutunian for added consistency in his triple Axel, as well as his other jumps.

"I feel like I got a really late start to this season and I had a long way to go to get to where I was today," he said after his free skate ... "I definitely feel I'm on a really good track, especially heading into the Olympic season. I'm really happy with the decisions I made."
...

Rippon has yet to land a clean quadruple jump in competition, and that's a priority for him and Arutunian.

"It was up in the air if I was going to try it [in Omaha] or not," he said. "The toe and the Salchow have been going well, but I feel like I'm getting in better shape, so it would be nice if I could get the Lutz going again. I'm looking forward to getting down to work."

[DarrellH]

Dear Stephen:

Your resolution to read a book a week this year is admirable; however, Les Miserables and Anna Karenina will slow down your pace drastically. I wouldn't recommend adding in, say, War and Peace or The Brothers Karamazov either. Just so you know.

Fellow lover of classic literature,

LilJen

Perhaps he could average it out by adding Jonathan Livingston Seagull, or something like that.

I think these men have to look at what the landscape will be after the coming Olympics. Abbott will be gone, and perhaps a few more. They have to consider whether or mot it would be a good time to stay another year or two.