Chantastic....the return of Patrick

arakwafan2006

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Patrick of all the top men is my favorite. If you've ever met him in person ( he will smile and talk to you no matter who you are) you will love him more. That said, my no BS hope is that he either ditches his dance coach and goes to a High level Freestyle coach or keeps her on his team but make her second in charge to my first suggestion. I really wish Frank Carrol had an opening because Patrick has the discipline and confidence that a Carrol skater needs but Frank has the experience to have Patrick competition ready. Arutunian has a full house and frankly Chan doesn't need a " surgeon" of a coach. Anyhow, he needs an experienced skating coach and he needs one fast. While i respect and understand that Kathy helped him with the quad toe, Patrick has not improved technically in years and has what I would label as endless capability.
 

Japanfan

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Patrick of all the top men is my favorite. . .That said, my no BS hope is that he either ditches his dance coach and goes to a High level Freestyle coach or keeps her on his team but make her second in charge to my first suggestion . . . Anyhow, he needs an experienced skating coach and he needs one fast. While i respect and understand that Kathy helped him with the quad toe, Patrick has not improved technically in years and has what I would label as endless capability.

Don't hold your breath waiting. Patrick has not expressed any interest in getting a technical coach and has actually made it clear that he's not coming back to land jumps or win titles - he just wants to expand his artistic range.

So, expect flawed 3As and falls on footwork etc. from Patrick as per usual. If he pulls out a clean performance or two, I'll consider myself surprised.

But he's my favourite man as well. The men's field is otherwise a bit lacking IMO. I can't really get behind Fernadez or Hanyu. Ten is enjoyable, but I'm still waiting for something akin to brilliance from he, he seems to come close but then always miss the mark.

Maybe some of the youngsters like Una and Nam will up their game this year and revitalize the field.
 
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I got a chance to speak to Patrick (briefly!) this past May. I told him that I just wanted him to be happy this upcoming year. I don't think he got what I was saying to him and I wished that I had the time to fully explain myself. In essence, I wanted him to skate for himself, free from the expectations of his fans (esp. Canadian). I also wanted him to ignore his many haters and detractors. I think both issues have weighed heavily on him in the last few seasons leading up to Sochi.

I've had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Patrick on three occasions '12 (fundraiser), '14 (CSOI pre-show meet & greet) and '15 (CSOI pre-show). He has a different persona in person than on tv. In person, he is more reserved, self-assured (I find in tv interviews he has a deer in the headlights look) and in every instance I found that he actually tries to absorb what the other person is saying to him. I like him very much as a person.

Four weeks ago, I responded to a poster on this board who referred to Patrick as "tactless, hypocritical, arrogant, snide, misinformed and uninformed". I'm saddened for his ignorance but I am also angry for the spreading and perpetuating of this view. Patrick's detractors didn't see what I saw in May. He was the only SOI cast member that went up in the stands to interact with the fans. Accompanied by arena security he spent approx 1/2 hr signing autographs and posing for pictures pre-show. I really feel that he respects and appreciates his fans.

As his fan I want him to kick-butt this year. As a figure skating fan I just want to enjoy his incredible skating skills but above all I just want him to be happy.

I had posted this in "Early prediction of Chan's finish at worlds" and I thought it would be appropriate to re-post it here.

Adding to the discussion about Patrick's skating skills, when I first saw Patrick's Dear Prudence/Blackbird number on a YT video I was really disappointed. However, when I saw it live at SOI I was blown away - the skating skills in it was amazing. There's glide and then there's G-L-I-D-E!
 

kwanoverrated

Banned Member
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Don't hold your breath waiting. Patrick has not expressed any interest in getting a technical coach and has actually made it clear that he's not coming back to land jumps or win titles - he just wants to expand his artistic range.

So, expect flawed 3As and falls on footwork etc. from Patrick as per usual. If he pulls out a clean performance or two, I'll consider myself surprised.

But he's my favourite man as well. The men's field is otherwise a bit lacking IMO. I can't really get behind Fernadez or Hanyu. Ten is enjoyable, but I'm still waiting for something akin to brilliance from he, he seems to come close but then always miss the mark.

Maybe some of the youngsters like Una and Nam will up their game this year and revitalize the field.

The first part sounds more like pro skating thinking than amateur. I mean nothing wrong with wanting to expand artistically as an amateur, but the goal should be to master the technical side and win medals too.

I thought Ten demonstrated that brilliance you speak of at Four Continents, but I am waiting for him to do in a world or Olympic event. Even in 2013, while I think he was robbed of the gold, he didn't quite do it.
 
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Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
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Don't hold your breath waiting. Patrick has not expressed any interest in getting a technical coach and has actually made it clear that he's not coming back to land jumps or win titles - he just wants to expand his artistic range.

So, expect flawed 3As and falls on footwork etc. from Patrick as per usual. If he pulls out a clean performance or two, I'll consider myself surprised.

But he's my favourite man as well. The men's field is otherwise a bit lacking IMO. I can't really get behind Fernadez or Hanyu. Ten is enjoyable, but I'm still waiting for something akin to brilliance from he, he seems to come close but then always miss the mark.

Maybe some of the youngsters like Una and Nam will up their game this year and revitalize the field.

May be he is tired of competing and working on jumps just to win medals. It probably took away from him his enjoyment of skating. He already has multiple world titles (3 or 4?) and an Olympic silver medal. May be he wants to compete for the love of skating since there is no real pro scene anymore. Serious pro competitions would have been a great vehicle for Patrick. So I see nothing wrong in him exploring his artistic range while remaining eligible and he is sure to collect some medals in the process. We just don't know which ones. If other skaters make mistakes, he could even win another worlds or Canada's first OGM in mens discipline (although right now it sounds like a long shot unless he becomes consistent in his jumps).

I like Hanyu a lot, and I may like the younger skaters as they develop. I never warmed up to Fernandez; it has mostly to do with his style and his inconsistency. I like Denis Ten only when he skates clean or nearly clean. He has been too inconsistent. I think Patrick still has a chance of winning but it won't be as easy as it was in the past.
 

bardtoob

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14,559
Alas, I do not like watching technically flawed dancing, even if it is artistically brilliant, anymore than I like watching technically flawed skating.

I watch both in hopes of seeing inspired otherworldly perfection.
 

puglover

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I know Patrick is still being coached by Kathy Johnson - does anyone know - does he still train in Detroit? I am very excited to see him live again. He is my favourite as well.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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79,976
For Patrick Chan, coming back was ‘the hardest decision’
After 3 world championships, 2 Olympic silver medals and 7 national titles, what keeps Patrick Chan coming back?
Patrick Chan, as told to Pj Kwong for CBC Sports (Oct. 22, 2015)
http://www.cbc.ca/playersvoice/entry/patrick-chan-choosing-to-compete-again-was-the-hardest-decision
There was one moment when I thought, "It's too much!" It was after coming back from doing my last show in Japan, and it was time to really buckle down and start running through sections, and connecting the little dots of the programs. It was the week before [Kathy came to Detroit], and I called her in panic mode, being like, “Why am I doing this? I shouldn’t even be coming back. This is so stupid, I’m so frustrated. I don’t even know why I’ve considered coming back, I should have just let it go.”

Skate Canada preview article by Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press:
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/three-time-world-champ-patrick-chan-faces-hanyu-184657495--oly.html
 
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luckiest1

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1,579
Here's one that Patrick retweeted last night:
Why Patrick Chan is competing again
Life knocked him around a little; in December of 2014 a long-term relationship ended. “There’s nothing worse than holiday time to realize how alone you are. During Christmas and over my birthday I had times where I felt very much alone and very much lost,” said Chan, born on New Year’s Eve.
I was not aware of this...

This one is the fluff piece CBC showed during the Skate America coverage last weekend:
The Road Back
 
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puglover

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2,728
Just a bit of an observation from watching Patrick and Kathy Johnson in practice today. She is very animated - much more demonstrative then most or all of the other coaches at the boards.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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79,976
Chan returns to skating with a ‘clean slate’
Former Canadian champ opts to eliminate weekend training sessions

BY LORI EWING, THE CANADIAN PRESS OCTOBER 29, 2015 11:21 PM
http://www.canada.com/sports/chan+returns+skating+with+clean+slate/11478624/story.html (includes video of practices and mixed zone interviews with Nam and Chan at September's High Performance Camp)

Excerpts:
Chan’s practice [on Thursday] was solid. He doubled his planned quad jump in his program run-through, but went through that segment again, landing a beautiful quad-triple combination.
Among the changes the 24-year-old has made: no training on weekends.

“Just skate Monday to Friday, and really give it every day of the week 100 per cent and not have to dread skating on weekends and feeling tired from one week to the next. Now I feel rested and motivated and energized when I get to the rink on Monday,” Chan said Thursday.
 
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luckiest1

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From 4rkidz in the practice thread:
just watched Patrick do his Mack the Life and put him back in first - wow his quad triple combo was a thing of beauty and the footwork his whole body is in it

I've been streaming all morning just fine but of course when Patrick went to skate his program it froze. Argh.
 
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Patrick's practice SP just finished: http://youtu.be/myXhHr-1es4

From 4rkidz in the practice thread:
just watched Patrick do his Mack the Life and put him back in first - wow his quad triple combo was a thing of beauty and the footwork his whole body is in it

I've been streaming all morning just fine but of course when Patrick went to skate his program it froze. Argh.
I'm probably in the minority here, but after seeing this (esp. that perfect, beautiful quad combo) I don't really care about the final results this weekend. I'm thinking of Patrick's comeback as a marathon and not a sprint. Imo, his priority should be to get back into competition mode and less about results.
 

Debrah

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IMO Chan still has the best skating skills in the world, he has certainly grown as a performer artistically speaking, we just have to be patient and wait for him to shake off the jump rust and get back into top competitive form. He can easily stay on/or very close to podium internationally even at 1/2 of his potential. I think it's smart of him to let all the others kill themselves jumping different Quads this year so he can be primo ready and injury free for OLY season....I think he can win the sp if he goes clean, it will be his freeskate that may have Hanyu with all his quads climb above him...
 
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bardtoob

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14,559
Just a bit of an observation from watching Patrick and Kathy Johnson in practice today. She is very animated - much more demonstrative then most or all of the other coaches at the boards.

She uses a lot more positive reinforcement than most figure skating coaches I have seen.
 
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Rock2

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3,725
She uses a lot more of positive reinforcement than most figure skating coaches I have seen.

Well...I legit wonder what else she can bring to the table...besides pom-poms??

I'm expecting something slightly better than a disaster for Patrick at SC, with the ensuing debates about whether it made sense for him to return. My very uninformed opinion is that he's happy to skate, less happy to train and compete. He might need a crisis of commitment to get to that last level and the GP might end up creating that for him...so that he cobbles together enough content in time to make the podium in Boston.

For now that's how I see it playing out.
 

screech

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7,409
Did anyone else notice his 3A is placed very differently now - I don't know if the newer set-up works for him.

His quad and other triples aren't (usually) much of a problem for him, but I'd love to see him spend a bit of time with Ilia Kulik to work on the 3A. Love his program, though!
 

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