U.S. Men in 2017 - articles & latest news

[VGThuy]

Nathan is still young and has many lessons to learn for himself, much like last season’s weirdness with Raf and Marina.

 

[Rock2]

I think that Adam has made as good of a case as he can, from a "body of work" standpoint.

....or at least a "work that body" standpoint....

 

[shine]

Nathan seems a bit impulsive at times in trying to meet his ambitious goals.

It was so strange today to see him try to reel out quads in the last third of the program to make up for the mistakes and kind of abandon the program a bit. It was a bit disappointing given all the chatter of his work with Lori. Jason/Adam may be at an disadvantage with their technical content but neither of them abandons programs/choreography/performance when there are mistakes.

It's true he kind of stopped presenting, but all the jumps he did were planned.

 

[Mrs. P]

It's true he kind of stopped presenting, but all the jumps he did were planned.

My mistake then. It did have that frantic feeling though. Regardless, it did seem he defaulted to hitting jumps mode, which made it a bit unpleasant to watch.

 

[mollymgr]

It is better to have a bad skate early on and get that experience.

 

[olympic]

Rafael giving answers about Nathan???
http://www.icenetwork.com/news/2017...falls-to-earth-still-wins-skate-america-crown

If you consider what occurred at Skate America and put it into context of his interview, RA uses broad terms and just seemed to indicate that Nathan is now dealing with issues that any elite skater has dealt with - struggles with confidence after a mini-meltdown (which Nathan has never dealt with before), realizing that he is not invincible, and the maturity to learn how to guard against aggravating injuries by backing off now and then. If Nathan is driven as has been suggested upthread, there may be a power struggle at practice that occurs more frequently than we realize: RA often getting stern w/ his pupil which we don't see. It's all speculation.

For me, RA's use of the word 'private' meant something serious. The word pricked up my ears. However, It may not mean anything to RA who speaks English as a 2nd language, other than 'we are working on mundane things [relating to one another in practice] that I don't want to share w/ the press.'

I really think I'm going to be hospitalized for mental exhaustion after the Olympics. I need a new hobby.

 

[hoptoad]

Can someone fill me in on what Derrick Delmore is doing these days?

I was surprised to see him in the K&C with Adam. Isn't Raf still his primary coach? Does Delmore coach in the same rink as Raf? Who else is he coaching?

I think it makes a lot of sense for Adam to have someone other than Raf with him at competitions where Nathan is also competing.

 

[Mrs. P]

Can someone fill me in on what Derrick Delmore is doing these days?

I was surprised to see him in the K&C with Adam. Isn't Raf still his primary coach? Does Delmore coach in the same rink as Raf? Who else is he coaching?

I think it makes a lot of sense for Adam to have someone other than Raf with him at competitions where Nathan is also competing.

He's part of Raf's coaching team at Lakewood for some time, but he also serves as a primary coach for other skaters, namely Starr Andrews.

 

[hoptoad]

Thanks! It was good to see him in the K&C. May we see more of him with Starr and others!

 

[OnyxRose81]

Barring injuries, I think the Olympic team will be Nathan, Adam, and Max or Jason. Since Jadon was at the last Olympics, I’d be happy with Max going.

Same. If everything goes according to plan, two of the spots will be Nathan and Adam and anyone who is telling themselves differently is fooling themselves. The next spot will be between Max and Jason.

 

[olympic]

I want to emphasize that I firmly believe Max is in the equation but he will have to beat Adam and Jason at Nationals to make the team. He has a Little less wiggle room though

 

[kwanfan1818]

There are plenty of skaters who were/are supposed to come in and clean up due to weaker fields, and they didn't/don't, or where they are/were leading after the short, and falter(ed) in the FS, and not when they are primarily short program skaters.

 

[Xela M]

Your list doesn't look right to me @Willin - Max got 261 at Salt Lake City and Jason had a 259 at Lombardia I thought. Or are you just looking at GP scores on that list?

So Adam ended up at the events where Hanyu and Chan both withdrew, then Boyang Jin was injured and off his game and two skaters withdrew mid-event from injury. Boy should buy himself a lottery ticket.

....or at least a "work that body" standpoint....

Dave Lease did say that Adam was into "The Secret"

 

[acraven]

On the IceNetwork "Ice Desk" program, they just mentioned that Nathan scored a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT. Why am I not surprised?

 

[VGThuy]

On the IceNetwork "Ice Desk" program, they just mentioned that Nathan scored a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT. Why am I not surprised?

Of course he did...skaters sure can be a different breed and Nathan would be someone who would achieve that.

 

[el henry]

Am I the only person in the world here who is not giving Raf a pass?

Is anything *ever* Raf's fault? Does he ever look in the mirror and say, maybe I could have handled that better?

Maybe not, and maybe no one cares, but I don't think every single problem on Raf's watch is due to Nathan's teenage exuberance, Ashley eating muffins, and Mariah being too old to be married in Armenia.

I generally like his shtick, and I think he's funny, but I don't buy his shtick. Not for everything......

 

[Seerek]

He's part of Raf's coaching team at Lakewood for some time, but he also serves as a primary coach for other skaters, namely Starr Andrews.

Plus Derrick Delmore's been doing quite a bit of choreography for the Junior skaters from Team USA (Starr and Ting Cui), and South East Asia (Kai Xiang Chew among others).

 

[kwanfan1818]

Delmore was such a musically sensitive and expressive skater: I'm not surprised he's a choreographer.

As long as he doesn't pass on Shirley Hughes' jumping technique, his students should thrive.

 

[Mrs. P]

Delmore was such a musically sensitive and expressive skater: I'm not surprised he's a choreographer.

As long as he doesn't pass on Shirley Hughes' jumping technique, his students should thrive.

I really been impressed with his programs for Starr!

Anyway, I don't know much about him on Team Raf, other than he's on it -- anyone got a sense of what he does or if he specializes in anything?

 

[MAXSwagg]

Am I the only person in the world here who is not giving Raf a pass?

Is anything *ever* Raf's fault? Does he ever look in the mirror and say, maybe I could have handled that better?

Maybe not, and maybe no one cares, but I don't think every single problem on Raf's watch is due to Nathan's teenage exuberance, Ashley eating muffins, and Mariah being too old to be married in Armenia.

I generally like his shtick, and I think he's funny, but I don't buy his shtick. Not for everything......

He has taken responsibility once (albeit after the fact), saying he shouldn’t have fired Mao. Otherwise, no. He doesn’t.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Am I the only person in the world here who is not giving Raf a pass?

Im glad I am not Raf ATM. All 3 of his students here have some sort of issues and concerns. Hope all are well and are healthy and have good equipment.

 

[Xela M]

Im glad I am not Raf ATM. All 3 of his students here have some sort of issues and concerns. Hope all are well and are healthy and have good equipment.

Except Adam who has somehow turned into a superstar

 

[jlai]

Yesterday when I was flipping channels (I am not in the US now), I stumbled upon a Chinese TV show called "Celebrity Face to Face", and guess who the featured guest is -- Vincent Zhou! I think they did the show around the time of Cup of China.
Vincent explained the jumps extensively. Turned out he spoke really good Chinese (and the host could tell his family was from Beijing from the way he said things). He switched back to English later in the show.
As far as I remember, they said his parents graduated from Chinghua University and then moved to Silicon Valley. Mom quit her high paying job to help Vincent Zhou with his skating career. During competitions, she preferred to sit by herself.
At a young age, Vincent was told to choose between skating and football (I took that to mean soccer); he chose skating. His mom is still cooking for him and he loves his mom's cooking. He was inspired by Boitano in 1988.
The show showed clips of his practices 2 days before the beginning of Cup of China. He fell a lot, pulled some muscles and had to see a Dr. Chen. The doctor even came to practice to check on him!
The show also showed clips of his relatives in China, including his grandfather, meeting him at the competition for a family gathering.
They mentioned his GP results this season and then talked about his blog post reflecting on his less than satisfactory experience (already mentioned here). He also recited an English poem he composed at the end.

 

[olympic]

Im glad I am not Raf ATM. All 3 of his students here have some sort of issues and concerns. Hope all are well and are healthy and have good equipment.

Nathan was interviewed post-competition regarding the poor LP and he spoke about the blade issue with no mention of injuries, so I have to assume that he is reasonably healthy and ready to roll physically. Adam tweeted that he was ready for Nagoya just after the competition, so again I just assume there aren't any serious health concerns. There were rumors on the board about Jason after his poor showing at NHK, but AFAIK, he's OK.

BTW, I assume both skated in the gala. Did they look OK? Sometimes, the gala skate is an indicator [or withdrawal from the gala] of an injury.

 

[ChelleC]

BTW, I assume both skated in the gala. Did they look OK? Sometimes, the gala skate is an indicator [or withdrawal from the gala] of an injury.

Adam withdrew from the gala. Nathan looked okay in the gala, at least in the part of his program I watched.

 

[Interludes]

Nathan actually did a good quad toe in the exhibition (Some kids never learn....)

And yeah, Nathan actually had really good practices at Skate Am so I am not inclined to think he is injured.

 

[Firedancer]

Adam did not skate in the gala, citing injury, but spoke and stated he planned to leave for the GPF next week.

Nathan did perform and I thought he was fantastic. He did not look hurt at all....including the 4T. Being in the arena, I thought Nathan was clearly on another level than all the other guys in the SP. He actually performed a complete program. The morning of the FS, in practice he was clearly trying to work out his blade issues. He did pop some jumps but was able to land everything. In addition to his blade issues, the whole energy in the building was weird once Samohin got hurt. I think he will fine and just needed to work out his blade issues. Better SA than at the Olympics.

 

[Bellanca]

Everything is magnified this time of the year. Someone has a cough or a sneeze, and there is a concern in the air. Injuries are no joke, but I think ‘mental’ injuries, aka nerves, in the case of the men, are coming into play, big time, especially in an Olympic year.

Unfortunately, every Olympic season athletes push too hard and untimely, crazy things do happen. Let’s stay positive and hope the U.S.A. men are in fine form and ready to roll @ Nationals. It’s going to be one heck of a show! The marquee event, IMHO!

I do agree that the men’s event @ Skate America was a … Nonetheless, congrats to Nathan and Adam!

 

[Xela M]

Am I the only person in the world here who is not giving Raf a pass?

Is anything *ever* Raf's fault? Does he ever look in the mirror and say, maybe I could have handled that better?

Maybe not, and maybe no one cares, but I don't think every single problem on Raf's watch is due to Nathan's teenage exuberance, Ashley eating muffins, and Mariah being too old to be married in Armenia.

I generally like his shtick, and I think he's funny, but I don't buy his shtick. Not for everything......

I think Raf should rethink who he sits next to in the KNC Adam seems to be his only safe bet at the moment

 

[VGThuy]

I know Nathan underperformed in the LP, but is Nathan less of a safe bet?