Mark Mitchell: "Why would they come back to the rink?"

[Flip Jump]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ontroversy-ross-miner-adam-rippon/1011464001/
The first article I have seen with quotes from Mark Mitchell. He seems so distraught and rightfully so. It brings up a good point about where we go from here considering it seems the BOW clause is not going anywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsS353V-tGo
I also found this cute video showing the interactions of Mark & Ross. Skating is not just a sport or a job, it is a life and I think we all need to remember that.

 

[mag]

Mitchell has a really good point. In 2014 Ashley had a chance at an individual medal, she was a two time national champ, and I believe a two time GPF Medalist. She also was top five at worlds the previous year, yes? She was also in 4th right behind Mirai. Ross was in second! Adam has no more of a chance at an Olympic medal than Ross. And then to not even give Ross 4CC’s, this is beyond reason.

 

[caseyedwards]

Excellent question! Why indeed. Everyone must know that if you don’t get to the spot where you get two gp events and don’t medal or lose the ability to get two gp assignments you are finushed! Might as well retire!

 

[Sylvia]

And then to not even give Ross 4CC’s, this is beyond reason.

Ross has been assigned to 4CC with Jason and Max.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ontroversy-ross-miner-adam-rippon/1011464001/
The first article I have seen with quotes from Mark Mitchell. He seems so distraught and rightfully so. It brings up a good point about where we go from here considering it seems the BOW clause is not going anywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsS353V-tGo
I also found this cute video showing the interactions of Mark & Ross. Skating is not just a sport or a job, it is a life and I think we all need to remember that.

I feel so sad for Mark.
Having attended the 1992 US Championships in person, he really out-skated everyone, and should have been the national champion that year.

Wylie was great in practice, but a nervous wreck in the short and the free, and was lucky to be even fourth after the short program in Orlando. It wasn't as though he was a reliable international competitor, having barely made the free skate in Munich, either.

 

[BlueRidge]

I think Mark Mitchell should quit coaching as he is not conducting himself like a professional. When the coach is putting himself ahead of his students and making it about himself like this, it is time for him to do something else.

 

[wickedwitch]

I totally get that Mark is mad, and he has every right to be. However, as a coach, he needs to be helping Ross get through this and accept this decision. I don't see how this is helping.

 

[Carolla5501]

If they had pulled this BOW up out of the blue this week then yes Mark has a case for being upset, but... it's been known and Mark was with Ross at Skate America too...

Personally I would understand if Ross, Max, Ashley etc... said "no thinks' to 4 CC and skated off to retirement, but if they want to compete again it's an opportunity or if they want to stay in then they need to show up at 4 CC (see Mirai for an example of WHY you keep competing)

 

[vesperholly]

Personally I would understand if Ross, Max, Ashley etc... said "no thinks' to 4 CC and skated off to retirement, but if they want to compete again it's an opportunity or if they want to stay in then they need to show up at 4 CC (see Mirai for an example of WHY you keep competing)

Agreed, but as alternates to the Olympic and World teams, they better keep training or withdraw from alternate status as well. I remember when Angela Nikodinov, as the 2nd alternate to the 1998 Worlds, jetted off to Bulgaria instead of training. Well, wouldn't you know that both Tara and Nicole WD and where was Angela??

The US only ended up sending two ladies that year. Kind of a huge bummer since 6th place at Nats finisher Amber Corwin would've been the 3rd alternate and she never did end up on a World team. I wonder if they didn't name 3 alternates.

 

[Carolla5501]

I would think that at least one alternate makes the World team either due to injury or "I won a medal and I am taking time off"

 

[morqet]

Entirely valid points, well made and I'm glad he's speaking up, because ultimately it's for the benefit of all the competitors. There's nothing wrong with including the performance over the whole season as part of the selection process, but the selection guidelines are written at the moment to give the selection committee as much flexibility as possible. The guidelines mention the other events that are taken into consideration, but it's not clear either through what's written or their application how much weight is given to the different tiers - is a medal in a tier 1 event twice as important as in a tier 2 one, and are they looking at placements, or scores, etc etc. That just backfires in situations like this because it looks like it can be twisted in any way to get the team that TPTB want. That would be massively demotivating for a skater who hasn't had the championship experience to build up a big record of competition successes, or who has gone through a rocky season.

To avoid these controversies in the future, and more importantly to be fair to the athletes, if they are factoring in performances from other events they need to have much firmer rules about what weight is given to different events and apply it evenly across all disciplines. Japan does this and consequently every skater goes into Nationals where they have to finish in relation to others to make the team because the selection process is much more transparent.

 

[Anita18]

I feel bad for Mark, but um, using competitive track record (I swear if I see “BOW” again...) means that you show up and do your best to place at every competition you go to. That’s true sportsmanship, not banking on a single competition to make up for years of meh.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

So heart-broken for Mark and Peter. I know some of his younger skaters personally. Their whole training methods are designed to get their skaters to peak at nationals. A whole generation of coaches studied periodization techniques and the body of work bs rewards skaters that peak early or the year before. 1 month before the olympics, you pick who is in shape under pressure. You reward results in a low-pressure environments where some skaters use the GP as a warm-up.

Ross is such an old-school soul that does not get into the social media craziness. Adam's comments and cockiness is what bothers me the most here. The skating club of Boston or Ross mom were definitely not in the room where it happened.

 

[MAXSwagg]

Ashley had a chance for a medal where? Olympics? If so, I’m sorry but anyone who thought that was delusional.

The selection was correct. How can you suddenly be upset when you just happen to get lucky one time at Nationals while showing absolutely nothing significant internationally?

 

[Carolla5501]

So heart-broken for Mark and Peter. I know some of his younger skaters personally. Their whole training methods are designed to get their skaters to peak at nationals. A whole generation of coaches studied periodization techniques and the body of work bs rewards skaters that peak early or the year before. 1 month before the olympics, you pick who is in shape under pressure. You reward results in a low-pressure environments where some skaters use the GP as a warm-up.

Ross is such an old-school soul that does not get into the social media craziness. Adam's comments and cockiness is what bothers me the most here. The skating club of Boston or Ross mom were definitely not in the room where it happened.

Then maybe the coaches should have thought about changing their training methods to meet the new rules. That's just not smart to assume "even though they say they will consider everything you did the last year we will only do a good job at Nationals".

And to be honest, I have never been that impressed with how their skaters do at Nationals. Maybe a little more "pressure" before Nationals would help?

 

[jiejie]

So heart-broken for Mark and Peter. I know some of his younger skaters personally. Their whole training methods are designed to get their skaters to peak at nationals. A whole generation of coaches studied periodization techniques and the body of work bs rewards skaters that peak early or the year before. 1 month before the olympics, you pick who is in shape under pressure. You reward results in a low-pressure environments where some skaters use the GP as a warm-up.

And maybe that is the crux of their problem. They are using 20th century tactics in a 21st century game that has shifted on them.

 

[vesperholly]

Ross is such an old-school soul that does not get into the social media craziness. Adam's comments and cockiness is what bothers me the most here. The skating club of Boston or Ross mom were definitely not in the room where it happened.

Adam's schtick is sassy and confident. It works for him since he's skated really well all season and last season until the injury, too. He has been pretty humble in everything that he's said and done since coming in 4th and being named to the team over Ross. It's also neither here nor there that Ross doesn't do social media and Adam does.

I think they are both hard-working, quality guys with very, very different personalities. By all accounts, all the top US guys (especially the old guard) get along really well.

 

[OnyxRose81]

One competition does not mean that you should go to Olympics or Worlds. So, that means the summer competitions, the Senior Bs, the Grand Prix...does that not matter? Because that seems to be what MM, Ross and certain fans and media are trying to say. Adam showed up for the season but for the last few moments of his free. I don't know if he just had a lapse in concentration but he did his job during the rest of the season.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

And maybe that is the crux of their problem. They are using 20th century tactics in a 21st century game that has shifted on them.

Tom Z, Frank C,..they all used the same strategy. Tom Z got Mirai to peak at the right time. The 3A work was genious and rewarded. Mirai's body of work during the GP season was not good at all.
In skating, you can't peak all-season long, especially in the senior ranks.
I am not saying that Mark and Peter are perfect coaches...(I have criticized some of their jumping technique in the past).
If you go the body of work route, you might as well hire Didier. That's his favorite hobby.

 

[jiejie]

Tom Z, Frank C,..they all used the same strategy. Tom Z got Mirai to peak at the right time. The 3A work was genious and rewarded. Mirai's body of work during the GP season was not good at all.
In skating, you can't peak all-season long, especially in the senior ranks.
I am not saying that Mark and Peter are perfect coaches...(I have criticized some of their jumping technique in the past).
If you go the body of work route, you might as well hire Didier. That's his favorite hobby.

Maybe you are inadvertently helping proving my point. Frank C's skaters have not been wildly successful lately. As for Tom Z and Mirai--I like Mirai and give her kudos for how far she's come under Tom Z's guidance....but make no mistake about it, the Nationals judging panel was very nice to her. We are about to find out whether the international judges will be equally willing to overlook UR's and comparatively bland-to-average PCS components.

As for not being able to peak all season long---May I present....Miss Alina Zagitova. Proving that it IS humanly possible to do so.

As for your last comment invoking Didier--that's just so wrong and misguided that I have few words. You're basically equating body of work with corruption, and I take extreme issue with that.

 

[Vagabond]

I think Mark Mitchell should quit coaching as he is not conducting himself like a professional. When the coach is putting himself ahead of his students and making it about himself like this, it is time for him to do something else.

According to posts in other threads here, he has quit coaching, or at least announced on Facebook that he is doing so. Satisfied?

 

[Firedancer]

In the article they make it sound as if they did not know BOW was the criteria for selection and that is simply not true. It was made clear in one of the press conferences that all of the skaters were provided the criteria well in advance. And Adam talked about going through the criteria to figure out what he needed to do to make it. That was smart.

Doing well at one competition in a couple years should not earn you a trip to the Olympics and Worlds over someone who has consistently performed well.

 

[her grace]

Where is this myth that Nagasu has a bad BOW coming from?

She's the reigning 4CC bronze medalist from a 4CC that was fully attended by Canada and Japan. She finished 2nd at her senior B over Chen and IIRC Bell. She had one bad GP in Russia. She finished 4th in a stacked field at NHK and has the second-best SB score of the Americans this season.

 

[BlueRidge]

According to posts in other threads here, he has quit coaching, or at least announced on Facebook that he is doing so. Satisfied?

He said he would quit. I'm encouraging him to stick with that. When you cannot act professionally in your chosen field, it is time to look for another one.

OTOH, he doesn't know I exist and wouldn't care what I think if he did so I'm not really going to worry about what he does.

 

[jiejie]

Where is this myth that Nagasu has a bad BOW coming from?

She's the reigning 4CC bronze medalist from a 4CC that was fully attended by Canada and Japan. She finished 2nd at her senior B over Chen and IIRC Bell. She had one bad GP in Russia. She finished 4th in a stacked field at NHK and has the second-best SB score of the Americans this season.

I believe this view is only coming from poster @kirkbiggestfan, a few posts above.

 

[jlai]

Can't say for men, but in ladies they can't peak at nationals anymore. The Russian girls ace every event and build up momentum and pcs throughout the season.

So to beat them, you have to do the same.

 

[Anita18]

Tom Z, Frank C,..they all used the same strategy. Tom Z got Mirai to peak at the right time. The 3A work was genious and rewarded. Mirai's body of work during the GP season was not good at all.
In skating, you can't peak all-season long, especially in the senior ranks.
I am not saying that Mark and Peter are perfect coaches...(I have criticized some of their jumping technique in the past).
If you go the body of work route, you might as well hire Didier. That's his favorite hobby.

I know skaters have always tried to peak later in the season, but it still isn’t an excuse to be complacent. Peaking means you pull out your biggest jumps at Nationals and Worlds. That’s what Mirai did. It’s (presumably) what Nathan did. (I didn’t follow the GP, but I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t been doing 5 quads in his LP all season.)

It doesn’t mean you’re ok with 8th place at an earlier competition, or a competition that “doesn’t matter.”

 

[Vagabond]

OTOH, he doesn't know I exist and wouldn't care what I think if he did so I'm not really going to worry about what he does.

He strikes me as one of those prominent figure skating people who lurk here, so maybe he knows you under your nom de plume.

 

[BlueRidge]

He strikes me as one of those prominent figure skating people who lurk here, so maybe he knows you under your nom de plume.

If so, Hi Mark! I don't think you should conduct yourself this way. *waves*

 

[eurodance2001]

I think Mark Mitchell should quit coaching as he is not conducting himself like a professional. When the coach is putting himself ahead of his students and making it about himself like this, it is time for him to do something else.

He's reminding me of how Tom Forrester conducted himself at the 1996 Gymnastics Olympic Trials.. Not good..