Patrick Chan Relocating to Train in Vancouver (with plans to open training center there in 2018)

[Sylvia]

Press release today: https://skatecanada.ca/2016/05/patrick-chan-relocating-to-train-in-vancouver/

OTTAWA, ON: Three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., has announced that he will relocate to Vancouver, B.C., this summer. Chan will continue to be coached by Kathy Johnson at the Champs International Skating Centre located in Burnaby, B.C.
Johnson has been Chan’s head coach since 2012. They will both make the move from Detroit to Vancouver in July.

ETA:

A few extra quotes in Rosie DiManno's short article: https://www.thestar.com/sports/skat...-returning-to-vancouver-to-train-dimanno.html

“The next two years are going to be crucial. Kathy and I wanted to go someplace where I could start over. And have a life outside of figure skating, outside the competitive world.’’
Vancouver fits the bill. Chan will be moving there in July, training out of the Burnaby 8 Rinks, whence notable coach Joanne McLeod has been churning out elite skaters for many years. She won’t have hands-on with Chan, however. “Maybe if I can benefit from that, it’s a possibility. It’s always going to be up to Kathy. She’s the boss at the end of the day.’’

“When I first moved there [Detroit SC], it was great. There was a really big single discipline presence. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s really disappeared.’’
... “I trained all last season on my own.’’

 

[Xela M]

Who else is coaching there? Does that mean Patrick is intending to get a real coach next to Kathy or is it more of the same?

 

[fan]

It appears as if he will still have the same (fake) coach. :0)

 

[princeton123]

Yeah, that's not the change he needed to make...

 

[Jammers]

Moving isn't going to get the job done if he's bringing his coach with him.

 

[Timmay]

Hopefully the ice is up to his majesty's liking and not like at Worlds

 

[peibeck]

All this press release needed was him saying he'd have a jazzy short and a classical long to have a "the more things change, the more they stay the same" story.

 

[Sylvia]

Lori Ewing's article: Three-time world champion Patrick Chan to open skating school in Vancouver

“I’m 25, so I have to start looking at: what I want to do after my competitive career, beyond shows, beyond “Stars on Ice?” Where do I want to live? Where do I want to buy my first house?” Chan said. <snip>
“How I can incorporate skating in what I do and what she [Kathy Johnson] does, her theory of movement …” Chan said from Kelowna, where he’s appearing in a “Stars on Ice” show. “Combining both of those I think we can create one of the best programs ever for a figure skater.
“I’ve had so many years of experience watching and understanding how coaching works in figure skating, and I think there’s a lack of theory in figure skating. That’s a great opportunity for Kathy and I to break ground and start something totally different. I think Kathy and I can create something special.”

May 2015 press release about Chan's involvement with The Drummond Club in Richmond, BC: http://www.marketwired.com/press-re...skating-school-coming-richmond-bc-2022374.htm
(I've edited the thread title to add his training center plans.)

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

He is going to make a lot of money as a coach! Skaters will fly from all over the world to get skating lessons with him.

 

[kylet3]

I opened this thread wondering if Patrick was going to have a new coach, but that doesn't appear to be the case. That's awesome of him to give back and open that skating school. He should have much success with it.

 

[caseyedwards]

Kathy Johnsons no coach and that's a problem

 

[Sonata]

I wasn't thrilled to read that he's staying with Kathy Johnson and going into business with her means he's not leaving her. HOWEVER, after thinking about it, the thought of having Patrick Chan teach a new generation of skaters the skating skills that Osborn Colson taught him is very exciting.

 

[LilJen]

Ha, still the modern dance coach. . . and the fantastic technique of McLeod out there for him to tell his students, "That is what NOT to do. That is WRONG."

I still think he needs a real technical coach, but if he can pass on any of his blade mastery to a new generation, then yay.

 

[centerpt1]

And here I thought he wanted to go into banking or finance. I wonder what changed his mind.

 

[Lanie]

Oh Patrick, please get a real coach! I love his skating so much so it's disappointing to see him with someone who isn't even a real coach with no skating background (am I right with Kathy? no skating background?).

 

[Andofanatic]

I am not a huge fan of Kathy Johnson as a coach but when he can produce skates like his 4CCs LP on a good day why would he feel he needs to leave her?

 

[overedge]

[McLeod] won’t have hands-on with Chan, however.

Anyone want to bet how long the hands-off is going to last?

 

[Anemone]

Whatever one thinks of Kathy Johnson as Chan's coach, one can only hope that she has the good sense to keep Joanne MacLeod's bad jump techniques far, far away from Chan.

 

[Japanfan]

And here I thought he wanted to go into banking or finance. I wonder what changed his mind.

This venture is going to give Patrick a heck of a lot of money. His backers will be putting millions into the new club, and he'll basically be set for life.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I haven't read anything to suggest that Balde is retiring. I wonder if he'll come out to Vancouver, too.

Just thinking about how much more beautiful Vancouver would be with both of them here his future.

 

[Marco]

Adding a solid technical coach would have been great, especially since he needs to learn/ maintain a new quad to remain competitive.

 

[barbarafan]

Whatever one thinks of Kathy Johnson as Chan's coach, one can only hope that she has the good sense to keep Joanne MacLeod's bad jump techniques far, far away from Chan.

Patrick has been in the vicinity of several great coaches and yet he insists on sticking like glue to Kathy so I don't think we have to worry about that...I guess he will only be coaching after 2018 olympics (fulltime anyways) but there will be lots of people retiring after those games so he may be bringing great prospective coaches to the table...I wonder what will be happening with the place in 2017.

 

[Sylvia]

A few extra quotes in Rosie DiManno's short article: https://www.thestar.com/sports/skat...-returning-to-vancouver-to-train-dimanno.html

This article was longer than I realized yesterday. Quite a few more interesting quotes come later.

 

[Japanfan]

Vancouver fits the bill. Chan will be moving there in July, training out of the Burnaby 8 Rinks, whence notable coach Joanne McLeod has been churning out elite skaters for many years. She won’t have hands-on with Chan, however

Thank goodness for that.

Chan will need a jump coach for the school, but SFAIK and fortunately, McLeod is committed to 8 Rinks. She's head honcho there, isn't she? In which case, recruiting her as a jump coach because she's local likely isn't likely a possibility.

Adding a solid technical coach would have been great, especially since he needs to learn/ maintain a new quad to remain competitive.

It's pretty clear that Patrick has no interest in getting a technical coach. Of course that might change prior to 2018, but I doubt it.

I'm actually surprised that Patrick has decided to stay in, given that it was clear last season that the field had left him behind. I can't imagine that coming fifth is very satisfying to a three-time world champ, and don't know whether he can increase his technical content at this point.

Maybe he's just a career-type of skater, willing to stay the course as Joubert was Alternatively, maybe he struck a deal of sorts with Skate Canada. Given Nam's melt-down at Worlds, Patrick may need to compete in order to keep two spots for Canadian men. There is know way of knowing yet whether Nam can come back strong after his growth spurt, and there is no other guy at present for Patrick to pass the torch onto.

 

[Marco]

It's pretty clear that Patrick has no interest in getting a technical coach. Of course that might change prior to 2018, but I doubt it.

I'm actually surprised that Patrick has decided to stay in, given that it was clear last season that the field had left him behind. I can't imagine that coming fifth is very satisfying to a three-time world champ, and don't know whether he can increase his technical content at this point.

Maybe he's just a career-type of skater, willing to stay the course as Joubert was Alternatively, maybe he struck a deal of sorts with Skate Canada. Given Nam's melt-down at Worlds, Patrick may need to compete in order to keep two spots for Canadian men. There is know way of knowing yet whether Nam can come back strong after his growth spurt, and there is no other guy at present for Patrick to pass the torch onto.

Well he was able to beat Hanyu at Skate Canada (when Hanyu had costly mistakes, but still) and had the 3rd best free skate at GPF. He was also just a 3flip away from the bronze at Worlds, so he's not THAT behind [the podium]. But to contend for gold again, he needs the 4sal, maybe in both programs. I am not sure if Kathy is the person to help him secure the jump.

I don't know how long ago this article was written, but instead of watching on Jin Boyang, the jumping freak as the article calls him, I think Shoma Uno is much more of a real threat. He already beat Patrick at GPF.

 

[mag]

@Japanfan one of the articles quoted up thread specifically states that Joanne McLeod has been selected to run the new skating facility.

For those who haven't Googled the new facility, it is really a very large private club that will also have a dedicated figure skating facility. I suspect the Drummond people have bought the right to us
Chan's name for their facility. I don't get the impression that he will be running the place and there is nothing specific about his coaching duties, if in fact, he will have any. That part is suitably vague.

As an aside, I wonder what will happen to the figure skating ice at 8 Rinks. Perhaps the dance program will just take it over full time?

 

[puglover]

Well, I admit to being a very committed Patrick fan so my comments probably reflect that. I think, as long as Patrick can skate like he did at Skate Canada in the long and that fantastic program at 4C's, he should definitely stay in. Had he skated the 4 C's program at Worlds, he would have been hard to beat and this conversation would be very different. As far as his coach - he obviously feels he gains a great deal from Kathy Johnson and he is certainly old enough and experienced enough to decide what he needs in a coach.

I am so happy to hear he is thinking beyond the next Olympics to his future. Too many skaters seem to flounder after they leave the competitive ranks and take a long time to find a new direction. Patrick has much to offer younger skaters and I hope he does stay involved in skating. He is such an outdoor active guy, Vancouver and B.C. seem ideal for his personality and many interests. Seems like a good choice to me. There is also a large asian population there so he will probably be able to find many favorite foods etc.

 

[Sylvia]

Note to @mag, I think you misread the article? In the Ewing article (post #8), Chan talked about how his future training center (at the Drummond Club) will be his and Kathy Johnson's project:

“How I can incorporate skating in what I do and what she does, her theory of movement …” Chan said ... “Combining both of those I think we can create one of the best programs ever for a figure skater.
“I’ve had so many years of experience watching and understanding how coaching works in figure skating, and I think there’s a lack of theory in figure skating. That’s a great opportunity for Kathy and I to break ground and start something totally different. I think Kathy and I can create something special.”
Chan said the facility, scheduled to be completed by 2018, will feature two figure skating-specific rinks, plus other features such as state of the art video analysis technology.

ETA:

I don't know how long ago this article was written, but instead of watching on Jin Boyang, the jumping freak as the article calls him, I think Shoma Uno is much more of a real threat. He already beat Patrick at GPF.

Rosie DiManno's article was written on Tuesday and ... it's typical DiManno.

ETA - case in point - DiManno's April 4th Worlds men's recap for The Star had this at the bottom:
"Editor’s note: This column has been updated to correct that reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu is from Japan."

 

[Xela M]

Any news that don't involve Patrick getting a technical coach - I'm not bovered about

 

[mag]

Thanks @Sylvia I don't know how I missed that article! It does open up some questions though. If they are hiring Joanne McLeod to run the place, how is she going to feel about Chan moving in to coach post 2018? I don't know McLeod, but she doesn't appear to be someone who would be content to play second fiddle, even to Chan, and I certainly can't see her playing third behind Kathy Johnson. Maybe they can work as a team, but I wouldn't bet my house one it. Also, I wonder how far along Chan is in his coaching certification. Canada has very strict guidelines and he would have to start with the three day CanSkate training if he hasn't already done it. What a thrill that would be the the usual bunch of 16 to 18 year olds who take the course!