U.S. Ladies [#21]: Wrapped Up with a Neat Little BOW

[Bellanca]

Let Bradie be Bradie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0ndRzaz2o

 

[Wyliefan]

Okay, PSA, just so we can stop going over this:

Bradie loves Cinderella. Both the story and the movie. She has said this in more than one interview. SHE is the one who wanted to skate to it (the federation advised against it, but she and her team insisted). This program & theme was 100% her choice. And love it or hate it, it took her to a National title, the Olympics, and 6th place at Worlds. Whatever works, ya know??

Thank you. I know people mean well, but I get a little leery of fans sitting around deciding which personality should be assigned to a young woman. How about we let her pick her own?

And I loved the movie myself, and I'm 42, so there you go. You don't have to be two years old to like Disney princess movies or to do a princess routine if you feel like doing it. Maybe she's making up for not getting to do it when she was younger and had to spend time off-ice recovering from injury. At any rate, it's her routine and her decision.

 

[Angela-Fan]

For the record, I may not be a fan of her music choice, but I didn't directly criticize her for using it. At least, I really didn't mean to come off that way.

 

[Willin]

I didn't mind Cinderella. I could've done without the lyrics - those brought Disney Princess vibes - but the score was good to skate to. I also noticed that one version of her dress had a butt bow, but the one she used for Olympics/Worlds didn't - which is greatly appreciated. Certainly it's not the most mature program of all time, but it also wasn't an entirely childish version.
If it's what she felt comfortable with and knew would work for her in an Olympic season, I see no issue with using it. It's far from Candyman bad.

 

[Vagabond]

I'm considering possible titles for the next U.S. Ladies thread. "Time to Put Away Childish Things" comes to mind. Or perhaps "No More Carrots!"

 

[mag]

Thank you. I know people mean well, but I get a little leery of fans sitting around deciding which personality should be assigned to a young woman. How about we let her pick her own?

I can only speak for myself, and I was in no way suggesting Bradie change her personality. Bradie had two good skates at Worlds, but I highly doubt she is going to be happy with 6th next year. She is very competitive and will be aiming for the podium. Better choreography and interpretation is going to help her reach that goal. It is possible her current choreographer can take her to the next level, or not. I doubt she is taking advice from an online forum so I see no harm is discussing possible music choices and or choreographers.

 

[Wyliefan]

I can only speak for myself, and I was in no way suggesting Bradie change her personality. Bradie had two good skates at Worlds, but I highly doubt she is going to be happy with 6th next year. She is very competitive and will be aiming for the podium. Better choreography and interpretation is going to help her reach that goal. It is possible her current choreographer can take her to the next level, or not. I doubt she is taking advice from an online forum so I see no harm is discussing possible music choices and or choreographers.

I understand that. And I'm not trying to criticize anyone directly. But threads do sometimes tend to drift in the direction of "[Insert skater's name] should totally skate like [whatever my own personal vision of her inner self is like]." I just think it's something to be careful of. Bradie has a lot of growing and developing to do, I agree, but it should be in her own direction and not in anyone else's.

 

[attyfan]

IMO, Ashley and Mirai have been in this sport a long time. IIRC, Ashley has suffered a few concussions from spinning -- and I doubt that Mirai is injury free. Both need to start planning for life after competition. There isn't much of a future in skating any more ... no pro circuit (and I doubt that SOI is doing enough shows to actually make a living by touring) .. so both need to strike now.

 

[mag]

Bradie has a lot of growing and developing to do, I agree, but it should be in her own direction and not in anyone else's.

Do you really believe that Bradie is going to be convinced to do something or work with someone she does not want because of random posters on a skating board? Bradie has a tonne of raw potential but it appears, at least to me, that not a lot of time or effort has been put into the PCS side. Not a criticism, just an observation. She is 20 years old, not a young child. I really do not see any harm in posters speculating and discussing possible avenues for next season.

 

[DimaToe]

My issue with Cinderella, which was my issue with most of what Gracie Gold did and most of Nagasu’s post 2014 programs is that it all feels very “put on” If Tennell wants to skate to Sesame Street next season, it’s her career so she is free to do so, I just would like her to fully commit to whatever character she is wanting to portray. People are complaining about the clock step sequence. IMO Richaud did a good job with that choreography but when Tennell performed it, it just felt like a placeholder before continuing to jump, and therefore it just look like a flailing mess instead of showing the “it’s almost midnight” panic that the movement and music seemed to want to portray.

 

[barbk]

She could skate to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and if she did it with strong character, 90% fewer airplane arms and less of a blah portrayal -- great.

 

[Frida80]

I think it all goes together. I don’t just mean only work on our speed and power but also our jump technique. Bradie lands clean jumps but her scores are very so-so. I think it will all benefit the skaters and you can’t just concentrate on one thing. Good jump technique without better skating skills and developing power can also lead to inconsistency and low GOE. I think with more power and speed and better technique skaters wouldn’t be hoping for lenient callers like we are embarrassingly relying on now. Even the top U.S. skaters in speed and skating skills aren’t as good as the others and other skaters don’t feel the need to be absolutely perfect in order to get respectable scores and placements while the American skaters have to be just to get a chance to be in the upper middle top ten.

I think a lot of the American ladies confidence issues affect their competitive mindset and they lack confidence because I bet their practices at home are just as inconsistent as their competitive skates and they don’t feel confident in their abilities and they get hung up on UR problems, jump technique issues (edge calls, inconsistency), and previous low placements and scores.

I disagree. Bradies scores are low because no she’s doesn’t have the reputation yet. She just needs better choreography and to maintain her consistency and her PCS score will grow.

I think the lack of competitiveness is more to do with the lack of competition ladies at the novice and junior level. By that point the best jumpers win all the club competition. Because their not being seriously challenged, they often win with lots of inconsistent programs. I’ve seen girls fall three times and win, because the rest of girls don’t have triples. The only truly challenging competitions domestically is nationals. It’s not enough. If we force high level novices around the country to compete against each other repeatedly it would improve their consistency and competitive mindset.


I have a ton of ideas based on seven years of observing skaters from the juvenile to senior level. This off season I’ve decided to gather tons of data from skaters from Japan, Russia, Canada, and the US to find out exactly how the best skating system can produce high level skaters with longevity. Wish me luck.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Some of the FSUers who saw Tennel in Milan were happily surprised at how impressive she was live. She was off the radar for a while due to injuries, and she had a total of six international competitions over four years until this season, where she had five: Philly as her summer, a CS (Lombardia), and Skate America, before she made the Olympic and Worlds teams.

 

[Dobre]

Having watched almost all the contenders for Junior Worlds that competed in the senior event at U.S. Nationals muck up royally under the pressure, I would just like to say that the women who made this year's Olympic team have my full respect & support should they wish to continue competing as long as they would like. And the talented young ladies just up from novices may very well develop their skills more against the wolves at the international junior level than the athletes in seniors. I'd like to see the young athletes have the chance to develop and chase their dreams at their own pace, whatever that is. (And turn into wolves themselves). I would like to see Karen/Mariah/Bradie/Ting/Alysa/Starr/etc. build on their experiences. And I would really like to see some of the U.S. ladies start blazing some trails of their own.

 

[WillyElliot]

Thank you. I know people mean well, but I get a little leery of fans sitting around deciding which personality should be assigned to a young woman. How about we let her pick her own?

And I loved the movie myself, and I'm 42, so there you go. You don't have to be two years old to like Disney princess movies or to do a princess routine if you feel like doing it. Maybe she's making up for not getting to do it when she was younger and had to spend time off-ice recovering from injury. At any rate, it's her routine and her decision.

Opinions are all over the map on this. I don’t want to assign to her a personality, but she really should improve her packaging. Cinderella is an okay choice but she missed the mark. She could have done a very elegant program to this music like Angela Nikodinov. Instead, she presents herself as if she was running around Disneyworld dressed up like a cheezy Disney princess. It’s okay that she has questionable taste. But she needs to listen to others and I suppose fake it till she makes it.

That said, she was a wonderful surprise this season and I look forward to see her progress in the future.

 

[MrSatterwhite]

I'm considering possible titles for the next U.S. Ladies thread. "Time to Put Away Childish Things" comes to mind. Or perhaps "No More Carrots!"

U.S. Ladies [#22]: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd.

 

[Vagabond]

U.S. Ladies [#22]: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd.

That's more appropriate for the runup to Nationals.

U.S. Ladies [#22]: No More Carrots!

 

[overedge]

Personally I would give 5000 +GOE to anyone who skated to Sesame Street music, particularly if they wore a furry outfit while doing so.

 

[Frida80]

I have no taste. I’ve liked Bradie’s FS all season. Clock arms and all.