Looks like Pairs centers are in Vogue in the USA. Time To join forces (with another pairs group) and create another center that has the full support system to compete with Colorado and CA. IMHO.
It's up to everyone to decide what's going to work best for them as coaches and for their skaters. Frankly, I think it was John Zimmerman who had a broad vision about putting together a collaborative coaching team in a state-of-the-art training center way before U.S. fed has now gotten on board with how that concept might work. But I don't know if members of U.S. fed are truly looking at this in a comprehensive long-term way, or if they are mainly focused on a short-term results approach that doesn't take into account a lot of pressing issues regarding uselessly attempting to push the square peg of this stagnated sport into a round hole of demanding successful results right away, which is more like putting the cart before the horse.
It's cool if U.S. fed is working more closely with top coaches and actually doing more listening to someone like Raf Arutunian whose vision may also be influencing some incremental evolving of U.S. fed's thinking. I surely am not privy to most of what's going on behind-the-scenes. Still, as a long-time fan of figure skating, I'm skeptical about the crucial issue of overall vision and leadership because of the fractured, political and divisive nature of how the sport is run as a whole among the ISU, and among the various federations.
Jim Peterson is one of the top coaches in the U.S., and he deserves to be respected as such. I don't know exactly what's happening in the relationship between U.S. fed, the country's numerous skating clubs and the smaller training sites around the U.S. I think U.S. fed should be respecting all the top coaches they have, in addition to what they've been doing in trying to bring in top international talent to work with some of our top coaches at more advanced training centers. Coaches working at smaller facilities across the U.S. should not be dismissed as expendable. That doesn't make any sense. Does U.S. fed have some over-arching plan, or are they only focused on four years out and immediate results, while ignoring coaches and athletes who are not currently working out of major training centers? That wouldn't make any sense.
Meanwhile, I think U.S. fed is facing a variety of unaddressed issues to the point where it's almost like plugging holes in a sinking ship, very similar to problems the ISU is facing as well. I think
U.S. fed should be listening to their best coaches and actually asking them what they need to continue succeeding in effectively guiding athletes to be the best they can be. Are there currently any plans in place to address changes underway and how that impacts the old club system and the smaller facilities?
I think there are probably a lot of former skaters and coaches who just move on and who are no longer a part of the sport nor even interested in watching any longer, which says to me that valuable resources are constantly being tossed by the wayside. The sport of figure skating, despite its rich history and its deep connections to the culture has not really grown effectively into the 21st-century. Figure skating seems to be a sport which doesn't fully understand its past and that is not engaging in adequate planning and preparation for its future. In the present, there appears to be a lot of 'en-vogue' stop-gap measures that may or may not be successful for effective, long-term growth.
IMO, the sport is not building on all of its best resources. The sport is surely hemorrhaging potential and actual skating talent at every level. Growing the sport in the U.S. is not about 'en-vogue,' it's chiefly about respecting and nurturing skaters, and about fostering inclusive and collaborative input in a way that respects both coaches and athletes. There needs to be new and effective leadership, active seeking out of financial investment resources, along with recruitment of talented sports management professionals and creative visionaries who can do some strategic thinking and implement effective action plans. Yes, it's just words on paper, and probably a pipe dream on my part.
I'm not saying that new training centers aren't the way to go. I'm very excited about seeing improved progress for the U.S. pairs discipline, but I'm worried about lack of effective U.S. fed leadership and the apparent absence of a better-coordinated and inclusive approach. Long-term studies should be conducted to study the different coaching and training techniques and their impact upon the increasingly difficult physical demands placed upon skaters. Plus, more attention should be paid to effective training of young coaches and in turn young skaters. I'm asking what's being done overall in terms of having a vision of bringing the sport forward more effectively as a whole in the U.S. without the clueless autocratic, politically-motivated, short-term gain, 'what have you done for me lately,' thinking. If there is a broader, more inclusive visionary approach under way, and not just a hammer-like 'en-vogue' approach going on, why isn't that being widely communicated?
I salute all the skaters and coaches who are out there every day working hard for the love of the sport, doing the best they can with limited resources and hampered by a lack of vision and leadership at the highest levels of the ISU and the federations.
The fact
@PairSkater12345 that you rapped off something about training centers being
en-
vogue as a reason to be randomly dismissive of Jim Peterson is rather curious and counterproductive.
Sounds like you're in first grade, held all the way back from a promotion to fifth. Jim dandy and ballyhoo for you that you know what a group five lift is. 
It's always the case how easy it is casting aspersions, but when your crap is thrown back at ya, it's petty, whiny thumbsuckin' time.
