Is there such a thing as too good, too soon?
Jeffrey Buttle surely subscribes to that theory. And not just because his short program Friday night at HomeSense Skate Canada was, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.
The three-time Canadian men's champion has some work to do to hold on for a podium finish when the men's free skates are presented Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Colisee. With 66.85 points in the bank, the native of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., is a mere 0.35 points ahead of Christopher Mabee of Tillsonburg, Ont., his training mate at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.
Belgium's Kevin van der Perren (66.11) and Vaughn Chipeur of Edmonton (65.65) are also within striking distance. The gold? That's a virtual lock for reigning world champ Brian Joubert of France, whose powerful display earned 78.05 points.
But back to this 'peaking theory,' if you will. While Buttle says he always goes on the ice aiming for a top performance, he admits he might be a little concerned if he turned in the skate of his life at a Grand Prix event in early November.
"It would be really hard to maintain that," said Buttle, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Torino Olympics. "I don't expect to be perfect (at this time of year), that's for sure.
"If I'm going to make a mistake like almost falling on a crosscut (which happened Friday night, along with a fall on a triple lutz), then I'd rather it be now than later. Of course I want to skate well no matter what time of year it is. But I definitely want to build instead of peaking now and dying later."
A classic example of that line of thinking: Skate Canada in 2000 in Mississauga, Ont., when Russia's Alexei Yagudin delivered a world championship-level performance of his Gladiator program to win the gold. Yagudin never matched it the rest of the season, although injuries were a major factor by the time the 2001 world championships in Vancouver rolled around.
One thing we'd hope to see maintained: The closeness of the competition between Buttle, Mabee and Chipeur. Wouldn't it be something if we could see that kind of battle for the men's crown at the Canadian championships in Vancouver in January?
If Buttle's right, the best is definitely yet to come.
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1 comment:
It's too bad Jeff day dreamed on that back crosscut. ROTFLOL Hey it's no biggy.
As long as Jeff stays awake for his freeskate all the way to the end of the last note, he should stay on the podium.
What Jeff needs to hear before he skates the freeskate is "Just Have Fun playing with your music to the very end of the last note of your program, skate for yourself and with your heart." He knows the rest.
"Go for the quad toe, Jeff. Maybe someday, you should try the quad flip because usually those triple flips are bang on and beautiful.
No sleeping on the job during your freeskate. Although, it wasn't that bad of a dream sequence during your short. ROTFLOL"
Visit lower Quebec City (old Quebec), I was born there. It's such a pretty city.
singerskates an old pal
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