We've all heard the line when we get impatient about anything.
"You've got to take it one step at a time."
Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay have been doing it that way for two seasons now. But as they move into Year 3 of their pairs partnership, they figure it's high time to pick up the pace.
"We don't want to do the steps one at a time anymore," said Hay, 24, of Dawson Creek, B.C., in assessing where he and Langlois currently stand as a team. "Now we want to start jumping a couple. To be out there (at HomeSense Skate Canada this weekend) like this and compete against the Germans (Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the winners Saturday at Pepsi Colisee), who are one of the top teams in the world, that's what you want to do.
"You want to be competing with them, not just at the same competition."
But both Langlois and Hay, who wound up fourth after Saturday's pairs free skate, understand why it had to be this way. Langlois climbed as high as fifth in the world with her former partner, Patrice Archetto. But when she joined forces with Hay in 2005, she was taking on someone new with not a second of senior-level experience on his resume.
"We had an odd coupling, based on where Anabelle had been ranked in the world, and where I was ranked," said Hay. "When we started together, she knew what it was like to be at the top of the world. She wanted to get (back) there as fast as possible, and it was hard for her to come back down and rebuild our way back up. She was always trying to jump up a couple flights of stairs instead of taking them one step at a time.”
Now, though, they feel comfortable in accelerating things. Taking that great leap forward, one might say (guess I just did).
"The togetherness and the elements are coming a lot easier now," said Langlois, 26, of Hull, Que. "We want to make great leaps. It's so hard, I don't like putting placements on it. We're always reaching for the top. We wouldn't be putting this much effort into it without (thinking that way).”
Added Hay: "The first two years, if something wasn't right, we had to put it on the side and wait for Lee (Barkell, their coach in Barrie, Ont.) to tell us what was wrong. Or we would battle back and forth about what the other person was doing wrong. Now we can actually tell and fix it ourselves.”
Showing posts with label Worlds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worlds. Show all posts
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Better Now Than Later
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.
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.
A Reason To Believe
Sometimes, it's the little things that really do matter the most.
That tell you more than you can ever imagine.
For Craig Buntin, it was simply hearing has name again as a pairs skater representing Canada, with a partner by his side giving him new reason for real hope.
A reason to believe.
"Just to step on that ice tonight and hear 'Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin, representing Canada' ... it felt so good," said Buntin, 27, of North Vancouver, B.C., after their short program performance Friday at HomeSense Skate Canada. "I had the biggest smile on my face."
If you'd been to the depths that Buntin endured in the past five months or so, you'd feel just as emotional about a moment that, for every world-class figure skater, is about as routine as it gets. But not when you've wondered whether something that simple would ever happen again for you.
Buntin's world was turned upside down when his longtime partner, Valerie Marcoux of Gatineau, Que., decided her heart wasn't in skating anymore and retired in April. Gone was the skater with whom he'd won three Canadian senior pairs titles, skated at the 2006 Winter Olympics, reached the top five in the world rankings the same year and shared the most intimate of relationships.
Perhaps nobody knew Buntin any better.
Now he found himself on his own, without a partner and wondering whether he'd hit the end of the road himself. Starting over wasn't just scary, it seemed almost an impossibility.
"I was getting to a point where I was saying 'what am I doing with my life, is there a girl out there for me, will I get to compete in an Olympics in my home town (in 2010)?," he said. "Wandering around my apartment going 'what now?' Making that phone call, driving all over the continent, making every tryout I could possibly I could even think of ... I learned who my friends were and who was close to me and who was in my corner.”
Buntin guesses he put 3,000 kilometres on a car he no longer owns, and that his tryout count was "pushing 10" by the end of it. Then, finally, came the light at the end of the tunnel. A light named Meagan Duhamel, who was going through her own set of doubts about her future.
Any guesses, then, why they were both grinning ear to ear about getting started at the Pepsi Colisee?
"I think we were both really excited to just come out here and skate," said Duhamel, 21, of Lively, Ont.
Added Buntin: "It's a milestone, just to step out on the ice and hear our names and hear our Canadian crowd ... it was a real big step along the way.
"But we're starting at the bottom of a mountain. We have so much to do and so much work ahead of us."
Friday was a good start. Their short program is clearly a work in progress but, with 52.78 points, they're only 1.2 behind Anabelle Langlois of Hull, Que., and Cody Hay of Grande Prairie, Alta., who were Canadian world team members last season.
High above both are Jessica Dube of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont., who have some work to do to make it back-to-back Grand Prix triumphs after posting 63.12 points for their short program.
Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the heavy favourites here, lead with 69.44.
Yeah, that's a mountain of sorts, too.
Funny how things can work out, though. Turns out Duhamel was in New Jersey getting choreography for herself — she'd originally planned to continue her singles career — when she got the call from Buntin, who'd been in the area on his tryout mission.
"I think we were actually in New Jersey at the same time," he said.
Maybe this was meant to be after all.
"Who knew," Buntin asked, "that the best girl was right in my backyard?"
That tell you more than you can ever imagine.
For Craig Buntin, it was simply hearing has name again as a pairs skater representing Canada, with a partner by his side giving him new reason for real hope.
A reason to believe.
"Just to step on that ice tonight and hear 'Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin, representing Canada' ... it felt so good," said Buntin, 27, of North Vancouver, B.C., after their short program performance Friday at HomeSense Skate Canada. "I had the biggest smile on my face."
If you'd been to the depths that Buntin endured in the past five months or so, you'd feel just as emotional about a moment that, for every world-class figure skater, is about as routine as it gets. But not when you've wondered whether something that simple would ever happen again for you.
Buntin's world was turned upside down when his longtime partner, Valerie Marcoux of Gatineau, Que., decided her heart wasn't in skating anymore and retired in April. Gone was the skater with whom he'd won three Canadian senior pairs titles, skated at the 2006 Winter Olympics, reached the top five in the world rankings the same year and shared the most intimate of relationships.
Perhaps nobody knew Buntin any better.
Now he found himself on his own, without a partner and wondering whether he'd hit the end of the road himself. Starting over wasn't just scary, it seemed almost an impossibility.
"I was getting to a point where I was saying 'what am I doing with my life, is there a girl out there for me, will I get to compete in an Olympics in my home town (in 2010)?," he said. "Wandering around my apartment going 'what now?' Making that phone call, driving all over the continent, making every tryout I could possibly I could even think of ... I learned who my friends were and who was close to me and who was in my corner.”
Buntin guesses he put 3,000 kilometres on a car he no longer owns, and that his tryout count was "pushing 10" by the end of it. Then, finally, came the light at the end of the tunnel. A light named Meagan Duhamel, who was going through her own set of doubts about her future.
Any guesses, then, why they were both grinning ear to ear about getting started at the Pepsi Colisee?
"I think we were both really excited to just come out here and skate," said Duhamel, 21, of Lively, Ont.
Added Buntin: "It's a milestone, just to step out on the ice and hear our names and hear our Canadian crowd ... it was a real big step along the way.
"But we're starting at the bottom of a mountain. We have so much to do and so much work ahead of us."
Friday was a good start. Their short program is clearly a work in progress but, with 52.78 points, they're only 1.2 behind Anabelle Langlois of Hull, Que., and Cody Hay of Grande Prairie, Alta., who were Canadian world team members last season.
High above both are Jessica Dube of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont., who have some work to do to make it back-to-back Grand Prix triumphs after posting 63.12 points for their short program.
Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the heavy favourites here, lead with 69.44.
Yeah, that's a mountain of sorts, too.
Funny how things can work out, though. Turns out Duhamel was in New Jersey getting choreography for herself — she'd originally planned to continue her singles career — when she got the call from Buntin, who'd been in the area on his tryout mission.
"I think we were actually in New Jersey at the same time," he said.
Maybe this was meant to be after all.
"Who knew," Buntin asked, "that the best girl was right in my backyard?"
Dancing Toward A Dream
They had to earn their way to Le Colisee.
But there were Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno on Friday afternoon, basking in the glow of home country support in the senior ice dance compulsories at HomeSense Skate Canada. No wonder the Vancouver-based couple had smiles on their faces as bright as the yellow skirt Hann-McCurdy wore for their rendition of the Yankee Polka.
And that was before they saw the final results sheet. Hann-McCurdy and Coreno stand seventh with 25.51 points. More importantly, it was a hair in front of Kaitlyn Weaver of Houston, Tex., and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont. (25.07).
Hann-McCurdy and Coreno were eighth in their first Canadian championships as senior ice dancers last January in Halifax. That was five spots behind Weaver and Poje, who shocked just about everyone by landing a world team berth.
That's exactly where Hann-McCurdy and Coreno, the national junior champions in 2006, want to be next March, when the 2008 world championships are held in Gothenburg, Sweden. And given the events of the off-season, they've got reason to dream that big.
Five of the top seven finishers in that senior dance event last season in Halifax won't be part of the 2008 Canadian championships in Vancouver. Topping that list are two-time world silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, who've taken the season off from the eligible skating circuit. Retirements and dissolved partnerships claimed the rest.
Look beyond all of that, and you'll see Hann-McCurdy and Coreno rank third among the returning contenders. And guess how many world team berths there are for Sweden?
"There is a door open," admitted Coreno, 23, of Toronto.
"We're aware of it, and we're totally shooting for that third worlds spot," said Hann-McCurdy, 20, who represents the Gloucester Skating Club in Ottawa. "That's our goal for the season.
"That's what's motivating us, and it's just incredibly special to be here."
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who finished a stunning sixth at the 2007 worlds in Tokyo and are the future of this discipline in Canada, should grab their first national crown in January. After that, though, it's wide open.
"It's an opportunity and we want to take advantage of it," said Hann-McCurdy.
Just like being here this week. While Virtue and Moir, who lead after the compulsories, can clearly shoot for gold, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno are here just to soak up the experience. They weren't assigned to this event until after a fourth-place finish at the Nebelhorn Trophy senior international event in Oberstdorf, Germany.
They know what's needed most to take the next step up in class, and have spent plenty of time working on it under the guidance of their coaches, former world champion Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz.
"We've really, really focused on speed," said Hann-McCurdy. "That was the easiest difference to see between us and all the teams we competed against last year. That was a big focus. Other than that, just more character and energy and personality."
Added Coreno: "That's the big step, learning to do things at high speed and still make it look easy."
Hann-McCurdy, a natural brunette, had a brief fling with going blonde a few years back. Given that blue-eyed blondes are all the rage in Sweden, might Hann-McCurdy go back that way if she and her partner realize that worlds dream?
"I might have to," she said with a laugh. "But there's still a long way to go yet. I don't know ... I'll consider it."
But there were Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno on Friday afternoon, basking in the glow of home country support in the senior ice dance compulsories at HomeSense Skate Canada. No wonder the Vancouver-based couple had smiles on their faces as bright as the yellow skirt Hann-McCurdy wore for their rendition of the Yankee Polka.
And that was before they saw the final results sheet. Hann-McCurdy and Coreno stand seventh with 25.51 points. More importantly, it was a hair in front of Kaitlyn Weaver of Houston, Tex., and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont. (25.07).
Hann-McCurdy and Coreno were eighth in their first Canadian championships as senior ice dancers last January in Halifax. That was five spots behind Weaver and Poje, who shocked just about everyone by landing a world team berth.
That's exactly where Hann-McCurdy and Coreno, the national junior champions in 2006, want to be next March, when the 2008 world championships are held in Gothenburg, Sweden. And given the events of the off-season, they've got reason to dream that big.
Five of the top seven finishers in that senior dance event last season in Halifax won't be part of the 2008 Canadian championships in Vancouver. Topping that list are two-time world silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, who've taken the season off from the eligible skating circuit. Retirements and dissolved partnerships claimed the rest.
Look beyond all of that, and you'll see Hann-McCurdy and Coreno rank third among the returning contenders. And guess how many world team berths there are for Sweden?
"There is a door open," admitted Coreno, 23, of Toronto.
"We're aware of it, and we're totally shooting for that third worlds spot," said Hann-McCurdy, 20, who represents the Gloucester Skating Club in Ottawa. "That's our goal for the season.
"That's what's motivating us, and it's just incredibly special to be here."
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who finished a stunning sixth at the 2007 worlds in Tokyo and are the future of this discipline in Canada, should grab their first national crown in January. After that, though, it's wide open.
"It's an opportunity and we want to take advantage of it," said Hann-McCurdy.
Just like being here this week. While Virtue and Moir, who lead after the compulsories, can clearly shoot for gold, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno are here just to soak up the experience. They weren't assigned to this event until after a fourth-place finish at the Nebelhorn Trophy senior international event in Oberstdorf, Germany.
They know what's needed most to take the next step up in class, and have spent plenty of time working on it under the guidance of their coaches, former world champion Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz.
"We've really, really focused on speed," said Hann-McCurdy. "That was the easiest difference to see between us and all the teams we competed against last year. That was a big focus. Other than that, just more character and energy and personality."
Added Coreno: "That's the big step, learning to do things at high speed and still make it look easy."
Hann-McCurdy, a natural brunette, had a brief fling with going blonde a few years back. Given that blue-eyed blondes are all the rage in Sweden, might Hann-McCurdy go back that way if she and her partner realize that worlds dream?
"I might have to," she said with a laugh. "But there's still a long way to go yet. I don't know ... I'll consider it."
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