LETTER FROM THE EDITOR


‘Time to step up’ Team USA begins key stretch in Olympic cycle


With the 2018 Olympic Winter Games just


16 months away in PyeongChang, South Korea, the time is now for Team USA to begin its ascent. T at was the message delivered by Mitch Moyer, senior director of athlete high performance at U.S. Figure Skating, in his opening remarks to the 34 skaters at Champs Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Aug. 20–25. “Coming off a great Worlds — one of the


best we’ve had in 10 years — I look at the group and I think we have a lot of talent, but it’s time to step up,” Moyer said. “T ey can be one of the stronger Olympic teams that we’ve had, in 2018, and I talked to them about going from good to great. I think we certainly have that opportunity, but it starts now. It doesn’t start the year of the Olympics.” Moyer shared performance data with the


athletes as he assessed each discipline. He gave the men and ice dancers high marks in competition readiness exiting Champs Camp. “All of our men competed prior to Champs


Camp and some competed twice,” Moyer said. “T e men, for sure, came in more prepared as a group than I’ve seen in the past. Each one is push- ing the other. T ey look good and I’m excited about their development over the last six months.” U.S. bronze medalist Nathan Chen, who had


surgery after suff ering a season-ending left hip in- jury at the 2016 U.S. Championships exhibition, is slowly making his way back to full strength. Chen, who turned 17 on May 5, lit up Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his electric performances, land- ing two quadruple jumps in his short program and four in his free skate, the fi rst U.S. man to achieve both milestones. “Everything is about back to normal,” Chen


told icenetwork. “I’m back to full training. I took 5 1/2 months off the ice after nationals, and it took me another month to get back into the swing of things. I’m feeling good.” T e depth of American ice dance continues


to increase. Moyer said the programs produced by the ice dance teams at Champs Camp were well-received. “T e offi cials are excited about the dance


teams as a group,” Moyer said. “We’re looking to keep that momentum going into PyeongChang.” T e ladies, Moyer said, looked stronger in


their segmented practice sessions than they did performing their entire programs in front of judg- es and technical experts. “But that’s something you see this time of year,” Moyer said almost nine weeks before the


4 OCTOBER 2016


start of the Grand Prix season. “Many are working on getting competition-ready at this point. It’s a long season and peaking at the end of the season like Ashley Wagner did last season is the most im- portant thing. Our ladies had a successful season last year and to maintain that trend they must continue their development both technically and artistically.” One skater who is turning heads, Moyer said,


is U.S. pewter medalist Mirai Nagasu. “She skated at Skate Detroit, did a tour in


Japan and she looks the best I’ve seen her at this time of year,” Moyer said. Several of the pairs teams have experienced


injuries and illnesses, which has hindered their early-season development. T e top three teams at the U.S. Champion-


ships last year, Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea, Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, and Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran, skated programs with some restrictions at Champs Camp. Kayne and O’Shea, and Castelli and Tran are looking for- ward to being ready for the Grand Prix Series. T e beginning of the international season for Scimeca Knierim and Knierim, meanwhile, is unsettled due to an illness and surgery to Scimeca Knierim. T e pairs team of Haven Denney and Bran-


don Frazier is off to a good start; they competed their programs multiple times in summer compe- titions. Denney is coming off knee surgery, which sidelined the team last year. T e team won the sil- ver medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships. On the other side of the boards, Moyer


praised the contributions of all the coaches and faculty, including Serge Onik of “So You T ink You Can Dance” fame. Last year he worked exclu- sively with the ice dancers. T is year, he worked with all the skaters. “Our offi cials always look forward to con-


tributing their expertise to the athletes and coach- es at Champs Camp,” Moyer said. “T e depth of our international and ISU offi cials in the U.S. is extraordinary. Having additional on-ice sessions with the offi cials was positively received by all.” Ice dance greats Christopher Dean and Ben


Agosto provided their expertise to the pairs teams, working with them on their skating skills, while legendary coach Frank Carroll worked with them on jumps. “T e pairs teams were really appreciative of


that opportunity,” Moyer said. Moyer said the 2016 Champs Camp was the


best to date, and he will seek input to make the 10th anniversary of the event even better.


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