Part 2 of a series on young coaches. Read part 1 at the link. by Jacquelyn Thayer Growing up a coach’s son, I definitely gained some insight into the job from my dad. I think my first memory is just how much traveling is involved when you have your own program—competitions, seminars, etc. My dad…
by Jacquelyn Thayer How does the skater become the coach? It was the question that returned to mind with each summer competition circuit; one more retired competitor would take a new seat in the kiss & cry, trading in team jackets and self-critique for business casual and constructive support. From a wave of retirements in…
TFTI correspondent Reut Golinsky sat down with Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro after the short program at 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy. Reut: I wanted to start our talk from looking at the previous season and then moving to this one. Last season was your first season as the leaders of Canadian pairs and I understood it…
by Claire Cloutier, special for Two for the Ice The pairs event at Skate Canada ended on a high note Saturday, as Vanessa James & Morgan Cipres delivered a stunning free skate to seal their first Grand Prix victory. An exciting three-way battle for the other podium spots resulted in Cheng Peng & Yang Jin…
by Claire Cloutier, special for Two for the Ice The pairs short program at Skate Canada in Laval, Quebec, was quite a strong event, with many teams showing improvement from their early-season performances. It was a deep pairs field overall in Laval. Vanessa James & Morgan Cipres of France, reigning World bronze medalists, won the…
by Jacquelyn Thayer For every championship title that seems a foregone conclusion, another may come down to a simple decision: stay novice or take a leap of competitive faith? Before creating something of an upset in the junior pairs field at the 2017 U.S. Championships, Nica Digerness and Danny Neudecker began their off-season planning to…
by Jacquelyn Thayer What might be overachievement for many new pairs — third in the short and fourth overall at their debut Nationals — is, for Deanna Stellato and Nate Bartholomay, a bit more like a storybook accomplishment. “For me last year, it was mainly about learning how to skate pairs,” said Stellato, who before…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Though Skate Detroit will mark a competitive debut for U.S. pair Winter Deardorff and Max Settlage, it’s also the culmination of nearly a year’s preparation. Settlage, whose six-season pairing with Madeline Aaron concluded last summer, faced the prospect of re-entering the partner search scene while dealing with an additional complication. “One of…
With today’s surprise reveal of 2017-18’s Grand Prix assignments, Two for the Ice has compiled the hows, whys — and possible huhs — of who and how many assignments the dance and pair teams in question received. Given the smaller fields in Grand Prix pairs — a total of 48 spots versus the 60 up…
by Jacquelyn Thayer This week’s Grand Prix Final features a fair range of U.S. and Canadian teams. In pairs, Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau will make repeat appearances; in dance, last year’s three U.S. entries — Maia and Alex Shibutani, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Madison Hubbell…
