journal

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Title: "Phew..."
 
Hi Everyone.

Thank you for visiting my site. I hope you're all enjoying your summers. I have been super busy lately, but it hasn't been the hardest work yet so I'm happy to have things to do.

Champions On Ice ended at the very beginning of June. I was really pleased with how the tour went. I skated well in most of the cities, and honestly, I had a really good time this year. Our schedules were a bit weird because we usually just did shows on the weekends, so we'd go home during the week. But all in all, it was fun. I was actually really sad for the tour to be over. I'd accomplished a lot this year. Marina told me I was skating much stronger than before, Melissa, Denis and I opened the world up to velvet swarthed angels and Rudy and I finally started landing throw triple Axels.

Off the ice, I spent most of my time with Marina. We click really well and have a great bond and can make each other laugh. It's fun to be with her. Tour was good and I'm happy about it.

A week or so after Champions On Ice ended, I was off to do the Japanese version of the tour. I was supposed to travel through Niigata and Oita but only managed Niigata. This is an instance that fans of skating usually don't get to see. For eligible skaters in the US to perform at events not sanctioned by USFSA, we need a form called an ESCA to be signed by our director. We basically need to be released from the federation to perform legally without losing eligibility. I knew I'd be doing shows in Japan at Worlds in March and I was planning to do all eight shows. My federation also knew about these shows as Rena Inoue and John Baldwin were also invited. I was officially invited, I was advertised and I have a lot of fans in Japan who were waiting on me but my ESCA wasn't finalized yet.

About a month before the trip to Japan, my federation decided to have a mandatory high level training camp for envelope A and B athletes the same weekend as the last shows in Japan. I didn't know anything about it until three weeks before I was due to leave Japan. Shows are a good opportunity for skaters to make money to handle the costs of coaching, training, costumes, housing and life in general, so I obviously wanted to do the shows in Japan. It turns out I couldn't have an ESCA for all the shows without losing eligibility, so I was forced to come back to the States early. I was fine with that. If it is manadatory and all US athletes should go, I am a US athlete and I should go too. Rena and John didn't return for the training camp.

After all the bargaining and dealing, I finally made it to Japan, but everyone on both sides were pissed at me and I didn't do anything wrong. So I just skated and enjoyed my time in Japan, hung out with friends and got to see my fans. The promoters of COI Japan had me film an official apology to the Japanese people and explain my reasoning for not performing in the last five shows. I spoke Japanese and I'm glad I could explain myself to the public. I'll probably get in trouble from someone for spilling all this in my journal. But if the Japanese fans get to know, everyone should know how it works for us. In the end, I skated well, I made myself happy, and both the promoters and my federation were happy. It was so stressful. Japan ended up being a great trip however and I'm due to go back in October for a pro-am in Nagoya. I hope my ESCA is okay. :)

Champs Camp was a training camp. I flew home from Japan a day before I left for Colorado Springs, sat and listened to some seminars about nutrition and periodization as well as the new TV schedule and contract and I flew home. I missed out on five shows in Japan and a years rent in Lyndhurt, N.J., to sit in Colorado for a grand total of 12 hours. It seems a bit silly to me, but we learned some new things that will help the US skaters in the future and for the season.

A few days before I went to Japan, I made a final decision about my coach for the season. I decided to leave my coach of 10 years, Priscilla Hill, to train with Galina Zmievskaya who coached Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko to Olympic gold medals. I spoke to Galina during a break from the tour and she said she'd be happy to work with me and help me to be the best. I don't think Galina is a better or worse coach than Priscilla, I just know she's different from Priscilla. That's what I want in a coach right now. I don't need a nurturing mother figure anymore. I need a hardcore woman who can yell at me and make me work even if I don't want to. That's why I chose Galina. She can motivate me because it's a fresh voice to my training. I love Priscilla and I only wish her success, and we parted on good terms, but she understands I need a change.

I already have an apartment 20 minutes from the ice arena. I should be moved in by the end of July after I get my new programs. I'm excited for this change, and I am excited to get to work. I think this will be a great direction to take.

I found out my Grand Prixs for the season in June. I will be competing in Beijing, China, at Cup of China and Moscow, Russia, at Cup of Russia. Paris and I are calling it my "Red Tour." I'm excited to go back to China as I haven't been since 2000 and of course I'm thrilled to be returning to Russia. I have stiff competition at both, but I can handle it.

This journal entry has been really heavy. I'm sorry. :)

Next week, I begin work on my new short program in Orange County with Faye Kitarieva. I will be skating to a classic piece which has been recomposed by a friend of Faye. I am really excited about it. If the program is as good as the music, it will be a tear jerker. I have not decided on a free program yet but I'll keep you posted.

On 2 July, I turned 23. I can't believe I'm 23 so soon. I still feel like I just turned 10. I celebrated at my home in Delaware with some close friends and my family. It was a really great day. This is the first birthday I've been with my family in several years, so I was pleased they could share my day with me.

In August, I'll perform in two shows. One will be in Hampton, Virginia at Hamptons IcePlex and the other will be a charity show in Baltimore for Kimmie Meissner's "Cool Kids" campaign. I'm hoping to debut my new short program at one or the other.

I think that's all the hard hitting news for now. I'm sorry if this entry seemed too serious to be one of my entries. I have a lot of business to take care of so it seems I'm always in that mode. Enjoy summer, get a tan for those of us who have no time, and live it up. Thank you for supporting me as always.

Love,
Johnny