Last updated: Wednesday, April 5, 2017

When I planned this post three weeks ago, I thought I would only be writing about Patrick at the Breaking the Ice 2016 meet and greet. Little did I know what drama would unfold that would lead to the announcement (at Skate Canada’s High Performance Camp) that he would skate without a coach for a little while. But more than that, he spoke about his commitment to skating, finding confidence, and his retirement plans after the 2018 Olympics, all with a very pleasant demeanor. Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun called Patrick’s attitude “strangely upbeat” for being in this situation, and I’ve noticed it as well. From the little we had seen of Patrick until Wednesday, he seemed relaxed, unworried, and even cheerful. So what gives?

No Babysitting Required

As an experienced skater who often practiced alone on the ice last season, Patrick has a plan and knows how to coach himself. He said, “…if you’re able to be comfortable on your own with your own thoughts, and your own problem-solving, that’s a really good tool to have, and I think I’m able to do that now, which is why I’m not completely freaking out about this situation.” Plus, he is a lot more confident about his jumps after last season, he said.

His coach-less state will not last very long, as he already confirmed to PJ Kwong that he would announce his new coaching arrangement next week. In the meantime, I agree that it would be very good for him to learn how to solve his own problems on the ice, because this will involve creative thinking and innovation to come up with his own solutions instead of only relying on coaches and experts to tell him what to do. Psst, Patrick! What you’re doing is very… un-Asian, did you know that? But you will become a far better teacher for your students when your skating school is built!

From Bloomfield Hills to Canton

I’m not sure that Michigan is well known for its ice rinks, but lucky for Patrick, he and Kathy were able to move to a different training environment in Canton, Michigan, about a 40-minute drive south of where he trained before. There, Marina Zoueva welcomed his presence, and he welcomed the opportunity to get different opinions and ideas, as well as seeing other elite skaters practice. As he said:

I noticed this change in Patrick already when I saw the mistakes he made during shows, and how he would get right back up and carry on as if nothing had happened. See an example of it here. This is what all performers of every type learn to do when they make mistakes on stage or on the ice, and it’s an extremely useful skill that will keep Patrick focused on his performance during competitions.

Blackbird and Quad Sow to Finland

Haha, at first I thought that the various articles printed a typo when I saw the word “sow” for “salchow”. I could picture Pchiddy bringing a bird and four piglets with him to Espoo, Finland in October for the Finlandia Trophy…not! But seriously, Patrick will be skating to one of his mom’s favorite songs (“Blackbird” by The Beatles), and he hopes to include the quad salchow jump in his programs as well. See a preview of his new short program here and below:

Going to Finland (where the next World Championships will be held) will help him get used to jet lag early in the season, and I’m sure help him scope out conditions on the ice over there.

The Wisdom of Pchiddy

In the video above, PJ Kwong asked Patrick a fantastic question, “Top three lessons skating has taught you”, to which Patrick thoughtfully replied:

Very wise, young master, and I will most certainly take your advice to heart! It’s been a pleasure blogging about you and your year so far, and I look forward to a great season ahead!

Fun at the Reception

Watch Patrick play a game with Megan Duhamel and Eric Radford at the reception!

Scott Moir was the first to bid on a bottle of icewine at the auction, of course!

For more photos and videos from the Breaking the Ice reception, check out @QuadAxel3Toe’s Twitter postings here!

If You Want More Info…

For more media articles, please check out this website’s sidebar under “Google News Feed”.

Read more quotes from Patrick’s interviews here.

Pchiddy appears in more videos here and here.

Or you can check out Mango’s neatly compiled post of links and facts on Golden Skate Forums here.

What do you think of the latest developments in Pchiddy’s career? Leave a comment below!

Late August 2016 Updates

After the announcement that coach Kathy Johnson had resigned, Patrick posted a photo of himself at the Mad Decent Block Party at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit:

Here’s another photo of him with his friends there, including skater Yura Min:

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