![\"\"](\"http:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/MS4C3832.jpg\")
<\/a>ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Last month, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the United States ended their 2018-19 season with a 5th-place showing at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Anaheim, California. It was a solid finish for the American team after a challenging season.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a slow, and often frustrating, climb back up the competitive ladder since Haven Denney\u2019s serious knee injury in spring 2015. When Denney and Frazier returned to competition in the 2016-17 season, they got off to a fine start, winning their first senior U.S. title, but struggled at 2017 Worlds in Helsinki where they did not qualify for the free skate. In the 2017-18 season, they finished a discouraging 5th at U.S. Nationals and did not earn any late-season assignments. After that event, Denney and Frazier decided it was time to return to coach John Zimmerman, who had guided their most successful senior campaign (2014-15). <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This season began with another obstacle as Denney suffered an ankle stress fracture that limited their training and kept them out of their second Grand Prix and Challenger Series events. Although Denney and Frazier fought back to earn a silver medal at U.S. Championships in January and a trip to Four Continents Championships, the team is still looking for more. They\u2019re proud of the improvements they\u2019ve made this season in presentation and choreography, but freely admit there\u2019s still more work to do. When Figure Skaters Online<\/em> spoke with Denney and Frazier the day after Four Continents, the couple was candid in discussing the current state of their skating. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>This season was a bit up-and-down,\u201d Denney said. \u201cWe struggled with an injury–my stress fracture. So it was hard to train, leading into our competitions. It was two weeks off, get back on the ice, limit your jumps and throws, or no jumps and throws, and then competition. After Skate Canada, we were trying to prepare for our second Grand Prix [France]. And at that point it was just so painful, I couldn’t even get my foot in the boot. We were like, \u2018Okay, let’s take this time and recover, and get well-trained for Nationals.\u2019 So that’s what we did. And we were happy with the way that Nationals went.\u201d <\/p>\n Denney said the quick turnaround between Nationals and Four Continents wasn\u2019t a problem for them. \u201cWe were keeping the momentum from Nationals, and our bodies and our minds were already in competition mode. So yes, there were technical errors–specifically, the jumps–in our long program [at Four Continents]. But overall, we did some really good things in this program, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>The beginning of the season didn’t really go the way we wanted it to,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cThere were some variable changes that we didn’t plan on. I think we did the best we could. Because the season could have gone one of two ways. The injury [stress fracture] could’ve gotten the best of us, and our brains, our mental game. But we came back; we fought strong.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frazier said the last few years have been challenging. The team has needed to focus not only on rehabilitating injuries, but also on choreography, skating skills, execution, and perhaps most of all, their confidence level.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One thing that was never in doubt was their motivation. \u201cWe have such a passion for the sport. That’s why we’re still here,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cFor us, we’ve been on the highest points, and then we’ve had some big lows as well. We battled some of the hardest injuries you can receive. Then we’ve battled that mental game of: \u2018You know, we’re building, we\u2019re ready to be one of the top teams in the world\u2019–And then, things just happen. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Trying to rebuild was a big thing for us after 2018 Nationals,\u201d Frazier continued. \u201cA lot of disappointment, just all around. We knew when we started this quad, we were going to need to start doing everything better. Yes, obviously, the technical–the jumps. Everyone’s got that one thing that they have to improve. For some teams, it’s lifts; for some, it’s throws. For us, it was a lot of things. And I think, this season, we did a good job of minimizing that down. That list became a lot shorter now. We have cleaned ourselves up. We have found a better approach in our skating skills and our performance, and how we compete and attack things, which is a start. We’re not there yet, but we’ve narrowed it down. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Last year, even maybe the season before, I was sitting there [thinking]: \u2018Oh, we don’t have the jumps. Our programs aren’t as strong. Our skating skills aren’t– \u00a0We’re not getting the component mark.\u2019 So it\u2019s really nice that people are loving our performances now,\u201d Frazier concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This season, Denney and Frazier began working with Charlie White on choreography. Their programs to David Cook\u2019s \u201cBillie Jean\u201d and medley by The Irrepressibles showed new maturity and were well-received. The team spoke highly of White.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Charlie is just one of a kind,\u201d said Frazier. \u201cHe’s a genius with what he does, but his mindset is so fresh off the competitive scene that he knows all those little things that go on in our brains. He’s got such a fun way, a professional way, about him that he is just a real pleasure to work with. Our programs came really quick with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Denney and Frazier also strove to improve their skating skills this season, working with coach Silvia Fontana. \u201cSilvia’s specialty is the skating skills and the components. We work with her for about 45 minutes or 1 hour each day,\u201d said Denney. \u201cWe’ll sit there with our video, and watch again and again. John [Zimmerman] is amazing, too, at creating transitions and intricate parts of the program.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Denney and Frazier feel confident that they are on the right path in developing their presentation. And they\u2019ve been working daily with coaches John Zimmerman and Jeremy Barrett on their technical elements. However, there are still some technical weaknesses to work out–mainly, their side-by-side jumps.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>We made some great strides in the right direction, and now there’s a smaller hole that we need to fill. It’s the last piece that’s really going to take us from that mid-pack to the next level. People always come up to us and they’re like, \u2018You’ve got it, you just need the jumps.\u2019 And we know that. We want it. It’s just about finding the plan to make it work,\u201d said Frazier.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>It\u2019s like–the jumps, the jumps,\u201d Denney said. \u201cIt’s two elements in a pairs program. Even with these two elements, it doesn’t define how the rest of the program is going to go. That was something [that] we were really proud of ourselves mentally, in this program [at Four Continents], is that we didn’t let those mistakes affect the rest of the program. It’s not all<\/i><\/span> about the jumps. With that said … Yes, of course, we need to get that. Things in practice have been so much better–more consistent, more confident, with our side-by-sides. The next step is being able to compete that. We did a good job at Nationals with our side-by-side triple Salchows. We were able to compete that. So it’s in us, we know we can do it. And now, we have this time to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following discussions with Mitch Moyer, senior director of athlete high performance for U.S. Figure Skating, the team expects to spend several weeks during the off-season working with a jump specialist to address that gap in their skating.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n With this season now completed, Denney and Frazier\u2019s thoughts are already turning to next season. The team said they were not planning to take any break at all after Four Continents.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>We’re going to get back right into the rink,\u201d Denney said. \u201cThere’s always more improvement that we can do in this upcoming off-season, and we’re motivated to get to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To start with, Denney and Frazier will work on new lifts with coach John Zimmerman. \u201cJohn’s a master at inventing new lifts. He’s always been great at that, and that’s what we enjoy working with him [on] now,\u201d Frazier said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The team explained that it\u2019s easier to work on new lifts while still in competitive shape. \u201cIt’s tough to do that when you come off from two weeks\u2019 [vacation], and you’re a little out of shape, and putting up fifty lifts in a week,\u201d Frazier said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Easy things feel hard [then]. Hard things feel harder. So we\u2019ll do that now<\/i>,\u201d Denney said, with a smile. \u201cWe’ve learned in the past that, after our last competition, getting back into the rink right away and starting to create new lifts [is good]. We already know what the requirements for the short program are next year, so we can get a head start on that while we’re in shape. So we don’t take a vacation and then come back and try to do all these things and get injured or something. Of course, we’ll take time off for a vacation \u2026 Later.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>While you’re fresh and you’re hungry, you make the adjustments now,\u201d Frazier agreed. \u201cWe know John will be away for Worlds. We’ll probably take some time [off] then, so we’re not losing too much [coaching] time. And maybe right before this season’s high performance camp [Champs Camp in August], take a couple extra days.\u201d Frazier added that the team will also have year-end meetings and a season\u2019s-end evaluation after returning home.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Asked about their plans for programs next season, Denney said: \u201cWe would like to get two new programs. It’s always fun to create new programs and grow as a team. But we’ll have to talk about it with our coaches and with Charlie and decide what’s the best thing for us to do. But we would like<\/i><\/span> to get two new programs,\u201d she said with a smile.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Denney and Frazier hope to work with White again for their choreography. \u201cThis was just the first year with him, and consistency is the key to having this stuff. I’m excited to see what two or three years from now is going to be like,\u201d said Frazier. \u201cFor me, I connect with him well. And when something’s working, you stick with it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The team is intent on getting an early start because they hope to compete more in the 2019-20 season. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>