Don't think that believing in oneself can be taken for granted for athletes, even when they reach the level Denney and Frazier have reached this season. Believing in oneself comes with effort – and success. They made the effort, and they are harvesting success, but the journey can be rocky.
"Our goal in Grenoble was to commit to every element, and that's what we did. We stuck to one thing at a time," Haven Denney offered smiling as she left the ice after their successful free program at Internationaux de France. The team skated the second best free of the night and consolidated the third place they had won in the short to win bronze. Their podium finish in Grenoble marked their second of the season as the team also earned bronze at 2019 Skate America presented by American Cruise Lines.
"We had so many ups and downs (over the years), and that questioned our confidence," Frazier confirmed. Along with their coaches John Zimmermann and Silvia Fontana, the duo has worked to reinforce themselves through three main pillars: the quest for excellence, the uniqueness of their program and spectacular tricks that they enrich their programs with.
"I enjoy the steps we are taking," Frazier continued. "We're learning to focus on ourselves and go for one element at a time to make it as best as we can.
"We used to be so much into our elements, trying to be perfect all the time. Now we're learning to be in the moment through our choreography. Silvia has done an amazing job. Every day she tells us to remember emotion, to relate to one another but also with everyone in the audience; skate a program with a meaning," Frazier explained. "Getting to that level requires a lot of time and work. There were lots of emotions in Grenoble. Had I let them in, that would have aggravated my nervousness so much – and affected our balance, stamina, physical and mental feelings."
"I need to experience my elements in different situations, so I know I'm ready to do them no matter of what," Frazier detailed. "I prefer a mess-up take-off at practice to challenge myself and prepare for competition. Also, I'll try to practice when I'm tired. I like to run with weights on my feet. I used to make mistakes when we started at the senior level. When Haven was injured, I just developed a more reliable pressure process. If I'm well prepared, I'll have more confidence.
"Their programs are great, and they feel unique with them," Zimmermann added. "It helps them believe in themselves better. The way they talk with me proves to me that they are growing well. Skate America was a nice step for them to feel where they need to be. In meetings I let them talk: the more they talk, and the more they believe. Discussing helps them to rationalize, to interiorize, and that transforms onto the ice. Now a bad practice won't put them in a downward spiral anymore. Getting to the top is in their reach. Now their big objective at the start of their program is their triple twist. Then it is their next element, and then their next element and so on through their programs. They're more step-by-step. If they get there, the results will happen."
"Learning all this takes time," Frazier emphasized. "We're lucky to have been together for so long. We've skated for 8-9 years consistently together, but we met when I was 9 and she was 6, when we debuted in roller skate pairs. In between we had to skate with different partners, because we were not living in the same cities. But altogether, we've skated some 15 years together. I believe in longevity. If the potential is there, you need to thrive keeping together. I believe Haven and I have the right car and are on the right road. There may be bumps here and there, but it does pay dividends in the long run.
"We've been through big highs and big lows. It's been a journey, and I love this journey with her. We know what we want to achieve – not only the outcome but to try our best on every element. We had a great Skate America, and we took that confidence that we know we can do it, and still keep that same attack we had."
"We have the same goal – success," Denney added. "That is, putting out our full potential (both Denney and Frazier pronounced the last sentence at the same time.) We have a lot more we can give.
"Sometimes we search so much for perfect things. Now it doesn't have to be perfect (for us) to be confident. You don't need a perfect take-off to land a jump."
One of the pillars Denney and Frazier have used to believe more in themselves is those technical tricks – lifts entries or exits and transitions, which they are enriching their programs with.
"John has got an arsenal of that! He can go crazy with that," Frazier explained. "In the off-season he brings all of it, and we have to try it off the ice, and then we try it on the ice and then he tells us, 'You'll have to do it in your program.' He could do that all day long, and he's got so much more. When we repeat an element with him, he'll always come up with something to add to it.
"This makes a whole difference in the way I train. I'm the kind of skater who would practice each element as many times as I can. He'll come and say 'No, work on this instead.' After a while I realize that he is broadening our range so much. I shouldn't be so strict into making six triple twists in a row. Transitions are just as important as triple jumps. Also, those tricks do take stress off your technical. Working on the pattern, on the way you go into an element takes your mind off it. There is so much more. Just like if an artist who paints with just one color decides to use several colors."
"For me? It's just fun!" Denney added, all smiles. "I like those tricks! Lifts are definitely my favorite part of the program and my favorite part of doing pairs. They are so much fun for me, and I want the audience to feel how fun it is to be lifted. It may sound stupid, but it feels like you fly so high, like if you were on a roller-coaster."
"I joked with Brandon the other day about that spectacular 'Fly High Say Bye' move they do at the end of their free program," Zimmermann recalled. "We did it at Stars on Ice, and when we wanted to transfer it to competition it didn't seem to have any value at the time. Now it has some through GOE, and it fits in with their program."
"Our programs are made to enhance our main strengths, of course, and what we want to display in a competition," Denney emphasized. "Believing in ourselves is not coming from our speed music and energetic programs, however. It's become something personal now, which makes us believe in ourselves as competitors and as people. It's something we have in us now."
"The Grand Prixes have been a fight," Frazier added. "Going there and showing some improvement shows the work we do at home physically and mentally is working. This gives us trust in the process we have taken. U.S. Championships will be a real fight. We'll have to be at our A-game. Now I know that I have within me what it takes to fight."
The 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be live and on demand on the
Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Tickets are available at
ncskate2020.com.
