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The quad quest
Canada's Jeffrey Buttle hopes a difficult new element to his program returns him to medal contention
| Source: |
CBC Sports |
| Date: |
October 29, 2007 |
| Author: |
Tony Care |
Jeffrey Buttle needs the quad in his routine to win, but reaching this
goal may not be that simple.
Buttle's suspicions about the jump's importance were confirmed at the
conclusion of the 2007 world figure skating championships in Tokyo
last March.
When Buttle - the final competitor of the men's event -
skated off the ice following his long program, he was quickly
approached by coach Rafael Arutunian, who informed the 2006 Olympic
bronze medallist that six of his top rivals had performed quadruple
jumps.
The news only reinforced the Sudbury, Ont., skater's firm belief that
he was behind the rest of the field, and that he had to do something
about it.
After surprising some experts with his energetic and inspiring effort
at the Torino Games, Buttle, wanted to build on his momentum by adding
the difficult quadruple toe loop to his expanding repertoire the
ensuing summer.
Unfortunately, doctors diagnosed Buttle, 25, with a stress facture in
August 2006, forcing Canada's best performer to miss the entire Grand
Prix season to rest his ailing back.
By the time Buttle, whose injury was attributed to the torque he
generates required to perform spins, returned for training last
November, other pressing matters had taken priority.
"It [the back] really hindered with my training," Buttle explained to
CBCSports.ca "Once I got back on the ice after the injury, it was
really just about trying to get back into shape and build more
strength in time for my next competition instead of being able to work
on my [quad] jumps."
Despite the setback, Buttle won his third consecutive national men's
title during his first post-injury competition in January, and
finished a respectable sixth at the world championships.
Although his back pain subsided, the lack of training caused Buttle's
conditioning to suffer, but nonetheless he was sitting second after
the short program at the worlds, behind eventual champion Brian
Joubert of France.
Feeling a little reckless, Buttle decided to include the daunting quad
jump into his long program.
"I went down on the quad toe, which again I hadn't really tried all
season, but we went for it anyway," said Buttle. "It was one of those
things where I went for everything and it just didn't happen. There
are days when you're just a little bit off and it can be pretty
costly."
Travelled to U.S. to work with strength coach
Determined to avoid a similar fate this season, Buttle travelled to
California in June for four months to work with Chris Hoffman, the
strength coach for former five-time world champion Michelle Kwan of
the U.S.
There, Buttle strengthened his back by enduring an arduous leg
exercise program and began the process of making the quad jump part of
his regular routine.
"I sort of sat down with him at the very beginning and told him what
had happened last year and he just realized that I needed to improve
my basic strength before I started doing these impact jumps. So we
spent a lot of time doing basic training and then made it more
specific to figure skating.
"The training really went well. Skating obviously requires a lot of
leg strength, so if you can strengthen your legs, you can alleviate
any back pain. Chris helped me do the exercises with the proper
technique to make sure that I was maximizing my power."
With Buttle preparing for his first competition of the season -
the Skate Canada International event beginning with CBC Sports'
coverage on Friday in Quebec City - he can do so knowing the
prospects of challenging the best skaters in the world appear
promising.
Indeed, spending long hours with Hoffman has significantly increased
his chances for success, but Buttle doesn't hesitate conceding his
biggest concern.
"[The quad] is coming along really well," Buttle said. "I started
landing it last month in practice, but the consistency definitely
needs to improve. I really need to push it and increase the number of
times I land it. That takes time and perseverance."
CBC figure skating analyst Tracy Wilson believes the three months lost
to injury hurts Buttle's chances of competing against the likes of
Joubert, whose athleticism and ability to continually land the quad
separates him from the rest of the field.
Even underrated Czech skater Tomas Verner, a fourth-place finisher at
the worlds, performs two quads in his long program, giving him a big
advantage over his Canadian rival.
"You need to be landing it at about an 85 per cent clip in practice to
make it worth the risk," said Wilson.
"Jeff to me is the consummate professional and very much a
perfectionist. But bringing in a new element into the program like the
quad isn't easy. It's usually the first jump in a skater's
performance, so if Jeff falls, he has to be able to recover quickly
and not let it affect the rest of his program."
Browning agrees with Wilson
Wilson's opinion is shared by the man who pioneered the jump, Kurt
Browning, the first athlete ever to successfully land the quad at the
1988 Budapest world championships.
Browning, also a CBC analyst, doesn't expect Buttle to have command of
the jump when the March 2008 worlds take place in Gothenburg,
Sweden.
"It's not that I don't believe Jeff can't do it, but there are a few
small things about the quad that most people don't realize," said the
four-time world champion, who also happens to be Buttle's
idol.
"With this jump you need to reach [the highest point] and Jeffrey gets
a little tight before he jumps, so he loses some of that potential
power. That's something that he needs to address because he's shutting
down about 15 to 20 per cent of his potential jump.
"There will be extra pressure on him because he hasn't landed it yet
in competition. It's a monkey on his back that he has to get rid
of."
Still, stressing over lost time will only hinder Buttle's changes for
the upcoming season. While there is some ground to make up, he can
only hope the laborious training in California will once again turn
him into a medal contender.
"Last year at the world championships, it was evident that the quad
was back [in the men's event] and now it just has to be there," he
said. "And I don't want to get left behind."
It's also history Buttle wants to avoid for a second time.
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