Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hochstein brings heart and positive outlook to nationals

Grant Hochstein is a 21 year old who trains in Detroit, Michigan.  This college student finished 5th at Ondrej Nepela Memorial earlier this season.  He has won pewter medals at nationals at the Intermediate and Junior level.  He won silver at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

After battling the flu last season at nationals, Hochstein is armed with a triple axel and ready to contend with the best.  He talked to me about the triple axel, Michelle Kwan and loving skating.

How would you describe your skating to someone who had never seen you skate before?
I would like to think of my skating as simple, yet refined. I skate from the inside out and really put my soul into what I do. Skating is my passion!

You competed at Ondrej Nepala Memorial earlier this season.  What did you learn from that experience? 
Nepela was kind of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde competition for me. My short program went really well, I skated clean and finished 2nd. The long didn't go quite as planned and my body kind of quit cooperating with me about halfway through. Needless to say I was less than satisfied. However, the experience brought about a new sports psychologist who has really been instrumental in the retooling of the way I look at competitions and the way I train for them. Sometimes you have to fail in order to succeed.

One of your main goals this season was to get consistency on the triple axel.  How has that element been coming?  Are there any other elements you've been working on in preparation for nationals?
Yeah, a consistent triple axel has really been the main goal of this season. It has come along really well too. I've stood up on it in at least one program at each competition, which is a statistic that I'm really proud of. Before this year I had only stood up on it once (2011 Midwestern Sectionals Free Skate) and had never landed any in competition. I don't have any other new technical tricks this year, but I'm pretty darn happy with that one because its been a long time coming.

Earlier this season, you said you were aiming for a top 6 finish at nationals.  How do you feel about your chances at this point in the season?  How do you hope nationals will set you up for your short term and long term goals as a skater?
A top 6 finish is something I'm really striving for and I finished 7th in 2010 so I don't think that it is overly ambitious. Obviously there are a lot of great men at this years Nationals so I think that whoever brings their "A" game on that particular day has a shot. In terms of my season to this point, there have been a lot of ups and downs and I haven't really had the results I've been looking for, but I feel focused and really prepared for this championship. I hope that I can go and do my job and continue to show myself as a contender for one of the Olympic slots in 2014.

Are there any other skaters or events you're looking forward to watching?  
I think the ladies event is going to be wicked this year! I'm really looking forward to it and it will probably be one of the only events I will get to watch. Its very similar to the men's this year where you have a lot of great skaters and whoever brings it on that day will walk away with the title. I'm also planning on trying to stalk Michelle Kwan and get to meet her somehow. I think its so cool that she's being inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame at this year's Nationals. She's such a legend! To meet her would be such an honor as she has always been my single source of inspiration, both as a skater and as a person. I will probably have a heart attack!

Is there anything else you want people to know?
I guess I just want people to know that I truly love skating. It isn't always easy and there are some days that I don't really feel like going into the rink, but there is always something deep inside that pulls me there. And to be able to skate at an elite level is such an incredible thing and I thank God every day for giving me such an incredible gift. I hope that I can make people who come to Nationals or watch it on TV or online feel how much I love what I do. Oh...and also, I love my dog, Kingston :)

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