Weir Talks About Difficult Season
by Michelle Wojdyla

After his introduction, Weir gave a summary of the troubles he’s had over the last few months.

“The season so far hasn’t been my best by any means,” Weir said. “I’m looking forward to improving everything. It’s not about perfection now. It’s just about getting back into my comfort zone and feeling really good when I’m on the ice.

“I’ve sort of had an impenetrable shell around me for the past couple seasons. This year I started to let things off the ice affect my on-ice behavior and personality. I wasn’t clicking every day the way I should have been.”

After spending the summer in Simsbury, Conn., working on his new programs with Tatiana Tarasova, Weir returned to Newark, Del., and met with judges who critiqued his program. They told him that his levels were not high enough and that he would not have success in competition. Weir was forced to strip down the program and rebuild it to maximize his score potential.

A week and a half later, he headed off to Japan for an invitational event and followed that up the next weekend at the Campbell’s International Figure Skating Classic in St. Paul, Minn. Two weeks after that he was in St. John’s, Newfoundland, for Skate Canada.

“I never really had time to sit, relax and train,” Weir said. “I was just constantly playing catch-up. That’s not an ideal situation for any skater to be in, just because you want to feel comfortable.”

His second Grand Prix event in St. Petersburg, Russia, was better but not perfect.

“Finally, at Cup of Russia, I started to feel a little bit better about my program and the way I was skating, but still not to the level I believe I am (at).”

Hill agreed.

“I think the hardest thing for Johnny at that point was he had no time to train,” she said. ”This new system – all the elements – it’s probably the hardest it’s ever been on any of our athletes. Not just Johnny, any of them. A week and a half of actual training did not cut it. Then, knowing on top of it he couldn’t get comfortable or get ready, it made it more difficult.

She continued, “Before Cup of Russia he started to get more comfortable. After Cup of Russia he didn’t have to do anything else, so he had the time.”

This being an Olympic season just added to the challenge.

“I think in such a pressure-filled year, every federation wants its skaters to do their best, naturally, and bring home as many medals as possible,” Weir said. “They were pushing me for my own good and for their medals. I don’t appreciate it on a personal level, but on a professional level, it is constructive.”

Soon after, Weir said, he went into a tailspin, one that carried over and swept up his personal life, too.

“Because my skating was going bad, I would come home and I’d be angry and I would not connect with people the way I usually would. It wasn’t something I felt good about,” Weir said. “I really got to see people’s real colors as well as my own this year, and I got to grow up as a person. But to grow as a person, you can’t grow as a skater.

“It’s just been a real learning experience for me. I thought being at the level that I’m at, I’d be past all that. It’s opened my eyes to the fact that there is always something that can tear you down…and also something that can always build you back up.”

Weir’s long relationship with Hill helps gives them a special perspective on each other.

“Probably the most challenging thing is that he is as much a perfectionist as I am, and we both want him to do his best all the time, and that’s not always realistic. I think that’s probably one of the hardest things,” Hill said. “The best thing is that he’s such a great person. He’s really funny. The opportunity to have been with him as long as I have, I’ve seen him grow up, not just as a skater, but as a person. I will never be able to have that again, and it’s something very special.” 

Thursday, Weir and Hill take will draw from their shared experience and aim toward a three-peat at the U.S. Championships.

“I don’t shoot for just a medal; I shoot for being the best, and I shoot for being the best I can be at that time,” Weir said. “If I’m first, second, 11^th here, as long as I’ve done the best I can and done everything I can at that moment, I’ll be pleased. It would be great to go to the Olympic Games and the World Championships.

“As I’ve said a lot this season, I’m not placing all of my work and skated all of these years – the blood, sweat and tears – on one event to make it to one other event. I’ve come back to be the third-time national champion. I haven’t come back to be a two-time champion and a one-time bronze medallist. That’s not how I play this game."

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