Priscilla Hill Quotations

He has no idea what his skating does to people.

He's been smart and he's listened well. He's at the normal point of preparation for nationals. All the other things didn't help in the Grand Prix season, but he really missed training only for the Grand Prix season. Skipping the Grand Prix final gave us the time we needed to finally train and that was all he really needed.

He just wasn't comfortable with it. The new program is still Johnny. But as a skater, when something isn't second nature, you find yourself thinking about it and it gets tougher.

He likes that they respect the sport there, not like in America, where it's all about football.

That was the hard part for Johnny. There was no time to train. And that made things more difficult.

Yeah, of course I cringe because I grew up in the era of skating when you couldn't talk to a judge. You couldn't talk to anyone. And so it's a big change. It's been a whole learning experience for me and yet a wonderful one, and I would never change it.

We weren't totally surprised, because during the summer, we'd get bits and pieces from the judges. When we found out for sure, it threw him for a loop. He literally had a week and a half of practice with his new program before he started competing.

Personally, I don't think the schedule had anything to do with it. He may have been a little bit rushed, but not out of the ordinary and he warmed up well. I feel it was a great deal of pressure he's never dealt with before.

A week and a half of actual training did not cut it. Then the frustration on top of it ... made it more difficult. There were all kinds of things that went along with it. It just kept going and there was no time for him to get into his normal training system that happens in the fall.

The next thing I knew, there was Johnny standing there. He went through the whole thing with me. That's just the type of person he is.

It's so beautiful and easy for him to do in practice. But I feel at this point, it has to be his call.

I only want him to do it if he feels comfortable trying it. Do I think he is capable of landing it? Yes. Would I like him to show that to everyone? Yes. But it has to be up to him.