\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article By Melanie Hoyt<\/p>\n
![\"harvey-gagnon\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/harvey-gagnon.jpg?resize=215%2C268&ssl=1\")
For Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon, the approach to the 2007-2008 season began because of a chance to skate at home. After struggling with achieving the results that they wanted to see in prior seasons, the young Canadians\u2014who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary as partners\u2014were not even sure that they wanted to continue.<\/p>\n
But the 2008 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships were in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
And Harvey & Gagnon train at the BC Centre of Excellence in Burnaby.<\/p>\n
They made a commitment to give everything they had to the season, to see how far it could take them. The strategy paid off. After two consecutive years in 13th place on the junior level at the Canadian Championships, Harvey & Gagnon moved all the way up to fourth in 2008.<\/p>\n
Last spring, the teenagers heard that ten-time Canadian medalists Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe were returning to Vancouver to coach. While preparing for the 2007 Canadian Championships last season, Harvey & Gagnon had briefly worked with Wing & Lowe. Thinking that this might be the change that they needed to make in their skating, they contacted the 2006 Olympians and decided to make the switch from longtime coach Rod Mackie.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir training methods were so different,\u201d Gagnon said. \u201cIt was really motivating for us to go out there and try it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Wing & Lowe, Harvey & Gagnon spend three hours on the ice every day, Monday through Friday, and they also participate in off-ice training and dance classes. Harvey also credited their success to making the most of their training time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach week, Megan and Aaron make structured training plans for us, so we know exactly what we need to do every day and don\u2019t waste any time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
With Wing & Lowe, changes were made to their day-to-day training as well as to their competitive strategies. Dance teams in Canada often have the opportunity of choosing to skip Challenge, the qualifying competition for the Canadian Championships. Because they skipped the 2007 event, Harvey & Gagnon had only competed twice in the 2006-2007 season. According to Lowe, this was something that had to change immediately. When asked what their strategy was for the season, Lowe emphasized that they wanted to get their choreography done early and then make sure they were competing right away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing,\u201d Lowe explained, \u201cwas to train them, get them conditioned, and get them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Harvey & Gagnon, the opportunity to train with new coaches was a big motivator, but it was also important that they were able to remain in Vancouver. They were the only dance team at the 2008 Canadian Championships who had trained in Vancouver for their entire careers\u2014a true hometown team. The idea of leaving Vancouver and training elsewhere had come up, but staying at home has always been a priority for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always said, \u2018We can do it here, so let\u2019s stay here,\u2019\u201d Gagnon said. \u201cAnd you know, there is something for representing the place that you\u2019ve grown up in, and you\u2019ve always been from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harvey & Gagnon kicked off their season at the 2007 Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships, where their strong performances in the original and free dances prompted Skate Canada to assign them to a Junior Grand Prix event. Unfortunately, the team also began a season-long struggle in the compulsory dances. Placing near the bottom in each compulsory dance in Lake Placid, they also had to come from behind after the compulsory at the 2008 Skate Canada Western Challenge. There, a seventh-place compulsory kept Harvey & Gagnon from finishing on the podium.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Championships, however, were another story. Their sharp, strong, and much-improved fifth-place Cha Cha Congelado put Harvey & Gagnon in an excellent position for the rest of the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very happy with how we skated,\u201d Harvey said after the event. \u201cOur Cha Cha went well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the compulsories, we were both holding our breath,\u201d Gagnon admitted. \u201cThe Cha Cha [at Nationals] was huge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although a small mistake in the original dance cost them an opportunity to make up some ground in what is usually their best dance, Harvey & Gagnon closed the competition and the season on a high note with one of their best performances to date.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur free dance felt amazing,\u201d Harvey said. \u201cI think that was the best run-through of the free dance we ever did! It felt so good!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe free dance was amazing,\u201d Gagnon agreed. \u201cThe free dance was also kind of a blur.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their free dance, ranked third among the Canadian juniors in Vancouver, was nearly enough to get them onto the podium, but they fell short by less than three points. As soon as the competition was over, the hometown team was already thinking about next year.<\/p>\n
In the 2008-2009 season, Harvey & Gagnon will once again compete on the junior level. After a successful year, they are eager to see how much they can still achieve. They plan to compete at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships again and are trying to work out another summer competition as well.<\/p>\n
As for the team\u2019s second-year coaching strategy, \u201cNext year will be the challenge, to see how well they can do,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cNow they\u2019ve developed a really good sense of what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve improved a lot this year,\u201d Wing added. \u201cThey seem like they\u2019re having fun, and it makes training easier when you\u2019re enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once again, Harvey & Gagnon got a jump on the season, already having completed choreography for both their original and free dances for \u201908-\u201809. By using some of the same approaches that helped them find success last year\u2014choreography learned early and tough competitions competed as often as possible\u2014they hope to continue their upswing.<\/p>\n
Harvey & Gagnon still find it hard to believe that it all began on a whim of a coaching change last year, simply because the circumstances seemed right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe looked at each other and said, \u2018Why not? We\u2019ll give it one last try, and we\u2019ll see how we do with them, just roll the dice, and see how it goes,\u2019\u201d Gagnon said with a wide grin and a shrug of his shoulders. \u201cAnd we won!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes, fourth place is just as good as gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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