Curses, It’s Junior National Title

Today we think jinx. The jinx of the rinks. The cracked mirror disguised as a gold medal. The black cat hanging out in the kiss and cry area.

“The curse of the junior national title,” says longtime figure skating coach Evy Scotvold with a touch of trepidation. “So many junior ladies never do anything once they move out.”

Recite the roll call of U.S. junior ladies champions. Michelle Cho is there. Michelle Kwan isn’t. Jennifer Karl, yes. Nancy Kerrigan, no. Caroline Song? Dena Galech? Cindy Bortz? Junior champions all, along with Sydne Vogel, who won the title in 1995, which means Tara Lipinski didn’t. Lipinski went on to the top flight of the Olympic medals podium in 1998. Vogel tried to qualify for the senior nationals at Staples Center this week, but failed to make it out of sectionals.

Go deeper down the list. Allison Oki. Kathryn Adams. Lorilee Pritchard. Jill Frost.

Kristi Yamaguchi? Won’t find her. Nicole Bobek? Not here. Dorothy Hamill? Debi Thomas? Peggy Fleming? Not present, not accounted for.

Within the realm of sports, there might be worse curses. The Bambino’s, for sure. The Heisman Trophy. The cover of Sports Illustrated. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch swept those last two, making SI’s cover a few weeks before winning the Heisman. That explains the Rose Bowl.

But the junior ladies title is to figure skating what an Angel uniform is to baseball. Some, with great fortitude and force of will, manage to rise above it--Sarah Hughes, Nolan Ryan, Jill Trenary, Tim Salmon. The vast majority, however, are done in before they’ve been handed half a chance.

Scotvold coaches Louann Donovan, who won the 2002 junior ladies national championship Friday. Formerly the coach of 1994 Olympic silver medalist Kerrigan, Scotvold knows the score, is mindful of the history.

Has he warned Donovan, a sweet kid with a pet hedgehog named Toepic, of the potential danger lurking ahead?

“I don’t think she really needs it,” Scotvold says, speaking bravely. “She’s got a lot ahead of her now internationally. I think she’ll do very well. She has to improve her maturity, her style and polish. That’s the big step she has to make. But she’s got content going solid now. What she has to do is really mature this next year. That’s what we’ll focus on.”

What happens to the junior champs once they graduate to the senior circuit?

Mostly, they gather candles on their birthday cakes. They gain a few inches. They add a few pounds. They acquire interests that lead them outside the practice arena, or burn into the early a.m. hours that once were reserved for sleep preparation for the next round of morning axels.

Others who stay the course aren’t always equipped for the long haul.

“Sometimes a junior champion can win juniors without being a great technical jumper,” Scotvold says. “Because sometimes they don’t do a lot [of demanding jumps]. Last year, they didn’t do much in terms of technical merit.

“If they don’t have it by the time they’re juniors, if they’re not doing the big stuff by then, they’re probably going to fall by the wayside.”

That’s one reason why Scotvold holds out hope for Donovan, who’s 15 and steps up to seniors this year.

“She’s got the hard stuff,” he says. “You can make them beautiful as they get older, but once they get older you can’t make them jump anymore. You got to get that in early, while they’re still little tomboys.”

A few other reasons: Hughes, the 1998 junior national champion, is third heading into today’s senior women’s free skate. Ann Patrice McDonough, the 2000 junior winner, is fifth. Two former junior titlists, skating in the same final group as Kwan and Sasha Cohen. A ray of hope.

Scotvold has studied the senior field this week. Were Donovan entered there instead, Scotvold believes “she’d certainly be in the top 10 right now. Maybe higher. At least technically. Technically, she’d probably even be higher than that. But style-wise, she doesn’t have the maturity yet.”

There’s still much to learn. Little things. Like fashion-coordinating to get the home crowd on your side. Kwan did this during Thursday’s short program, donning Laker purple. The Staples audience gave her a standing ovation when she was finished. Hughes skated out in black and purple, King colors. Another standing ovation.

It looks daunting, no doubt. Donovan blushed and shrugged shyly when asked Friday evening about the future, her future.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “As long as I keep skating well, I think I’ll keep improving. I move up to seniors next year. It’s a big step.”

A reporter asked if she planned to take a shot at the 2006 Olympics.

More blushing. More shrugging.

“Yeah.”

That’s what they all say, when they are transfixed by the glitter of newly minted gold. But maybe Louann will be one of the few to go against the grain, to break on through to the other side. To finally sink the jinx of the rinks.