The lessons preached by Colson, an icon who worked with greats Barbara Ann Scott and Donald Jackson, extended beyond the rink. He hectored young Chan about his manners, telling him to cut his food into small pieces, and taught him how to present himself to people.
"Because he believed one day I would meet the Queen or the president or prime minister, he prepared me very well for what was to come," said Chan. "Because he believed that I would reach the top one day."
It was not always an easy relationship. Chan's father, Lewis, remembers thinking the partnership wouldn't last more than six months given the coach's frequent intemperate outbursts, but felt that his son could learn a lot in the meantime.
"He was really from a different era, like one of these old kung fu masters from China," said Lewis Chan.
Patrick smiles ruefully as he recalls Colson's tirades
His challenge right now is developing a consistent triple Axel. He landed a quadruple toe at a summer training camp in Barrie with jumping-meister Doug Leigh, but it is the triple Axel that "separates the men from the boys," as a Granite Club coach put it to Chan.
His batting average is at about 40 to 50 per cent and the jump is the key to achieving his goal of qualifying for the world championships in Tokyo in March.
Chan, who speaks Cantonese as well as French, is proud of his heritage.
"I'm very happy that I'm a Chinese-Canadian," he said. "It doesn't mean you have to be Caucasian to skate. You could be black. You could be Chinese. Whatever. I'm very proud I'm Chinese and represent the Chinese community ... I really like my culture. I love the food. I want to go to China one day when I'm older ..."
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Cynthia咋就变成这样了？！简直是扼杀我的眼球[em37]
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