What about Ashley and Agnes? And I actually think Christina does have what it takes, I just think it will take her a little longer to get there, she is still very tiny and a bit juniorish. Also, any news on Caroline getting a new coach? If she does maybe she can work out her issues.Originally Posted by miki88
I haven't heard any news about Caroline for quite a while. I guess she hasn't made any coaching changes or we would have heard about it.
Ashley seems to be close and not sure about Christina yet.
Rachael seems to have peaked last year and not sure if she will continue serious training.
Other than Mirai - I don't see any USA Lady having Worlds podium potential at the moment. Even with Mirai - as we just found out - it is still about potential, but Mirai atleast seems to have the talent to become an elite level senior skater.
Maybe it is best for Alissa and Sasha to comeback although I can already hear SL saying "no, no"
Sasha is past her prime and Alissa unfortunately I don't think has what it takes to be on top, even if she becomes more consistent. She has never really been able to score much more than 100 points for her FS and that is just not going to cut it. Plus with tech callers being so strict about URs, Alissa's in trouble. And she's so slow, her spins are really, really beautiful thoughI haven't heard any news about Caroline for quite a while. I guess she hasn't made any coaching changes or we would have heard about it.
Ashley seems to be close and not sure about Christina yet.
Rachael seems to have peaked last year and not sure if she will continue serious training.
Other than Mirai - I don't see any USA Lady having Worlds podium potential at the moment. Even with Mirai - as we just found out - it is still about potential, but Mirai atleast seems to have the talent to become an elite level senior skater.
Maybe it is best for Alissa and Sasha to comeback although I can already hear SL saying "no, no". I think she would be a great show skater and always wonder why she never tried ice dance? She has everything except speed and jumps, and in ice dance you don't need either!
Oh and I kind of want Caroline or Christina to switch to pairs. I just think they'd be really good at it. I want Min-Jung Kwak to do pairs too, she's so flexible and light as a feather! Haha yeah I guess I just like pairs but if Caroline were to do pairs she wouldn't have to worry so much about her jumps and could abandon her mule kick flip and lutz and just do 2a and 3sal instead, which she can do very well. Christina I just think is cute and could be like Pang
The US has the same eligibles next year as they did this year. Nothing was lost.
Meaning no one is retiring? I find that hard to believe
If Caroline ever switched to pairs skating, I'd be worried about her partner's groin. It IS a triple LUTZ twist ...
I just think she'd be good at it and maybe she'd be a little happier because she wouldn't get dinged for her technique? Idk. I definitely think Kwak should do pairs, she's so dainty and bendy.
I think he meant that USA entered Wolrds with two spots for Ladies - and that hasn't changed.
Ohh ok. It will be weird next season though if there is no Alissa, no Bebe, and no Rachael. I'm excited though because I really like Christina and Amanda and am curious to see how they will fair on the Grand Prix. Is anyone else really, really excited to find out what music the skaters programs will be set to next season? I can't wait!
I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm not sure Caroline needs a new coach. It may be that Ms. Li and Caroline made a decision to hold off fixing her jumps until the Olympic season was over. Was it a mistake to let poor technique creep in? Yes it was. But the mistake has been made and the lesson learned.
Maybe you are a minority but you could be right.
Ms Li coached one of my all-time favorites, Lu-Chen so it's not like she hasn't had successful skaters in the past.
Mirai suffered last season after growing so much and I think this was a big part of Caroline's problems this season. Add in a few injuries (which Mirai also had last year) and a skater can have a very subpar season.
But Caroline does need to skate faster - to enter her jumps faster, and to get more lift.
Some of that can come from strength training but Caroline looks like she needs a whole new approach/technique for her jumps.
Frank Carrol said it has happened to every girl he has ever coached - that when the center of gravity changes the jump techniques have to be changed too. He said he had to change much of Mirai's jump technique - in fact he said it was like starting over.
But we have seen Mirai making progress and I think Caroline has many fans that really hope she can make these adjustments. I think that means letting a coach take over and no interference from the family or even the skater.
Frank can be tough and I think Caroline needs some tough coaching too.
I still love aspects of Caroline's skating and I would be very happy to see her back in the mix and skating much better next season.
I hope you;re right. Caroline just seems so heavy on the ice though, even though she's tiny. It's like she drags her skates in her crossovers, and I'm also always worried that her hip will break every time she does a triple loop. So idk, Alissa never seemed to be able to overcome her bad jump technique but I don't know if that was mostly just due to her nerves. Caroline's still young, she has time, she just needs an overhaul. It's not just her jumps that are the problem either, if she doesn't figure out a way to get her PCS up she'll never be competitive internationally, especially because currently she can't get much GOE from her jumps. I mean, when was the last time she broke 60 in the SP? A few years ago right? I don't know how you go about teaching a student how to improve PCS though.
If Caroline can get stronger, make her jumps faster and higher, make her skating look effortless again, her PCS, TES, GOE, NFL, IRS, whatever, will all go up.
Three spots matter (eg. Sarah Hughes, Evan Lysacek). I was there watching live and the first thing I thought when Mirai's score came up was 'oh no; no 3 spots *again*'. Obviously I worry about it because of Ashley; if there had been 3 spots she would have been an Olympian and I would have finally seen her live which has been a dream since 2007. Doom and gloom for US Ladies figure skating? I don't know. I really don't think Rachael and Mirai are all that impressive; Rachael's jump technique looks absolutely awful in real life; Mirai I liked at the Olympics and in the Worlds SP but then I saw her at FS practice and now I know. The whole bubbly, happy, smiley thing is just an act. She has as much personality as Evan Lysacek and she and Frank Carroll spend more time in her practice session to work on the 'perfect smile when landing a jump' than on the actual jumps. Yes she probably made mistakes because of nerves + end of the season fatigue and yes she has nice spins, lines, spirals and she's lovely to watch. We'll have to wait and see.
So Rachael... I didn't really know she was considering retirement that much. But she really sounds like she wants to go to university full time. So in the icenetwork interview she sounded like she might defer university for 1 year but that would be the end of it. So I can't really see Rachael as the future of American figure skating; she clearly hoped to either win worlds or the Olympics before she was 18. Look at Joannie young girls; it takes a while before you become the best skater you can be.
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