Mirai Nagasu

Not often enough when it counts though.

mskater93 said:

Because when you get a new program, the pacing is totally different than the one before (unless you just change music and drop the old program on top of it). That means you have to learn where your breathing spots are versus where they were and how/where to set up the element versus where it was before. Also, skaters don't skate program, program, program during the "off time" in the periodization schedule. There is a peridoization chart for training that good coaches use (or use a modification of) to maintain the physical well being of their skaters. In the "off time" the skater is working on new elements and likely new choreography, not program, program, program. New choreography doesn't come just *like that* either - basically you work on a section at a time and then put the whole thing together and then actually start doing the elements. And when you are working on the sections, there may be a sticky point or two that you have to work through or even work with the choreographer to change to make it fit the concept and be something that looks good on you. There may be a section that's trickier than others when you first learn the program that you really focus on in practice (and maybe you run that section multiple times).

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Thanks. Makes perfect sense to me.

I was glad to see that Mirai's spins look back on track - they seemed so fast. And her choreo and presentation seemed more sophisticated. I liked both of her programs although I only watched once and was a bit distracted. Too bad about the URS. I wouldn't have expected her to be perfect right of the bat but I hope URs don't continue to be her nemesis. She looked beautiful out there though and hopefully she become more expressive and grow very comfortable with these programs, like she did in 2010.

I think she did not have that many URs in the program, I even think she fully rotated the jumps. The technical panel was really very strict I reckon.

christinaskater said:

I think she did not have that many URs in the program, I even think she fully rotated the jumps. The technical panel was really very strict I reckon.

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I still think the jumps looked better than at the Glacier Falls competition but you can see it on Mirai when the timing is not yet spot on.She get this "pop" in her jumps when she is in top form.Still too bad about the edge calls and it is a bit strange to see that it often goes either way on her 3Z and 3F :think:

I recently looked at her EX programs from Nebelhorn and FOI and her 3L and 3T were very good.I get the imprssion that it should be "easier" for her to attack a 3T to any of those jumps than to the 3?.
But then again, when she get good speed out of her 3F, it looks like she could attack a 3T to that jump too
I still do not understand why she is leaving out the 3S, her edge jumps are not bad at all?

kalle said:

I still think the jumps looked better than at the Glacier Falls competition but you can see it on Mirai when the timing is not yet spot on.She get this "pop" in her jumps when she is in top form.Still too bad about the edge calls and it is a bit strange to see that it often goes either way on her 3Z and 3F :think:

I recently looked at her EX programs from Nebelhorn and FOI and her 3L and 3T were very good.I get the imprssion that it should be "easier" for her to attack a 3T to any of those jumps than to the 3?.
But then again, when she get good speed out of her 3F, it looks like she could attack a 3T to that jump too
I still do not understand why she is leaving out the 3S, her edge jumps are not bad at all?

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I agree. When she really attacks her jump she does have a better "pop" or spring into her jumps. Only one or two of her jumps looked UR at Nebelhorn to me...I thought she looked pretty strong, which does give me hope that once the season starts, she'll be better. Her performance at Nebelhorn was stronger than at Glacier Falls...but she still has a way to go, particularly with selling the program (and a new dress!)

Mirai used to have a really nice salchow, particularly when she was smaller. This one from junior nationals had a ton of speed, a really good entrance, lots of coverage and a great riding edge out. Since her growth spurt, I've seen her crash and burn on salchows. She had ugly falls on that jump, often looking as though she couldn't pull the rotation to complete it. It would be nice if she brought it back (just to have a full set of jumps) but until she can get her other technique issues squared away, I don't expect to see it any time soon.

christinaskater said:

She has been able to conquer them in the past!

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Mirai has usually melted down when she goes into the LP as the one to beat. She seems to sense that it's within reach - hers to win or lose. The pressure of her own expectations and those of others tighten her up , etc.

When Mirai has been wonderful, she is usually in the underdog position. Since she's not expected to win, the expectations don't weigh as heavily.

Michelle K and Kurt B and many others have had the same problem during the Olympics - that's why it's always amazing when there's a wondrous program from a top contender at the Olympics. They really don't happen in singles very much. Tara and Sarah H had fantastic free skates when they won their OGM, but they weren't considered as outright favorites for the gold - a medal, yes, but not necessarily gold.

^^It takes a lot of focus to skate to win when you're actually in a position to win; it seems easier to fight from behind b/c at that point you don't have anything left to lose.

I agree about Michelle, but only in terms of SLC. That was one of the few times she seized up. Her LP in Nagano was fine; Tara left a better impression and benefited from it. But one of the reasons Michelle is so remarkable is b/c of the kind of competitor she was. Skating with a bulls eye on your back is difficult, but she managed year after year. She had one major implosion in the years she competed: 1997 nationals. She was the defending champ for the first time and it got to her and she folded like a house of cards in the FS. But that never happened again. From then on she learned how to focus her energy and skate her program; occasionally she'd make a mistake, but she never allowed it to complete unravel the program...after the mistake on the flip in SLC, she didn't give up. She finished out the rest of the program cleanly...that takes focus.

Competitive nerves are key, especially when it comes to figure skating. There's a ton of pressure to perform and you just have to know how to channel that energy and go out and do it...I don't know that Mirai has those competitive nerves, especially when she's in a position to win, which sucks b/c she's a strong SP skater which usually means she's in 1st or 2nd heading into the LP. Think about it. Her two best skates to date are from when she was in 4th place or lower heading into the FS (at the Olympics she was in 6th place; at 4CC she was in 4th place).

I really hope she's able to get her nerves under control. That is the only thing stopping her from being number one. Her nerves cause her jumps to get tighter which means she gets less height and tends to UR them. It also causes her technique to go out of the window which is why she gets those edge calls or has weird landings...if she could just get it under control, she'd be nearly unstoppable.

kwanatic said:

I agree. When she really attacks her jump she does have a better "pop" or spring into her jumps. Only one or two of her jumps looked UR at Nebelhorn to me...I thought she looked pretty strong, which does give me hope that once the season starts, she'll be better. Her performance at Nebelhorn was stronger than at Glacier Falls...but she still has a way to go, particularly with selling the program (and a new dress!)

Mirai used to have a really nice salchow, particularly when she was smaller. This one from junior nationals had a ton of speed, a really good entrance, lots of coverage and a great riding edge out. Since her growth spurt, I've seen her crash and burn on salchows. She had ugly falls on that jump, often looking as though she couldn't pull the rotation to complete it. It would be nice if she brought it back (just to have a full set of jumps) but until she can get her other technique issues squared away, I don't expect to see it any time soon.

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Also looking at that first program (the one from junior nationals), she had a nice outside edge on her Lutz, not the flutz we hear so much now. Usually a flutz is engrained early, so how did she get a flutz in such a short time?

Mrs. P said:

Also looking at that first program (the one from junior nationals), she had a nice outside edge on her Lutz, not the flutz we hear so much now. Usually a flutz is engrained early, so how did she get a flutz in such a short time?

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I think a lot of it had to do with her growth spurt. Oftentimes you'll hear people say that skaters have to relearn technique after they grow because that added height and weight don't allow you to move the way you used to. I think this is true Mirai's lutz technique. It's a delicate balancing act to achieve an outside edge leaning one way and then rotate the other; when she got bigger, it became a little harder for her to secure that outside edge which is why she sometimes will get an edge call and other times she doesn't.

Mirai's technique is actually pretty solid (most of the time). I think her nerves sometimes cause her to seize up which affects her technique and she ends up with edge calls. She doesn't have a deep lutz edge like Yu-Na, Miki or Shizuka, but she is capable of correctly executing the jump and often does. At COC last year, no edge calls on the lutz; at TEB she got edge calls on the lutz; no lutz edge calls at nationals, but calls on the flip; same thing at 4CC--none for the lutz, but calls on the flip. Mirai's just a bit inconsistent with the execution of her technique, but she's not a chronic flutzer or lipper...