Mirai is not done / Splits from Frank Carroll

[macy]

According to a recent IN article:

"'Last year I was really upset watching worlds,' she said. 'I was in Canada with Lori [Nichol], and it made me feel really upset that I wasn't there. But this year, it didn't really bother me. Last year it would have really brought me down, but this year, it's motivation for me to do better next year.

'I think the past couple of years, I've just put all of myself into skating, and this year I'd like to try to balance everything,' she said. 'Skating will always be my No. 1 priority, but it's nice for me to have something else to think about. It does upset me that I'm not at worlds, and it does upset me that I didn't do as well as I could have at nationals, but it's something to motivate me for next year.'

To bring some balance to her life, Nagasu has gone back to school, at Pasadena Community College.

'I'm taking art classes, which is a lot of fun,' she said. 'And I just got my driver's license, so I'm driving to school by myself.'"

...

"For the moment, Nagasu has been training in a local rink by herself, in addition to spending three hours a day in school.

'I haven't been traveling to Palm Springs because I'm not training my programs,' she said, 'So I'm skating at my local rink and just enjoying myself. Being in the real world makes me see how much I love the skating world. It's nice to have a balance of school and skating. I can appreciate how much work goes into both.'"

looks like we'll see an improved Mirai next year!

[jcoates]

Nice to see that she's starting to take more responsibility for herself. Even if she never reaches her skating potential, taking these steps will help her build a life for herself now and after skating.

[brightphoton]

It's good that she'll have a life outside of skating. It's not healthy to dwell on one thing for such a long time. Skating should really be a 3-4 hour a day activity.

[sweetskates1]

Mirai is a natural champion if only we could see her skate like one during both portions of international competitions!!

[macy]

^maybe we'll see that next season since this is her second worlds she's missed in a row.

[cjsk8fan]

Look how long it took Kostner to be a champion. Mirai will get there, she just needs time.

[FlattFan]

Look how long it took Kostner to be a champion. Mirai will get there, she just needs time.

What? When Kostner first started, she was doing 3F-3T, 3Lutz-3T left and right. Kostner was a world medalist at Mirai's age. Kostner had no weakness technically. She just had to skate clean. Mirai has dubious edge on both her flip and lutz, she doesn't have a Salchow. If Kostner had a skate of her life like Mirai did at the Olympics, I'm very sure she won't be 4th.
Not the same.

[tampro1]

According to a recent IN article:

'I think the past couple of years, I've just put all of myself into skating, and this year I'd like to try to balance everything,' she said. 'Skating will always be my No. 1 priority, but it's nice for me to have something else to think about. It does upset me that I'm not at worlds, and it does upset me that I didn't do as well as I could have at nationals, but it's something to motivate me for next year.'

To bring some balance to her life, Nagasu has gone back to school, at Pasadena Community College.

'I'm taking art classes, which is a lot of fun,' she said. 'And I just got my driver's license, so I'm driving to school by myself.'"

...

"For the moment, Nagasu has been training in a local rink by herself, in addition to spending three hours a day in school.

'I haven't been traveling to Palm Springs because I'm not training my programs,' she said, 'So I'm skating at my local rink and just enjoying myself. Being in the real world makes me see how much I love the skating world. It's nice to have a balance of school and skating. I can appreciate how much work goes into both.'"

looks like we'll see an improved Mirai next year!

I'm sorry but taking art classes and skating is not a balance or the real world. She sounds so clueless. Maybe she should work a full time job and see if she prefers that to serious training. If the last two years is the result of putting all of herself into her skating, she's done. She skated Nationals like someone who trains alone at a local rink. Elite world class athletes do not train by themselves. That is NOT putting all yourself into your skating. That explains her performances the last two seasons. Help....Mirai has fallen and she can't get up...help!

[rallycairn]

I was thinking along tampro1's lines but I couldn't think of a way to say it diplomatically. Although of course some balance is good in life, my reaction was huh??? You mean that's how she competed when she was putting her all into skating?? So how is parsing out her time going to make her skating better?

But heck, of course I don't and can't really know how much of herself she's put into skating so far. But just from the outside I'dve been more likely to guess she had lacked focus on skating the last few seasons, rather than had too much focus.

Regardless, hope she finds what works for her. Maybe she really does need some other outlets. But those comments made me think more "Mirai is done" rather than "Mirai is not done." She doesn't sound like good competition results are a goal.

[hurrah]

If it was a mental block of some sort that stopped her from being able to fully immerse herself in skating, I can see the need to reorganizing her life so that she feels happier. I hope she'll find a way to find the right balance, because I would love to see her skate as joyfully as she did at Vancouver.

[mskater93]

Many people who saw her practices at Nationals thought it was a done deal that she was going to win because her run throughs in practice were so good, it was only when she got into the performance that she had the deer in the headlights look. That could actually be related to too narrow of a focus or focusing narrowly but on the wrong thing (outcome/result) rather than being unfocused. This could be a good thing for her and an opportunity to get some perspective (even if it's skewed).

[heyang]

I was thinking along tampro1's lines but I couldn't think of a way to say it diplomatically. Although of course some balance is good in life, my reaction was huh??? You mean that's how she competed when she was putting her all into skating?? So how is parsing out her time going to make her skating better?

But heck, of course I don't and can't really know how much of herself she's put into skating so far. But just from the outside I'dve been more likely to guess she had lacked focus on skating the last few seasons, rather than had too much focus.

Regardless, hope she finds what works for her. Maybe she really does need some other outlets. But those comments made me think more "Mirai is done" rather than "Mirai is not done." She doesn't sound like good competition results are a goal.

Her problem might be that the only 'important' thing in her life is skating. She actually skated better competitively when she was still in high school - splitting her time between skating and studies. For some people, school is a distraction - i.e. Paul Wylie won his Silver medal at 92 Olympics after graduating from college. Others need a variety of activities in life to keep them focused on time management and to get a 'break' from their focus. It's possible that Mirai became too focused on winning and that doing other things will remind her to enjoy herself. Michele Kwan also took a couple of classes each semester while skating - she said it gave her a break from just thinking about skating and reminded her that there is a world beyond skating.

If this is what Mirai needs to do to get her mojo back, then people should be supportive, not disparaging. People are different and need to figure out what works best for them.

[drivingmissdaisy]

If this is what Mirai needs to do to get her mojo back, then people should be supportive, not disparaging. People are different and need to figure out what works best for them.

ITA. Most of us here agree Mirai needs to make some changes to her personal routine to try and regain her best results. Taking classes part-time seems like a well thought out decision that might work for her. From nationals practice reports it sounds like she is just on the cusp of translating her great practice skating into a competitive performance, so I think maybe something to distract her from the pressure seems like the perfect solution.

[skfan]

According to a recent IN article:

"'Last year I was really upset watching worlds,' she said. 'I was in Canada with Lori [Nichol], and it made me feel really upset that I wasn't there. But this year, it didn't really bother me. Last year it would have really brought me down, but this year, it's motivation for me to do better next year.

'I think the past couple of years, I've just put all of myself into skating, and this year I'd like to try to balance everything,' she said. 'Skating will always be my No. 1 priority, but it's nice for me to have something else to think about. It does upset me that I'm not at worlds, and it does upset me that I didn't do as well as I could have at nationals, but it's something to motivate me for next year.'

To bring some balance to her life, Nagasu has gone back to school, at Pasadena Community College.

'I'm taking art classes, which is a lot of fun,' she said. 'And I just got my driver's license, so I'm driving to school by myself.'"

...

"For the moment, Nagasu has been training in a local rink by herself, in addition to spending three hours a day in school.

'I haven't been traveling to Palm Springs because I'm not training my programs,' she said, 'So I'm skating at my local rink and just enjoying myself. Being in the real world makes me see how much I love the skating world. It's nice to have a balance of school and skating. I can appreciate how much work goes into both.'"

looks like we'll see an improved Mirai next year!

i'm no mind reader, but perhaps when mirai says 'real' world she means a world outside of the skating rink, perhaps a place where her spontaneity is appreciated instead of seen as deviation from the norm? of course the 'real' world of a part-time college student taking an art class while her parents subsidize her very expensive training is different from that of an adult who works full time to support herself.

i don't know if this change will help her skating, but i'm glad she's moved on from the stalemate, go nowhere position. frank sounds gracious, and it appears they've parted on good terms.

her vids from ice chips,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA1UO90zSA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0FtxDtNbes

to my eyes at least, show a skater who's fully committed to performing for the audience, enjoying her skating once again.

[Mathman]

i'm no mind reader, but perhaps when mirai says 'real' world she means a world outside of the skating rink, perhaps a place where her spontaneity is appreciated instead of seen as deviation from the norm? of course the 'real' world of a part-time college student taking an art class while her parents subsidize her very expensive training is different from that of an adult who works full time to support herself.

i don't know if this change will help her skating, but i'm glad she's moved on from the stalemate, go nowhere position. frank sounds gracious, and it appears they've parted on good terms.

her vids from ice chips,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA1UO90zSA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0FtxDtNbes

to my eyes at least, show a skater who's fully committed to performing for the audience, enjoying her skating once again.

Yes, I think all these signs taken together might mean that she is done competing and looks forward to skating in shows and entertainments.