Mirai is not done / Splits from Frank Carroll

[rallycairn]

Just based on the info we have so far it just sounds like Mirai will be working with the coaches who happen to be at or near her rink - is this correct? It sounds like Mirai may just want to invest only in what is local and easily accessible and let the competitive skating chips fall where they may. Does anyone else get that impression or take on the situation? Not that she won't be working hard or consistently, but not going out of her way to get to a well known elite coach. A pretty big shift in the balance of how she spends her time, to be sure, as she said.

[drivingmissdaisy]

Maybe the goal is to try to work with a few of the coaches and see if there is a good fit? I'm not sure though, it sounds like a lot of coaches for one skater. But I don't think she necessarily needs an "elite" coach. Robin Wagner comes to mind as a coach I hadn't heard of before she produced an Olympic champion.

[AlexaD]

Just based on the info we have so far it just sounds like Mirai will be working with the coaches who happen to be at or near her rink - is this correct? It sounds like Mirai may just want to invest only in what is local and easily accessible and let the competitive skating chips fall where they may. Does anyone else get that impression or take on the situation? Not that she won't be working hard or consistently, but not going out of her way to get to a well known elite coach. A pretty big shift in the balance of how she spends her time, to be sure, as she said.

Yes, that is what I am reading into it as well. Time will tell if this is a good move or not.

I can't helping thinking of Gabby Douglas, an elite gymnast who is now on the verge of making the Olympic team, whose parents let her move away and live with a host family in Iowa, so she could train with Shawn Johnson's coach and try fulfill her potential and dreams. If she hadn't moved away, she probably wouldn't be where she is right now. Mirai's parents didn't want Mirai to move away and be in that situation, which is of course their choice as parents, but I can't help wondering what would have happened if she had been closer to Frank and didn't have to deal with that long commute. We'll never know.

[tulosai]

Yes, that is what I am reading into it as well. Time will tell if this is a good move or not.

I can't helping thinking of Gabby Douglas, an elite gymnast who is now on the verge of making the Olympic team, whose parents let her move away and live with a host family in Iowa, so she could train with Shawn Johnson's coach and try fulfill her potential and dreams. If she hadn't moved away, she probably wouldn't be where she is right now. Mirai's parents didn't want Mirai to move away and be in that situation, which is of course their choice as parents, but I can't help wondering what would have happened if she had been closer to Frank and didn't have to deal with that long commute. We'll never know.

Honestly too though Mirai is about to be 19. I don't mean to say this would not have been hard, but she has some envelope funding and was/is capable of finding a part-time job. If it's true that there was a skating family who was willing to take her in near Frank, she could have gone and made it work. Yes, her parents might not have talked to her for a while. Yes, she would not have gotten any money from them for a while. Yes, on MANY levels this would have been difficult, and it was her right not to make that choice (and further I'm not sure I would have if I were here). But IMO to say her parents would not let her is a bit simplistic. She could have gone, she chose not to.

[Tonichelle]

Honestly too though Mirai is about to be 19. I don't mean to say this would not have been hard, but she has some envelope funding and was/is capable of finding a part-time job. If it's true that there was a skating family who was willing to take her in near Frank, she could have gone and made it work. Yes, her parents might not have talked to her for a while. Yes, she would not have gotten any money from them for a while. Yes, on MANY levels this would have been difficult, and it was her right not to make that choice (and further I'm not sure I would have if I were here). But IMO to say her parents would not let her is a bit simplistic. She could have gone, she chose not to.

depending on how one is raised, and culturally, though I think it's just as simplistic to say she could just go... it's more than just "money and talking to her"...

[louisa05]

In the Hersch story, it says that she was unable to move to Cathedral City because it would impact the family financially. That implies, very strongly, two things: there was no option of free housing and financial considerations are dictating their decisions right now.

It is easy to say what Mirai and her family should be doing if you aren't the one paying the bills for all of it. If the money is not there, it isn't there. You can't plant a tree in the back yard and grow it. And the idea that Mirai should just go work at the Gap...those jobs aren't easy to get right now, either. I know people who have been applying for that sort of work for over a year or longer and are turned down for having no retail experience over and over. Mirai has no retail experience. At one point, she was working in her parents' restaurant sometimes. She probably still does. A job or move that takes her away from there would actually put more financial pressure on them, not less.

[heyang]

I don't know what her home life is like.

Some elite athletes and/or 'stars' lack life skills. Since training/working from a young age, they don't necessarily experience 'normal' lives that include chores, errands, etc.

Recall the infamous scenes of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey during their reality series. On Oprah, her mother said that Jessica was always working or doing school work. Jessica never made her bed or washed dishes, etc. It made her ill prepared for living independently or with anyone who didn't grow up the same way.

It's possible that Mirai is similarly challenged.

Not many California teens wait til they are 19 to get their driver's license where mass transit is not as easy as NYC (where 'natives' often don't get their drivers license until into their mid 20's, especially if they also attend college in NYC and get jobs in NYC.) If anything it should've been a priority that would allow her mother to spend her time doing other things.

Mirai is known for blurting out what she thinks and being emotional. A lot of people find this refreshing and open and honest. It's very cute and engaging when she's happy. I'm just wondering if this is a further sign of her being sheltered. At some point in life, people learn to edit their comments and control, especially someone looking for sponsorship, etc.

Anyway, my point is that perhaps Mirai feels ill equipped to live away from home - although my father would say that's the very reason why she should move out

[louisa05]

I don't think it is fair to use a few interviews and twitter posts to evaluate anyone's maturity level. As for driving, have you insured a teen driver lately? My brother's kid didn't get a license until 17 because he could ride the bus to school and insuring a teen driver is ridiculously expensive (moreso for boys than girls, but still not cheap). And my nephew lives in a rural area. Insuring a teen driver in L.A. is probably way worse, even though we are talking about a girl.

Teenagers are incredibly complex. Judging their maturity level is very complex. Some are very mature and grown-up in handling some things and not at all in others. We now know that the brain does not finish developing until the late teens or early 20s making our society's notion that people should be entirely on their own or making major life decisions alone at 18 or so rather suspect. I would also note that typically 18-19 year olds who do move out move into college dorms where someone is cleaning the bathroom, their meals are provided in a cafeteria, and there is still some structure from authority figures. IME (I taught high school for 16 years until May, 2010), fewer students are leaving home for college now, anyway, because of costs. If it is at all possible for them to stay at home and attend school, they are doing it. So why should Mirai have to be any different just to prove to a bunch of busybodies on fan boards that she is as mature as they wish her to be?

The bottom line, however, is that it sounds as if the Nagasus could not pay for an elite coach and for separate housing for Mirai at the same time. Again...if money is not there, it just isn't there. Would you prefer that they commence to counterfeiting it in the basement?

[SkateFiguring]

My two cents' worth on Mirai's discussion:

First cent: Are Mirai and her friend Caroline the yin and yang of a zero sum game, or two sides of a balance scale? When one is up, the others is down, and vice versa. They can't both shine at the same time.

Second cent: Mirai's financial situation is adversely affected by her poor showing leading to the loss of funding from the USFSA. It seems finances are currently an important consideration to the Nagasu family in regards to Mirai's training. Support comes with success, without which an athlete needs to be more self reliant and self financing, often engendering struggles on several fronts. Them that has, gets.

[Mrs. P]

Can the mods please change the title so Frank Carroll's name is correct?

Interesting points SF. It's a shame they can't both shine...but alas, such is life.

[Poodlepal]

I think Mirai should take a year off, or at least a few months. This girl has NOTHING but skating and a few art classes in her life, and at least one of the two isn't going well. She should either enroll in school at least half-time, and/or get a part-time job, internship, something. She's one of ten people now vying for (barely) two spots on a world team now, and she's far from a shoo-in. I mean, how many more or less equal up and down women are there? Ashley, Alissa may snap back, Rachael could come back, Christina could peak, Caroline could continue to improve, Agnes, Gracie Gold, a few others like Vanessa Lam. . .Mirai has a no greater chance of making the Olympics or 2013 Worlds than any of them as it stands now.

If she can't have an incredible improvement like Caroline and sustain it (which we'll see in Caroline's case) she's probably better off not leaving all her family, friends and boyfriend.

[Olympia]

depending on how one is raised, and culturally, though I think it's just as simplistic to say she could just go... it's more than just "money and talking to her"...

These days with so many cultures living in the U.S., it's not uncommon for people to continue living with the parents for a good while. (Especially when the current economic situation is added to that.) Everything that's old is new again. My mother and several of the aunts lived with their parents until they got married, and they didn't marry early. (They were from Eastern Europe, and it was the Depression besides.) If moving out would solve Mirai's problems, I'd say go for it--somehow a sponsor could be found--but I doubt that her situation would improve. Something inside of her needs to change, not her environment. My fingers remain crossed.

[Tonichelle]

These days with so many cultures living in the U.S., it's not uncommon for people to continue living with the parents for a good while. (Especially when the current economic situation is added to that.) Everything that's old is new again. My mother and several of the aunts lived with their parents until they got married, and they didn't marry early. (They were from Eastern Europe, and it was the Depression besides.) If moving out would solve Mirai's problems, I'd say go for it--somehow a sponsor could be found--but I doubt that her situation would improve. Something inside of her needs to change, not her environment. My fingers remain crossed.

Agreed...

I was 21 before I got my driving license... relied on family and friends to get me around (we don't have much in the way of affordable public trans) driving terrified me, now I love it... but I'm glad I waited.

[skateluvr]

Well, Rachael came back at Nationals, Caroline Zhang, Carolina was all washed up, so maybe I should have more hope for Mirai,she is so talented. But who will do her programs? that is all important. If she can't afford much...well, I guess it is too early to write her off. Maybe a few more hours at rink will help her consistency.

[Olympia]

Yes, if the last twenty years have taught us anything, it's "never say never." Starting with Paul Wylie, working up through Todd Eldredge and Akiko Suzuki, not to mention Plushenko, and of course Caroline Zhang, we should never write any skater's epitaph. In any case, it's not up to us, and thank goodness for that.