- Joined
- Sep 19, 2006
Reading comments about how Caroline Zhang just squeaked by at nationals and has fallen off the map, it reminds me a bit of Mira Leung. I'm not saying their styles are alike, they're not. Caroline is definitely more graceful than Mira. However, their stories have similarities.
Mira and Caroline were both on the senior ranks as a young teen and touted as the next one, and for a few years, enjoyed success in the national ranks. Mira won the bronze medal in 2005, silver medal for three straight years, from 2006 to 2008. The season of 2008-09 was not a good year for her. She had disappointing results internationally and fell to sixth at Canadians, and was off the national team. In 2010, she barely qualified for Canadians, then finished fifteenth out of eighteen skaters in the SP and withdrew. She hasn't been heard from in the skating world since. She had potential and the competitive nature, but from I've read on here and other places, she was known to be stubborn and not listening. She also had an interfering mother who hindered her progress and tried to coach her and Mira's skating may have suffered as a result. Her jumps were consistent but they weren't high or always fully rotated.
Caroline certainly looked like she had the qualities to be the next big thing in US ladies skating, but has struggled to remain on the map even at US nationals, after being fourth in 2008 and then winning bronze in 2009, and the World Junior Champion in 2007, she fell to eleventh at nationals. She has tried to fix her technique but her results were all over the place, and she barely squeaked by a berth at US nationals this year. IT seems she tried to coach herself and as a result, she never had her basics fixed, like the lack of speed, underrotating jumps, and her high kicking free leg fixed before it was too late.
Both of them had potential, but neither had the proper coaching at a young age to learn the basics and it caught up to them. With Mira, Cynthia coming back and having relearned her jumps, she surpassed Mira. Cynthia was a better prospect for Canada, and had better results for the two years leading up to the Olympics. Ashley Wagner has since taken over as the leading lady for the US heading to Sochi. Caroline is also said to have had a controlling mother.
I think both skater's are cautionary tales of not having proper coaching, and learning the basics, and also about "Stage moms".
Mira and Caroline were both on the senior ranks as a young teen and touted as the next one, and for a few years, enjoyed success in the national ranks. Mira won the bronze medal in 2005, silver medal for three straight years, from 2006 to 2008. The season of 2008-09 was not a good year for her. She had disappointing results internationally and fell to sixth at Canadians, and was off the national team. In 2010, she barely qualified for Canadians, then finished fifteenth out of eighteen skaters in the SP and withdrew. She hasn't been heard from in the skating world since. She had potential and the competitive nature, but from I've read on here and other places, she was known to be stubborn and not listening. She also had an interfering mother who hindered her progress and tried to coach her and Mira's skating may have suffered as a result. Her jumps were consistent but they weren't high or always fully rotated.
Caroline certainly looked like she had the qualities to be the next big thing in US ladies skating, but has struggled to remain on the map even at US nationals, after being fourth in 2008 and then winning bronze in 2009, and the World Junior Champion in 2007, she fell to eleventh at nationals. She has tried to fix her technique but her results were all over the place, and she barely squeaked by a berth at US nationals this year. IT seems she tried to coach herself and as a result, she never had her basics fixed, like the lack of speed, underrotating jumps, and her high kicking free leg fixed before it was too late.
Both of them had potential, but neither had the proper coaching at a young age to learn the basics and it caught up to them. With Mira, Cynthia coming back and having relearned her jumps, she surpassed Mira. Cynthia was a better prospect for Canada, and had better results for the two years leading up to the Olympics. Ashley Wagner has since taken over as the leading lady for the US heading to Sochi. Caroline is also said to have had a controlling mother.
I think both skater's are cautionary tales of not having proper coaching, and learning the basics, and also about "Stage moms".