Mirai Nagasu's future prospects | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Mirai Nagasu's future prospects

Gigi13

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 2, 2013
I just think Mirai needs a coach in the U.S however I think training in Japan is good for she seems more relaxed and focused and she needs a sponsor from Japan. She also needs a new choreographer and a coach that focuses on jumps to help her correct her UR problem.
 

icellist

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Other coaches in California she could try are Tammy Gambill, Karen Kwan/Peter Oppegard, Tiffany Chin. The Kwan/Oppegard ice rink isn't that far from the LA suburbs if you consider the traffic she has to get through for the el segundo rink. She's also friends with Ricky Dornbush so Gambill could work.

Would love to see her work with Jason Brown's team for choreography or better yet Sarah Kawahara.

As far as her splits, the Frank Carroll split was just distance. He was all in the way in palm springs. Wendy Olsson said she was in her last year of coaching and probably felt that Amy Evidente was enough after last season. I have no idea about the Amy Evidente split. But nothing was about Mirai not working hard except for the first month she worked with Frank.
 

samson

Medalist
Joined
Aug 10, 2012
How about Kori Ade and Rohene choreographing? Jason would be a good training partner too

I thought this too! I actually started a thread suggesting this over the weekend. A lot of people read it but no one responded... I'll chock it up to everyone's brains occupied by the actually skating lol!

I could see being in the Colorado environment being great for her, and if the personalities match Kori, Rohene and Mirai could be a very interesting pairing. And with a third place placement at Nationals that might finally give her some of the funding she's been lacking to be able to make a move like that. And it certainly would stretch out of her comfort zone.

But WHO KNOWS!
 

yelyoh

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
I always wondered if California was a little too distracting for Mirai. Easy to concentrate on being a fun American teen girl, rather then an elite level athlete. She seems more focused since being in Japan.

I'd be happy to see her continue where she is, though an American coach with pull in the USFSA might be helpful at times.

How about Kori Ade and Rohene choreographing? Jason would be a good training partner too

That is exactly what I have been thinking. I think it would be a perfect environment for her. Also she needs to work on her endurance.
 

cornell08

Final Flight
Joined
May 10, 2009
To me, she needs a choreographer more than a coach (though both wouldn't hurt)--

Bebe Liang would be the perfect and affordable candidate to help fix the choreography holes in her long program! The Firebird program she choreographed for Mirai was wonderful.
 

MK's Winter

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
That is exactly what I have been thinking. I think it would be a perfect environment for her. Also she needs to work on her endurance.

I agree. I do think she has done well under Mura though, I read in an article that the USFSA didn't like her training in Japan? Does anyone know if that's true? Yuzuru trains in Canada and Japan sea ok with that. If Mirai does well in Japan why would it mattered where she trains? I
 

Sasha'sSpins

Medalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Country
United-States
I wonder if it's also a financial issue?

I've wondered this too - although she obviously had some arrangement to train in Japan and Arizona. She said at one of the press conferences that she would look for a coach after Nationals. I remember reading in one of the articles that she had said she 'needed to get away' or move away from her 'comfort zone' for a while when she went to train in Japan and Arizona - I took that to mean to get away from her parents.

If she can afford it, I think that a move away from home would be good for Mirai whether it's Japan or somewhere Stateside. But if she wants to go on she's got to make decisions very soon, even before the Olympics. She should be working towards the summer competitions, getting better choreography, eventually getting the 3Lz-3T back into her arsenal. I read reports that she was landing Salchows beautifully in practice at Nationals - this tells me she can still do them. And if she can, with hard work, a 7 jump program is not out of her league. I just hope that she sits down like Ashley and Carolina seemed to and really thinks hard about what direction she needs to take if she wants to go on. I hope against hope that she will also receive some financial assistance from some kind sponsor/s to help take the burden away from her parents. One can dream.

Yuka Sato is in Detroit. That would mean moving to Detroit from California. I don't think Mirai has the money to do that.

IMO Mirai needs an acting coach. She needs to stop the department store dummy act when she is skating, because it is killing her PCS scores. Judges expect to see facial expression during a program, not the same blank face from beginning to end. From their perspective, Mirai isn't doing much"Interpretation", and executing jumps and spins without bringing out the character in the music is not fully "Performing".

And she needs a decent choreographer, but that costs money, too. Her FS has no transitions other than crossovers and the choreography is all but nonexistent. That hurts her PCS, too.

I've disagreed on a lot of subjects with you chuckm when it comes to Mirai - but on this we are simpatico. I agree 100%. While I think Mirai turned it on at Nationals better than she has in years, I'm not so blinded by love for Mirai to not see that she still isn't the Mirai of 2010 'Pirates of the Caribbean' when she was really emoting and selling her programs effortlessly.

Mirai has said training in Japan was a dream come true for her. I'm hoping some kind sponsors in Japan maybe might help her make this dream a long-term reality.

As to those who referenced coach-jumping - that isn't something new and many skaters have done it. Wagner and Rippon to name two.

I thought this too! I actually started a thread suggesting this over the weekend. A lot of people read it but no one responded... I'll chock it up to everyone's brains occupied by the actually skating lol!

I could see being in the Colorado environment being great for her, and if the personalities match Kori, Rohene and Mirai could be a very interesting pairing. And with a third place placement at Nationals that might finally give her some of the funding she's been lacking to be able to make a move like that. And it certainly would stretch out of her comfort zone.

But WHO KNOWS!

Training at altitude would certainly help Mirai to improve her endurance. :biggrin:

I agree. I do think she has done well under Mura though, I read in an article that the USFSA didn't like her training in Japan? Does anyone know if that's true? Yuzuru trains in Canada and Japan sea ok with that. If Mirai does well in Japan why would it mattered where she trains? I

I've never heard of this before - do you have a link to this article? I'd be interested to see what they said about it.
 

MK's Winter

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
I've wondered this too - although she obviously had some arrangement to train in Japan and Arizona. She said at one of the press conferences that she would look for a coach after Nationals. I remember reading in one of the articles that she had said she 'needed to get away' or move away from her 'comfort zone' for a while when she went to train in Japan and Arizona - I took that to mean to get away from her parents. If she can afford it, I think that a move away from home would be good for Mirai whether it's Japan or somewhere Stateside. But if she wants to go on she's got to make decisions very soon, even before the Olympics. She should be working towards the summer competitions, getting better choreography, eventually getting the 3Lz-3T back into her arsenal. I read reports that she was landing Salchows beautiful in practice at Nationals - this tells me she can still do them. And if she can, with hard work, a 7 jump program is not out of her league. I just hope that she sits down like Ashley and Carolina seemed to and really thinks hard about what direction she needs to take if she wants to go on. I hope against hope that she will also receive some financial assistance from some kind sponsor/s to help take the burden away from her parents. One can dream. I've disagreed on a lot of subjects with you chuckm when it comes to Mirai - but on this we are simpatico. I agree 100%. While I think Mirai turned it on at Nationals better than she has in years, I'm not so blinded by love for Mirai to not see that she still isn't the Mirai of 2010 'Pirates of the Caribbean' when she was really emoting and selling her programs effortlessly. Mirai has said training in Japan was a dream come true for her. I'm hoping some kind sponsors in Japan maybe might help her make this dream a long-term reality. IMO Mirai needs an acting coach. She needs to stop the department store dummy act when she is skating, because it is killing her PCS scores. Judges expect to see facial expression during a program, not the same blank face from beginning to end. From their perspective, Mirai isn't doing much"Interpretation", and executing jumps and spins without bringing out the character in the music is not fully "Performing". snip If facial expression is important to the judges, how did Johnny Weir ever have any success? He had a poker face from day one (well, since the first time I ever saw him skate at nationals, Boston 2001??). His excuse was always, "I skate for myself". I agree, Mirai definitely needs a coach. She's a beautiful skater. But she's done a lot of coach switching over the years. Maybe the word is out about her (amongst coaches)?
Coach-jumping isn't something new and many skaters have done it. Wagner and Rippon to name two. Training at altitude would certainly Mirai improve her endurance. :biggrin: I've never heard of this before - do you have a link to this article? I'd be interested to see what they said about it.[/QUOTE]

I can't remember the article and someone said it too. I'll search for it and post the link.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
I thought this too! I actually started a thread suggesting this over the weekend. A lot of people read it but no one responded... I'll chock it up to everyone's brains occupied by the actually skating lol!

I could see being in the Colorado environment being great for her, and if the personalities match Kori, Rohene and Mirai could be a very interesting pairing. And with a third place placement at Nationals that might finally give her some of the funding she's been lacking to be able to make a move like that. And it certainly would stretch out of her comfort zone.

But WHO KNOWS!

Actually this is a fantastic idea. Currently Jason is the only elite skater at his rink in Coloraldo due to Kori
being unable to get Jason access at World Arena to train with Max,Josh and company. Kori is also a very celebral personality, so I think that would help Mirai greatly. And come on, who wouldn't love having Jason as a training partner? His sunny personality would be wonderful for Mirai!
 

Sasha'sSpins

Medalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Country
United-States
^^^
Thanks! It'd be awfully petty of USFSA to have a problem with their skaters training on foreign soil. So what as long as they get the job done at competitions?
 

MK's Winter

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
^^^ Thanks! It'd be awfully petty of USFSA to have a problem with their skaters training on foreign soil. So what as long as they get the job done at competitions?

That's my frame of thought on it. It works for Yuzuru and the Japanese Fed doesn't seem bothered by it.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
We had a coach sitting behind us at Nats for most of the week and the subject of Mirai and her coaching difficulties came up. We were told that she spent about 4 months training with Doug Ladret in Arizona prior to nationals but he wasn't "attending" her at Nationals. It was also implied that she has been dropped by several coaches. Not sure if that's true or if their parting was mutual.

I think if Mirai is to continue skating, and I hope she does, that she needs to pull up her big girl panties figuratively, get a coach and get the focus. She certainly has the talent.
 

Icey

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Christie Ness hasn't been involved in skating since 2007, I believe. She is an office administrator for Dr. Andrew Ness currently.
 

Victura

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
I'll admit to not knowing where Mirai is exactly in the Southern CA area and don't know if this is logistically feasible, but what about Ilia Kulik? He and Katia have their own rink in Lake Forest, and if he can parlay even half his own jump technique to someone else, I bet he could solve Mirai's underrotation problem. I think the highest ranking skater he's got is someone from the Philippines. Some of that Russian regimented training both Katia and Ilia had could rub off on Mirai too.

They're kind of unproven as top-level coaches so far, but Yuka Sato was too until Jeremy went to her and quickly became a very well-respected coach. Would love to see that happen with Ilia and Katia.
 

Sasha'sSpins

Medalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Country
United-States
According to her bio her main coach is Takahito Mura's Father.

Now I'm getting pumped! If this is so then I think this is good for Mirai. He seemed to do amazing things for her between NHK and Rostelecom and then again just before Nationals. I just hope Mirai can find a stable coaching situation, somehow get a top choreographer to create great programs for her and hopefully she'll get that Mirai sparkle back. The magic is still there imo - it just has to be nurtured and coaxed out again.

I wonder if this means that Mirai will train in Japan from no on? I hope so - she got such good results in such a brief time, I can only imagine what another year or so could do for her.
 

ntl

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
We had a coach sitting behind us at Nats for most of the week and the subject of Mirai and her coaching difficulties came up. We were told that she spent about 4 months training with Doug Ladret in Arizona prior to nationals but he wasn't "attending" her at Nationals. It was also implied that she has been dropped by several coaches. Not sure if that's true or if their parting was mutual.

That's not accurate. Mirai was coached by Mura's father in Japan after NHK, and I believe she stayed there until late December. By all accounts, she was very happy with the coaching situation there. She only spent about a week temporarily training in Arizona prior to Nationals, probably because of the Doug Razzano connection.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
USFS might object to Mirai training in Japan because she wouldn't be entering club competitions in the US during the summer (too expensive to fly back and forth) and the US would have no way of monitoring her. The top 5 from US Nationals do not have to do Regionals/Sectionals, but if they don't do summer comps, USFS does expect to monitor their readiness for competition. Assignments to "B" internationals in the early fall are based on that.
 
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