Caroline Zhang's 2009-10 season

[janetfan]

Will Caroline be able to show a major improvement in her LP this weekend at SC?

Was what we saw at TEB reflective of her skating since her growth spurt - or just a bad performance due to a lack of preparation time?

Was wondering about coaches? Is she still being coached by "committee" which to some extent let's Caroline run the show - or is someone firmly in control of her training?

I think Caroline is much too young NOT to have a real full-time coach overseeing every aspect of her skating, and that would include jumps. I recall reading that Caroline has had the same jump coach for years now.

Part of me wishes that coach would disappear which might send Caroline the clear signal changes are necessary. Or maybe nothing can be done - and it is wrong to blame the coach.

I guess we will find out this weekend. I hope Caroline is prepared and ready to show her best at SC. I also hope her "best" will be good enough to figure in the medal equation.

"Go Caroline!" please, please!!

 

[cornell08]

It was such a nice treat seeing everyone skate in HD on tv this weekend
I am so excited to watch Caroline, Mirai, and Alissa on the big screen in HD! Goodness, thats an even bigger treat than this weekend (since they didn't show Shen & Zhao's SP!).

 

[Mathman]

It was such a nice treat seeing everyone skate in HD on tv this weekend

But on my TV, it made eveybody look fat, even Evan Lysacek and Yu-na Kim! Or do I need to adjust the width-to-height ratio?

 

[Spun Silver]

They did show S/Z's SP. Too bad you missed it but maybe there will be a rerun.

I too can't wait for SC... to see PATRICK in HD! :agree:

And yes, go, Caroline!

 

[cornell08]

They did show S/Z's SP. Too bad you missed it but maybe there will be a rerun.

I too can't wait for SC... to see PATRICK in HD! :agree:

And yes, go, Caroline!

Whoa, when did they show S/Z's SP!? I thought broadcast started 2 pm Eastern, no? Darn it!

And yeah, HD makes almost everyone look worse. Except Yuna, she really is beautiful. And Julia looked pretty good too :chorus: (that dress and ponytail did wonders).

 

[Spun Silver]

It was live, Friday night, and they were first up. Way to start a comp!

 

[LeCygne]

Quote from Caroline in the Skate Canda preview article:

"I was not very happy with my performances in Paris," Zhang confessed. "I thought they were very mediocre and slow. In the break between competitions, I have worked on my triple-triple combination, and I will try to put it into my program (in Kitchener). I have also worked on expression in my freeskate especially."

"I will try to put it into my program"? Doesn't sound too convincing... She will definitely need the 3-3 to have any chance at winning, but coming off an injury and a break from the combo, I think it'll be very hard for her to have it ratified.

Also sounds like she knows her free skate is weak. I just hope we see some noticeable improvement...

 

[janetfan]

Quote from Caroline in the Skate Canda preview article:



"I will try to put it into my program"? Doesn't sound too convincing... She will definitely need the 3-3 to have any chance at winning, but coming off an injury and a break from the combo, I think it'll be very hard for her to have it ratified.

Also sounds like she knows her free skate is weak. I just hope we see some noticeable improvement...

She may have grown to much to depend on the 3x3 she did in the past.
But I don't know if any of the other Ladies at SC will be landing a 3x3 so it could help Caroline to land it - or to wind up 5-6 or lower if she misses it.

 

[Tinymavy15]

I certainly expect her to go for the 3/3 in both programs. As i understood it, her injury was not THAT serious enough for her to lose what had been a rather consistant jumping pass for her. She needs to make that statement, like racheal did. I don't like it when skaters play it safe. Makes it all very boring.

 

[justaskatingfan]

But on my TV, it made eveybody look fat, even Evan Lysacek and Yu-na Kim! Or do I need to adjust the width-to-height ratio?

If your wide screen TV (16:9) receive non-HD source (4:3), it has an option to zoom and/or stretch the image to fill the 16:9 screen. If this option is turned off, you will see vertical bars( usually in black or gray) on the left and right side of the 4:3 image.

If your receiver is capable of receiving/processing HD signals, make sure it is set to output in HD format 16:9. And if your receiver is an external box, you need to use component video cables (green ,blue and red), DVI or HDMI connection to get 16:9 HD image.

 

[Mathman]

^ Thanks for the tips. :agree:

 

[PolymerBob]

"I will try to put it into my program"? Doesn't sound too convincing... She will definitely need the 3-3 to have any chance at winning, but coming off an injury and a break from the combo, I think it'll be very hard for her to have it ratified.

Also sounds like she knows her free skate is weak. I just hope we see some noticeable improvement...

Caroline is doing the right thing. What can she say? "I have my triple-triple back and I am going to destroy the competitiion." No. She is being quiet about it. She is not making a lot of noise right now. If she has her 3-3 back, it will be a major advantage for her.

I haven't seen the short program starting order yet, but if Caroline skates late, the earlier ladies might not try a 3-3 thinking they don't need to take the risk. Of course, they will see her doing 3-3's in practice.

 

[Binthere]

Caroline could use some serious PR coaching. If there is room to find fault, she will and let everyone know. But it is not like she is just being modest in the way that Mirai can seem to be too much some times. It is like she expects that somehow she should be better and expected more. I think, stop the self-critique and just show it.

 

[R.D.]

Surprising, because I find a lot of Zhang's comments to be rather vanilla and cookie-cutter. It is Nagasu that has said most of the edgier comments, as a MOF.

 

[feraina]

I hope she goes for the 3-3 (and at least gets one ratified). At this point, she needs it to shine and grab USFSA's attention. I'm a little bit worried that her jumps really haven't looked that good this year -- there seems to be even less height than before, and the bad take-off techniques seem to be more pronounced than ever. So I don't know if she can still tack a 3T onto a 3F and rotate both... OTOH, the last two seasons her jumps started off looking awful, and they got progressively better toward the end of the season. Mule-kick, pre-rotation, scratch take-off edge -- they all improved. So hopefully she can do the same this year!

If Caroline wins SC, that'd be amazing. But I expect that Joannie will rise (more) to the occasion, and Akiko will be a serious contender for the gold. If Caroline can just do two good programs, including a 7-triple LP, I think she will have a lot of momentum going into National's. She didn't do that badly at TEB, she was just up against a very tough field. Certainly TEB '09 was better than SC '08 and on par with TEB '08. Now's her chance to skate better in her 2nd GP. Good luck, Caroline!

 

[cornell08]

Whatever happened to her November Seventeen magazine spread? Anyone seen it?

 

[janetfan]

:yes::yes:

Whatever happened to her November Seventeen magazine spread? Anyone seen it?

Caroline is only 16 so they are holding back a year

Have no idea - never heard about it.
She sure does seem to keep a low profile but maybe she is training hard and that is a good thing.

Go Caroline :yes:

 

[feraina]

I heard something about the Seventeen spread a few months ago. There was a mention of it in this thread, in fact. Now that we're on page 88, though, probably it's not worth going back to find the reference.

I was actually trying to figure out what kind of injury she actually had -- I know we talked about it. I think initially they all thought it was meniscus tear and she was going to an acupuncturist to help with the healing, and she pulled out of a local show last minute (replaced by Mirai), and we were relieved that she was giving herself more time to heal.

But I think around the time of TEB, she said in an interview that it was not meniscus tear but rather an ACL tendon tear. Does anyone have any recollection of that?

I'm rewatching Caroline's Ziegerunerweisen SP, and I really do like it. If she can skate it with a bit more speed/power/attidue, and height in her jumps, I think she can score over 60 with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-UakZpskW8&feature=related
In fact, I think it's the best SP she's had so far. I like how she puts a bit of attitude into that program (which we first saw a hint of in her Spanish Gypsy SP), that really makes it more exciting. I think she can do even more of that.

I'm so anxious. I don't care where she places, I just hope that she skates well this weekend and can be *happy* with herself. It was so heart-breaking at TEB watching her struggle, and unhappy with herself. She didn't even do that badly, but it was like she gave up on herself in the LP even before she really got started... She really needs an attitude coach. I wish for this reason, among many others, that she had gone to Frank Carroll. *sigh*

 

[R.D.]

I heard something about the Seventeen spread a few months ago. There was a mention of it in this thread, in fact. Now that we're on page 88, though, probably it's not worth going back to find the reference.

*shrug* I'm on page 66. :chorus:

 

[PolymerBob]

A poster at FSUniverse reported seeing Caroline at the hotel. So she made it there OK.