- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
Christina is a real talent. But she needs a LOT of work on her posture and her spins! She can jump, her skating is not that bad, but I see nothing so special!
U.S. Ladies Prediction & Speculation Thread
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
The international judges are just loving Gao this season. 109+ in the FS, 167+ overall! Whee 
But here's my problem. He's not saying I (or even WE) want her to do well...he's saying YOU want her to do well- in other words, YOU, meaning the TV viewer. But what if it's not true? Generally, the skater's fans want them to do well. And maybe you DO want it for her. But what if you're a fan of her rival? Or, more likely, you really could care less? I hate it when people try to project their own feelings on me. It's uncomfortable...
ETA: Here's the NBC broadcast of Cohen's 2010 FS. Fast forward to 5:50. I wasn't able to find Czisny's 2009 Nats LP though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aryG1Pr8jWE
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Back on topic, I agree- we (in general) are quick to proclaim the Next Big Thing but there's nothing about her that simply blows me away, makes me think we've got one. And even if there was...well, "things" happen and it's better that she doesn't impress too quickly so she can fly under the radar a bit more.
And I think we all need to remember that she's grown a TON in a short time. I mean this is a girl who was 12th at the NOVICE level at U.S. Nationals three years ago.
If it was only a matter of "tough luck" then it seems Alissa has had more than her share of it.
Here is Christina's SP from Austria:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmH0KRESDwU&feature=player_embedded
I like her........
I was just about to post that that you guys are all way ahead of me. I think she looks great! I would not count her out of a medal at nationals if she skates like that! I like her costume too. It' different. Her spins seem to have gotten faster. They're not Mirai's but nobody's spins are as fast as Mirai's.
ETA: I think she is one of those who definitely benefits from the new rule on spirals in the SP. There is not really an ugly or disruptive moment in this program. Very well done. I suppose she could use a bit more energy at the end but I can only assume that will come the more she practices this program. I was impressed with the way she finishes off her moves this season, and the use of her upper body, I thought looked nice and controlled and elegant, compared to last year. We'll see what sort of technical goods she shows up with and senior competitions though.
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It does remain to be seen how smooth the transition from Junior to Senior will be for her. Time again we see skaters dominate on the Junior level (Zhang, Nagasu anyone?) and then slip to mediocrity (or fail to live up to the hype) in the big leagues. I hope for her sake that she is able to carry her success through and improve upon it.
ETA: According to a USFS tweet, Gao apparently finished 2nd in that Austria comp. How did Alyssa do last night?
ETA: According to a USFS tweet, Gao apparently finished 2nd in that Austria comp. How did Alyssa do last night?
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
Weren't a few people surprised when Christina did not jump to seniors this season? Looks like Orser has a plan for her that does not depend on rushing her. If he keeps her comfortable this season and continues working on improvements gradually we could be looking at a very good skater by 2014.
We have to remember Christina is not Yuna or Michelle, or anyone but herself. I think the Cricket Club team will help Christina reach her potential over the next few seasons. I have no idea how good Christina can become but I like what I see and think the prospects for a smooth transition to seniors by next season will be a smooth one.
What was Alissa competing in?
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
You have to keep in mind though that Christina is only 1 year, actually less than a year, younger than both Caroline and Mirai. Sure, those 2 had great results as juniors, but they were also 13/14 years old and itty bitty when they were getting those results. Christina is 16, she's past her growthspurt and she's making steady progress each season. I think the situation is a little different, she's not going to grow 4 inches in a year and have to totally readjust her skating like Caroline and Mirai did.
Christina's progression is more like Yuna's IMO, where Yuna's growing up occurred more gradually and so did the completeness of her skating package. When she won Junior Worlds in 06, she had all the jumps but was not very flexible, fast, or expressive and was still a bit gangly. The next season her expression and speed were developed a lot, in addition to her grace, and though she had some stamina/consistency issues, she had made a lot of progress. The season after that Yuna worked a lot on her spirals and flexibility and became more consistent. The season after that, Yuna became physically stronger and really took the expression to a whole new level, finally taking on sensual programs. That was the year she won Worlds, the season after, she just got even better and won the Olympics with her massive score.
To me, it seemed like last year Christina worked hard on her technical content, and now she has a full set of triples and fairly solid 3f-3t and 3t-3t combinations mastered. This season, it seems like she's working on her presentation and consistency, and it shows. Next season she'll likely work on improving her flexibility and body line to become more graceful, and then the season after that she can work on really becoming expressive. Then it will be the season before Sochi, and she should be the complete package. I mean, better spins and lines can be learned fairly easily, but consistency and 3-3s cannot, and Christina already has consistency and technical difficulty mastered, so she should only be able to grow from here.
I do admit Christina resemble Yuna but that doesn't mean she will necessarily follow Yuna's path to the top. However, I also think weaker lines and posture won't necessarily hurt her scores in the future, since they aren't really worth much in the present system (though I wish they were!). The only thing that really counts is presentation, quality of jumps, and consistency. Christina seems to do well on all these but she has more competition. The Russian juniors are also good on all of these things (maybe not as much on consistency but they are younger) and some are even better (Adelina in presentation; Liza in jump quality). Christina is good but compared to her peers, she isn't outstanding.
17 years old seems a little late to start concentrating on flexibility. You get less flexible as you get older, not more. To me flexibility is one of those things you have to start working on when you are pretty young, otherwise there is only so far you can go. And even then, it's one of those "you have it or you don't" type of things. Yuna improved somewhat because part of what was impeding her was a back injury. But she is never going to have the flexibility and lines of Sasha Cohen or even Mirai. She could spend seven hours a day at a yoga class and another seven at a ballet class and it won't happen. It's too late and she probably didn't have the inate ability to begin with.
Christina's flexibility and her lines are not terrible though. She just needs to figure out how to show them off, which I think she is already doing. I mean, Michelle Kwan was pretty flexible but nothing like Sasha. Even so, I think Michelle has lovely lines because she knows something about correct positions.
Agnes Zawadzki defeated Rachael Flatt in the short program at the Colorado Springs Invite this weekend:
1. Zawadzki (62.45)
2. Flatt (45.18)
From Sarah and Drew--
Nice result for Agnes. I know it's early in the season, but I have a feeling she may be the No. 1 lady in the CoSprings camp by the time the season is over. I really enjoy Rachael's skating, but there's no denying Agnes has better jumps, spins and spirals. All she needs is time and experience, but I think she's going to make quite a splash on the SGP this season.
1. Zawadzki (62.45)
2. Flatt (45.18)
From Sarah and Drew--
Nice result for Agnes. I know it's early in the season, but I have a feeling she may be the No. 1 lady in the CoSprings camp by the time the season is over. I really enjoy Rachael's skating, but there's no denying Agnes has better jumps, spins and spirals. All she needs is time and experience, but I think she's going to make quite a splash on the SGP this season.
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
Thanks for the insight and tips on flexibilty. I am off right away for Yoga instruction
I agree that Michelle has lovely lines and Frank will make sure Mirai's get even better.
Compliments of seniorita, her is Christina's LP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVXvJ0Q3fY
Thanks for the insight and tips on flexibilty. I am off right away for Yoga instruction
I agree that Michelle has lovely lines and Frank will make sure Mirai's get even better.
Compliments of seniorita, her is Christina's LP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVXvJ0Q3fY
Very nice
Thanks for that. Who won that competition, any know? (p.s. Good luck with those downward dogs...)
I don't think it's so much nice job by Agnes as it is WTH happened to Rachel?? 45 points??? That's uncharacteristic of her. She must have left out something major and/or falllen...
ETA: N/m, I had a look at the report. I suppose the score gap makes more sense now...but still, it's early in the season. I'd like to see these skaters head-to-head at their best, later in the year.
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How is it not a nice job by Agnes? That's a huge score for a ladies SP.
Rachael left out her combination (I assume the Lutz was supposed to have a 3Lo on the end?) and doubled her flip.
How is it not a nice job by Agnes? That's a huge score for a ladies SP.
I mean, not saying it isn't, necessarily, but Flatt's low score got my attention first.
Yeah, it makes sense now.
From Chipso's post it looks like she left out her second jump in her opening combination and then doubled her flip. It could just be that she's a bit flustered from trying for the 3lutz-3 toe.
Here's another performance where she seems to double a couple of intended triples:
In that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiEkC4jmKOs
Anyway, it's not that astonishing. You know, Rachael messed up just as often as every one else last season. She pulled it out when it counted most - at Nationals and the Olympics, just like Mirai did. The Colorado Springs Invite isn't really the place to have the SOHL so I'm not reading too much into it.
