Mirai Nagasu's future prospects

[flying camel]

A Coach for Mirai Nagasu

I did hear someone say Mirai was looking for a coach. She needs one bad. I don't understand why she has not found one. It does not look like she can go back to Frank with Gracie there. I always wanted her to try Kristie Ness. I know she is is some part of California. I'm not sure if that would work for Mirai. Anyone know of a good coach in California Mirai has not tried that would help her weaknesses.

 

[cinnamon]

It's time to change the direction, to export American skaters to Japan. I recommend Nobuo Sato.

 

[GF2445]

Yeah. She needs a coach! STAT. ALso, she needs to fill in the choreographic gaps in her free skating routine.

 

[flying camel]

Well since you mention him, maybe Mirai can stay in the US and try Yuka Sato.

 

[amc987]

It's hard because she needs a technical coach to help her with her UR problem but she also needs a taskmaster- someone who won't let her get away with not doing her run-throughs. Call me crazy, but I actually think Tom Z could be a good fit. Colorado isn't too far from California so she wouldn't be moving cross country and there are a lot of coaches working out of Colorado Springs, so she might be able to supplement Tom Z with another person. Brian Orser could also be a great coach for her but that would require moving to Canada.

Nobuo Sato would be a good fit, but I don't see her moving to Japan full time and I don't know if he would coach an American full time either. Arutunian has Ashley and Adam so he's probably full. I like Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen as people, but I think they might not be the best coaches for the more artistic personalities. Think about how long it's taken Jeremy Abbott to improve his consistency and how Alissa still had issues performing under pressure even with their help.

 

[Nadia01]

Yeah. She needs a coach! STAT. ALso, she needs to fill in the choreographic gaps in her free skating routine.

I agree. Her free skating didn't work for me with her just sort of being THERE without doing anything between jumps.

 

[chloepoco]

Yeah. She needs a coach! STAT. ALso, she needs to fill in the choreographic gaps in her free skating routine.

I wonder if it's also a financial issue?

 

[chuckm]

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.

 

[Layfan]

It's hard because she needs a technical coach to help her with her UR problem but she also needs a taskmaster- someone who won't let her get away with not doing her run-throughs. Call me crazy, but I actually think Tom Z could be a good fit. Colorado isn't too far from California so she wouldn't be moving cross country and there are a lot of coaches working out of Colorado Springs, so she might be able to supplement Tom Z with another person. Brian Orser could also be a great coach for her but that would require moving to Canada.

Nobuo Sato would be a good fit, but I don't see her moving to Japan full time and I don't know if he would coach an American full time either. Arutunian has Ashley and Adam so he's probably full. I like Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen as people, but I think they might not be the best coaches for the more artistic personalities. Think about how long it's taken Jeremy Abbott to improve his consistency and how Alissa still had issues performing under pressure even with their help.

Gosh, I think Alyssa improved beyond words under Yuka and Jason. They improved her technique and got her to focus beyond her artistic abilities, which came naturally for her. Her body didn't hold out well beyond 2011 but I don't think that has anything to do with Yuka or Jason being bad for the artistic types. Besides, Is Mirai really an artistic type? She started out as a jumping bean and still hasn't found her artistic voice. She can be either a joy to watch or positively dreary. I think her artistry needs as much tough love as her technical side. I'd vote for a strong coach but also one choreographer who can help her focus and find her voice.

 

[meem]

snip
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)?

 

[amc987]

Gosh, I think Alyssa improved beyond words under Yuka and Jason. They improved her technique and got her to focus beyond her artistic abilities, which came naturally for her. Her body didn't hold out well beyond 2011 but I don't think that has anything to do with Yuka or Jason being bad for the artistic types. Besides, Is Mirai really an artistic type? She started out as a jumping bean and still hasn't found her artistic voice. She can be either a joy to watch or positively dreary. I think her artistry needs as much tough love as her technical side. I'd vote for a strong coach but also one choreographer who can help her focus and find her voice.

Agree that Alissa improved tons by going to Jason and Yuka, but she still had demons that would come up in competition. There was rarely a freedom and abandon about her skating despite her much-improved consistency. I don't know that Jeremy has sustained his improvement since he went to them and I sometimes get the sense, based on the type of excuses he uses when he doesn't skate well, that Yuka is a little too forgiving of his mental lapses.

When I say artistic type I meant more in terms of personality. She's not as much of an athlete (Gracie) or a grinder/ competitor (Ashley/ Cesario) as she is a compelling and slightly flighty personality. It seems like her motivation and her consistency go up and down based on whether she feels inspired. That type of person, in my opinion, needs a taskmaster. Her choreography needs work, agreed, but her mindset and her UR problem are what she lacks most/ needs to be assisted with.

 

[kwanatic]

It's hard because she needs a technical coach to help her with her UR problem but she also needs a taskmaster- someone who won't let her get away with not doing her run-throughs. Call me crazy, but I actually think Tom Z could be a good fit. Colorado isn't too far from California so she wouldn't be moving cross country and there are a lot of coaches working out of Colorado Springs, so she might be able to supplement Tom Z with another person. Brian Orser could also be a great coach for her but that would require moving to Canada.

I think she should stick with Mura if she can. In a just few weeks under him, she basically erased her UR issue (only one triple jump in her last 4 performances got dinged (her opening 3F-2T at nationals)). I think she needs a polisher, a la John Nicks but not John Nicks. Someone to really give her that presence and command that she needs to make people take notice...that also ties into her programs and packaging. I like her SP this year and her FS isn't bad either. I thought she gave more personality in her FS at nationals but the program was cleaner at COR b/c she stayed in time with the music. Her nationals FS seemed incomplete b/c she was breathing her way through the program, focusing on keeping herself calm, which was fine IMO b/c she needed to skate cleanly and she did. She can't do that every time though, which is why she needs someone to tighten everything up and help it flow better.

If she continues to skate I'm sure she'll find a coach. But for now her dance coach seems to have a calming influence on her. At 4CC in 2011 she was there instead of Frank and Mirai skated lights out in the FS. Hopefully she'll travel with her to 4CC this year too.

 

[mskater93]

She had a number of jumps that were borderline in her last two competitions that weren't called < as well, though, so I don't think you can say her UR problems are "gone". With a stricter tech panel, she may have gotten 3T<+3T< in the SP at Nationals and a couple other of her jumps were close throughout the week (and at CoR).

I don't see (this is JUST MO) that she has the self motivation/discipline and this is her biggest problem (at least this is how it sounds to me when you read between the lines of her former coaches and even some of her press conference comments). Gold, Wagner, and Edmunds ALL do run throughs every day, even when their coaches AREN'T on the ice with them. They don't have to be poked and prodded and badgered to "put in the time" by having someone "make" them do the work. For the most part, you can see those three relying on their training when they get to competition, knowing they've done X amount of clean run throughs up to Nationals or their GP events or whatever event. Nagasu had admitted that when she was travelling back and forth to work with FrankC, that the days she was at Artesia or other rinks in her area, she didn't really put in the work. I don't see where this has changed from looking at her uneven results from 2010 on. She would have a good competition following a bad one because she'd work harder after a 7th place than after a 3rd or 4th place for a few weeks. She thought she could redeem herself by skating lights out at Nationals, but another up and comer came along and stole her thunder with a huge BV that was all rotated and only one fall out of all that. It's a shame, but a case of too little, too late here for her.

And as for the Worlds slot, I don't think Polina CAN go to JWs after the Olympics...

 

[desertskates]

I think she showed a bit of her old spark in this competition, even if she's got some progress to make. It seems to me, Japan suited her well. After this bitter memory, a complete change of scenery could help her to move on and focus on things with fresh eyes. So, I guess I'd vote Nobuo Sato.

 

[LRK]

Also, I believe people have discussed it being something of a financial issue with her as well? And that maybe she could get Japanese sponsors? If she trains under a Japanese coach, I'm guessing this would be easier - and getting more shows perhaps would also help out financially. Anyway, I too thought that she's seemed more into her programs at CoR and Nationals, and if training with Mura has done that, then maybe she should indeed continue.

 

[jenaj]

I think she should stick with Mura if she can. In a just few weeks under him, she basically erased her UR issue (only one triple jump in her last 4 performances got dinged (her opening 3F-2T at nationals)). I think she needs a polisher, a la John Nicks but not John Nicks. Someone to really give her that presence and command that she needs to make people take notice...that also ties into her programs and packaging. I like her SP this year and her FS isn't bad either. I thought she gave more personality in her FS at nationals but the program was cleaner at COR b/c she stayed in time with the music. Her nationals FS seemed incomplete b/c she was breathing her way through the program, focusing on keeping herself calm, which was fine IMO b/c she needed to skate cleanly and she did. She can't do that every time though, which is why she needs someone to tighten everything up and help it flow better.

If she continues to skate I'm sure she'll find a coach. But for now her dance coach seems to have a calming influence on her. At 4CC in 2011 she was there instead of Frank and Mirai skated lights out in the FS. Hopefully she'll travel with her to 4CC this year too.

Given her problems with the USFSA, I think she needs an American coach, or at least a coach who works in the US.

 

[Layfan]

I think she should stick with Mura if she can. In a just few weeks under him, she basically erased her UR issue (only one triple jump in her last 4 performances got dinged (her opening 3F-2T at nationals)). I think she needs a polisher, a la John Nicks but not John Nicks. Someone to really give her that presence and command that she needs to make people take notice...that also ties into her programs and packaging. I like her SP this year and her FS isn't bad either. I thought she gave more personality in her FS at nationals but the program was cleaner at COR b/c she stayed in time with the music. Her nationals FS seemed incomplete b/c she was breathing her way through the program, focusing on keeping herself calm, which was fine IMO b/c she needed to skate cleanly and she did. She can't do that every time though, which is why she needs someone to tighten everything up and help it flow better.

If she continues to skate I'm sure she'll find a coach. But for now her dance coach seems to have a calming influence on her. At 4CC in 2011 she was there instead of Frank and Mirai skated lights out in the FS. Hopefully she'll travel with her to 4CC this year too.

That's a fair critique of Alyssa's skating. But it maybe asking too much if her coaches to turn her into a skate with abandon-type skater they worked with who she was and managed to get her to trust in her technique and training at least for one season. A minor miracle for Alyssa in my mind. Whether they would be good for Mirai, who knows? Earlier in Mirai's career I had hopes that she would be one of those rare mixes of good athleticism and artistry but it hasn't quite panned out.

 

[kwanatic]

She had a number of jumps that were borderline in her last two competitions that weren't called < as well, though, so I don't think you can say her UR problems are "gone". With a stricter tech panel, she may have gotten 3T<+3T< in the SP at Nationals and a couple other of her jumps were close throughout the week (and at CoR).

All of her jumps looked pretty good to me. If there had been even a shadow of a doubt that she'd URed a jump, she would have been dinged. We all know Mirai gets zero favors in the technical caller's eyes which makes me think if she'd URed them, they would have been called. There's no reason to think she was dealing with lenient tech panels...not across two competitions in two different countries. She's not landing her jumps completely backwards every time but to say she went from URing two or three triples per skate to having only one called in the last 4 programs, give credit where credit is due. That looks like an improvement to me. I guess 4CC will tell the tale...

 

[ivy]

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

 

[tulosai]

snip
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)?

In what world has she done a lot of coach switching? She was with Carol from roughly 2008-2012. There is no proof whatsoever that their split was anything but amicable and caused by distance. Then, didn't she go straight to Amy Evidente and that team? Now granted, she had a bit of a 'combo' situation there where she had Amy (I think) as the primary coach and 2 other 'secondary' coaches, but that's not so different than Ashley's current arrangement. Then this year, after nearly 2 years, she left Amy. I don't know how many times she switched coaches before 2008, but this doesn't scream of frequent and reckless coach switching to me. I can name several skaters off the top of my head who have had a lot more coaching switches than one (hopefully soon to be two as she finds a real coach) since 2008.

This is basically a rumor, something people like to say to diss Mirai even though no facts support it. People also like to say that coaches split from her because she is soooo difficult, but there is nothing out there substantiating that either but posts on the forums, and in fact evidence such as it is, is that Mirai has left her coaches not the other way around, and that the split from Carol at least was indeed amicable.

If anyone can factually say something I said above is wrong, then please let me know.