Mira Leung and Her New Coach

VINLUVSKWAN · Nov 9, 2006

If you've read Canadian-leaning (naturally) articles on Mira prior to Turin Olys, you would've easily deducted from Mira's comments how HIGHLY she thinks of herself. Yeah...she's Asian/Chinese, hardworking, accomplished, a high-achieving student with pretty impressive off-ice habits (instrumentalist). The gist of it is, she CLEARLY thought she had a shot at Olympic gold, when the fact is with her chunky technique/physique she has had to contend with Rochette for the Canadian title the past 3 seasons. She may look sweet on camera but words speak a thousand...words. Her ego is that unchecked, and so it wouldn't be a surprise if she's the instigator of her [past] rifts with her coach(es).

chuckm · Nov 9, 2006

The fact is Myra is under the tutelage of her coach only a few hours each day, but she spends up to 10 hours a day, traveling from rink to rink, with only her mother as her coach. Obviously, her mother has a lot more control over what Mira does on the ice than her coach does, regardless of how good the coach is.

Mira is used to following her mother's instructions to the T. But her mother CAN'T be her coach and go to the big events with Mira and sit in the KnC, because Mama Leung has not taken the tests to obtain accreditation as a coach. So the Leungs HAVE to have a certified coach if she is to represent Canada at international events.

McBeth was clearly a figurehead coach with no authority over Mira's training. Whatever transpired in Victoria, Skate Canada did not want Mira representing Canada if her mother was her de facto coach. So Mira is back with McLeod.

Whether that will mean anything in the long run is a question. As long as Mira's mother calls the shots, Mira will do only what her mother wants.

scs · Nov 9, 2006

As Mira is receiving support (financial and otherwise) from Skate Canada, I hope that our national skating organization puts pressure on her to receive PROPER coaching, from an accredited coach, and not just allow her career to be guided by her mom.

Ladskater · Nov 10, 2006

Kasey said:
Um, who's Jennifer?

And you know what? She doesn't have to wear Vera wang. But if you're going to be competing at a senior international level, don't wear BLACK mid-calf socks under your tights; or tights with a hole in them; or granny panties that creep out from under her costume...ALL of which occured in the same program. Mira looks sloppy, her jump technique is sloppy, and there are no signs of it getting better.

Oops!!! Did I say Jennifer? I must have been tired while writing this - I meant Joannie. I guess Jennifer is still in my vocabulary from days gone by.....

Ladskater · Nov 10, 2006

This is slowly turning into a "Bash Mira Leung" session. I really hate to see that for any skater. I feel Mira is being unkindly judged here. She is still young and perhaps not as sohpisticated as her counterparts. That is no crime. Competitive figure skating is a tough road. If Mira keeps working hard she may benefit from a sponsor as Joannie is at the moment. I repect Mira for her determination and one can see she works hard. In Canada we don't have the swift development of young female phenoms waiting in the wings like the US does so when a bright young skater like Mira comes along we like to encourage them to keep going. I am sure she will work her skate and costume problems out. As for the makeup - she is still young and does not need to look like she is on the catwalk. It's refreshing to see someone look their young age and not attempting to look like they are twenty-five at seventeen.

slutskayafan21 · Nov 10, 2006

Kasey said:
Um, who's Jennifer?

And you know what? She doesn't have to wear Vera wang. But if you're going to be competing at a senior international level, don't wear BLACK mid-calf socks under your tights; or tights with a hole in them; or granny panties that creep out from under her costume...ALL of which occured in the same program. Mira looks sloppy, her jump technique is sloppy, and there are no signs of it getting better.

I agree the lower body portion of her costumes are downright tardy sometimes.

chuckm · Nov 10, 2006

Ladskater said:
As for the makeup - she is still young and does not need to look like she is on the catwalk. It's refreshing to see someone look their young age and not attempting to look like they are twenty-five at seventeen.

Many of the GP skaters are as young as or younger than Mira---Emily Hughes, Kimmie Meissner, Yu-Na Kim, Mao Asada, to name a few. None of them look like they are "on a catwalk".

Regardless of age, there is no excuse for a sloppy, unkempt appearance. There is nothing charming or refreshing about dirty skates, peekaboo underwear and torn tights.

Mira is representing her country at international competitions and she needs to be appropriately attired and well-groomed.

nadster · Nov 10, 2006

chuckm said:
Many of the GP skaters are as young as or younger than Mira---Emily Hughes, Kimmie Meissner, Yu-Na Kim, Mao Asada, to name a few. None of them look like they are "on a catwalk".

I agree with you chuckm

None of those skaters look like 17 year olds trying to look like they are 25 either. And none of them look like clowns with makeup.

I don't any of us want Mira to look "mature and older". We just want her to be neatly put together. Undies showing and holes in tights is definitely not neatly put together.

gio · Nov 10, 2006

I totally agree with chuckm and nadster! Mira doesn't have to look like a model or to wear a make up to seem a 25 years old girl. She just need to be polished and not sloppy.
And I agree that Mao, Kimmie, Emily and Yu Na don't exaggerate (sp?) in make up to look older. They're natural, but pretty, clean and polished as every skater has to be. IMO skaters should always have a nice and pretty look, because the word artistic presentation means also this: to have a good look.

euterpe · Nov 10, 2006

Ladskater said:
This is slowly turning into a "Bash Mira Leung" session. I really hate to see that for any skater. I feel Mira is being unkindly judged here. She is still young and perhaps not as sohpisticated as her counterparts. That is no crime.

Mira is young, but she certainly isn't THAT young--she is closer to 18 than 17, and this was her second season on the GP circuit. If Mira is unkindly judged, it is because of her stubborn refusal to follow the advice of her coaches and her sloppy appearance at international competitions.

Mira is representing Canada (not herself, and not her mother) when she skates internationally. I am certain Skate Canada gave her guidelines on standards on grooming and personal appearance before she was sent out on her first international assignment. If she chooses to ignore those standards, it isn't because of a lack of "sophistication".

Christine McBeth was obviously hired by the Leungs only to be a standin for Mrs. Leung in the Kiss and Cry, and was not permitted to have any input on Mira's training. After a coachless summer, Mira's skating has not only not improved, but her jumps have deteriorated.

I strongly suspect that Mira is back with a REAL coach because Skate Canada put down its collective foot and threatened to withhold future funding. I think the next time we see Mira in competition, she will at least be neatly turned out and a lot of the negative comments will cease.

passion · Nov 10, 2006

chuckm said:
Many of the GP skaters are as young as or younger than Mira---Emily Hughes, Kimmie Meissner, Yu-Na Kim, Mao Asada, to name a few. None of them look like they are "on a catwalk".

Regardless of age, there is no excuse for a sloppy, unkempt appearance. There is nothing charming or refreshing about dirty skates, peekaboo underwear and torn tights.

Mira is representing her country at international competitions and she needs to be appropriately attired and well-groomed.

Welll said!

passion · Nov 10, 2006

Ladskater said:
This is slowly turning into a "Bash Mira Leung" session. I really hate to see that for any skater. I feel Mira is being unkindly judged here. She is still young and perhaps not as sohpisticated as her counterparts. That is no crime. Competitive figure skating is a tough road. If Mira keeps working hard she may benefit from a sponsor as Joannie is at the moment. I repect Mira for her determination and one can see she works hard. In Canada we don't have the swift development of young female phenoms waiting in the wings like the US does so when a bright young skater like Mira comes along we like to encourage them to keep going. I am sure she will work her skate and costume problems out. As for the makeup - she is still young and does not need to look like she is on the catwalk. It's refreshing to see someone look their young age and not attempting to look like they are twenty-five at seventeen.

Unfortuantely, she kind of attracts that kind of attention by the way she presents herself and also by the way she speaks in public and by the way she skates. It has nothing to do with her age. When she burst onto the senior level at 13 I was saying the same thing that you are saying now. Four years later and on the verge of adulthood there has been no change. I have always wanted Mira to do well, but enough is enough. There gets to be a point that you just throw your hands in the air...HOWEVER, now that she is back with Joanne McCleod I am going to keep my hopes up for her.

passion · Nov 10, 2006

What an amazing feat! Mama Leung has become one of the most famous figure skating moms in the history of skating!

gio · Nov 10, 2006

I've read at the Fsuniverse that Mira doesn't travel with the team even if Skate Canada pays the hotel and the flight. She travels with her mother and share a room with her mother, refusing the offering from Skate Canada. It is also written that she comes to the events already prepared, so she doesn't have to change dresses at the rink.
Why? It's really strange.

redhotcoach · Nov 10, 2006

euterpe said:
.

I strongly suspect that Mira is back with a REAL coach because Skate Canada put down its collective foot and threatened to withhold future funding. I think the next time we see Mira in competition, she will at least be neatly turned out and a lot of the negative comments will cease.

If you look at Mira the last few seasons, when she was with Joanne, Mira did not look well-turned out at all. Her dresses were ill-fitting and not suited to the music and her hair was a mess. It was not until Turin that someone got to Mira and tidied her up a bit with a new, better fitting dress. I don't think that Joanne can clean her up until both Mira and her mother decide that there is a problem.

Last year at the Canadians banquet, when Joannie Rochette showed up in a gorgeous long red slinky dress and looked like a million bucks -- Mira showed up in black pants and a black striped sort of blouse.....looking extremely masculine and not like one of Canada's pride and joy. All the other female skaters wore either full-length dresses or cocktail numbers - and a few were neatly dressed in skirts or day dresses. All dressed as if this were an important occasion - which it was for them.

It doesn't take money to look sharp - just care about how you present yourself.
And it doesn't take a world-class coach to tell a skater that underwear has no place in public.

Let's face it - Mira and her mother just don't care what the rest of us think and will continue to be unconformists no matter what Skate Canada tells them.

Eeyora · Nov 11, 2006

Mira and her mother really do sound a lot to me like Surya and Suzanne Bonaly. Remember Suzanne coaching her daughter with hand signals, the multiple coaches which she would only spend weeks with, the no tights. Till this day no one really knows if it was Suzanne who coached Surya into taking off her silver medal in 94. Not to mention both are sloppy skaters.

redhotcoach · Nov 11, 2006

I agree that Mira doesn't need to spend a fortune on a dress. My skaters have looked well-turned out in custom dresses that range from $150 - $800.

Let's not forget that as a national team member, Mira receives funding from Skate Canada and is nationally-carded so receives monthly funding there as well. PLus she would have received $$prize money for placing 2nd at Canadians last year, and being on the Olympic team. That's not including any funding that BC gives her for representing their section and province.

So any of this poverty-stricken scenario stuff that keeps floating around needs to be put into perspective. Mira receives lots of funding that other senior non-national team members don't -- and those women look well-turned out at competitions.

Mira has also been home-schooled since she was about 12 or 13 -- so that means they don't have to spend money on school clothes -- a big savings with a teenager.

Let's start a campaign to get Vera Wang, or Six-O or Jerry's or someone -- to donate a decent dress to Mira ( and maybe Victoria's Secret can throw in a thong for good measure).

gio · Nov 11, 2006

redhotcoach said:
Mira has also been home-schooled since she was about 12 or 13

Really? I didn't know that. This decision was weird, because it is important for a kid to attend school. I think that it should be compulsory for kids to go to school, because IMO it is a good experience. There is a big difference between studying at school or at home.

rain · Nov 11, 2006

passion said:
Unfortuantely, she kind of attracts that kind of attention by the way she presents herself and also by the way she speaks in public and by the way she skates. It has nothing to do with her age. When she burst onto the senior level at 13 I was saying the same thing that you are saying now. Four years later and on the verge of adulthood there has been no change. I have always wanted Mira to do well, but enough is enough. There gets to be a point that you just throw your hands in the air...HOWEVER, now that she is back with Joanne McCleod I am going to keep my hopes up for her.

Absolutely. It's been a number of years now and she's seen what the other top ladies look like.

Apart from her appearance, what bothers me more is the continuing sloppy jump technique that really needs to be completely broken down and re-learnt like Rochette did with her lutz a few years ago. Her technique looks messy and gives the impression of pre-rotation and under-rotation of jumps even when this is not the case. She also does not get a lot of spring off the ice. Also, the most distracting thing I find in her presentation is her constant straining of her neck upwards. I always want to tell her to put her chin down, dammit. This posture ensures that nothing looks easy.

lotusland · Nov 11, 2006

redhotcoach said:
I agree that Mira doesn't need to spend a fortune on a dress. My skaters have looked well-turned out in custom dresses that range from $150 - $800.

Let's not forget that as a national team member, Mira receives funding from Skate Canada and is nationally-carded so receives monthly funding there as well. PLus she would have received $$prize money for placing 2nd at Canadians last year, and being on the Olympic team. That's not including any funding that BC gives her for representing their section and province.

So any of this poverty-stricken scenario stuff that keeps floating around needs to be put into perspective. Mira receives lots of funding that other senior non-national team members don't -- and those women look well-turned out at competitions.

Let's start a campaign to get Vera Wang, or Six-O or Jerry's or someone -- to donate a decent dress to Mira ( and maybe Victoria's Secret can throw in a thong for good measure).

Actually, according to Mira she uses a professional sewer:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv....wspt-womensskate28/BNStory/GlobeSportsOther/

It was her first competition without longtime coach Joanne McLeod. On Saturday, Leung said that after the world championships in Calgary, McLeod said she didn't want to work with her anymore because of "some disagreements'' they had in the past.

One of the issues, Leung said, was that McLeod wanted to chose her own seamstress who would craft the skater's outfits. Leung wanted to stick with a woman from Edmonton who she had had since she was very young.

"I wanted my lady to do it because I knew she did good work,'' Leung said.

Doesn't sound to me as though she needs donations ... just a much improved sense of style, fit, and an appreciative understanding of what is appropriate attire on the international stage.

Mira has also been home-schooled since she was about 12 or 13 -- so that means they don't have to spend money on school clothes -- a big savings with a teenager.

Mira has been home-schooled since she was in grade 2.

Mira Leung and Her New Coach

VINLUVSKWAN

chuckm

scs

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty

chuckm

nadster

gio

euterpe

passion

passion

passion

gio

redhotcoach

Eeyora

redhotcoach

gio

rain

lotusland

Similar threads

Connect with us