- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
^Thanks Sylvia. Lovely piece of music and I think a good choice for Caroline. Any hints regarding the music for her LP.
Caroline Zhang
- Thread starter Reginald
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- Joined
- Aug 25, 2010
indeed it is a nice piece of music but it's not for her. she needs some fast music to make her skating not as slow.
Someone who watched her long program at the All Year FSC competition in early June thinks that Caroline has kept her LP from this past season (Dvorak's cello concerto). Same person also said that she loves Caroline's new SP.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2010
Caroline could take a lesson from Mao in completely reworking her jump techniques. But she doesn't have the luxury - previous success, reputation, fans' and federation's support, etc. - to try to survive a splat filled season. Of course, it is also a survival risk to continue with another season of mule kicks.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
Thank You!
Caroline Zhang, along with Mirai Nagasu, Ahsley Wagner, Courtney Hicks, Vanessa Lam, and a bunch other promising juniors, are all register to skate in the Senior Ladies event at Glacier Falls competition (Aug 5-7, Anaheim, CA). Jason Brown (senior) and Nathan Chen (junior) are both registered as well, along with other notable men. It looks like it will be an awesome competition. I will definitely try to drive up to see part of it. 
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
Do you feel cheated or something that the announcers didn't tell you about these faults?
Good, glad to hear you're planning to go!Caroline Zhang, along with Mirai Nagasu, Ahsley Wagner, Courtney Hicks, Vanessa Lam, and a bunch other promising juniors, are all register to skate in the Senior Ladies event at Glacier Falls competition (Aug 5-7, Anaheim, CA). Jason Brown (senior) and Nathan Chen (junior) are both registered as well, along with other notable men. It looks like it will be an awesome competition. I will definitely try to drive up to see part of it.
Here's the link to the event in the Summer Competitions forum: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...er-Falls-Summer-Classic-August-5-7-Anaheim-CA
Caroline Zhang is my favorite skater among those born from 1991-1994. It just seems weird that she was hyped so much
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MObZCjKHFaY
I do wish that people would stop hyping younger skaters. Case and point: the Russian "babes."
All I have heard is "The babes are coming. The babes are coming."
Yeah, right! Wake me up when one of them wins a World Championship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MObZCjKHFaY
I do wish that people would stop hyping younger skaters. Case and point: the Russian "babes."
All I have heard is "The babes are coming. The babes are coming."
Yeah, right! Wake me up when one of them wins a World Championship.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2009
I am not surprised that she was hyped. She was incredibly gifted and precocious but seemingly mismanaged throughout her development.
Well, I can see why they are hyped, too.
It's exciting to watch and hope that the potential we see is fulfilled. However, I do wish people would stop calling them the "Russian babies" now. They will be in the Senior ranks very soon.- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
Rule to Live By: Underpromise and overdeliver.
The backlash can be brutal when you try it the other way around, overpromising and underdelivering. Though as with Caroline, it might take awhile to finally pay the piper. Since in the traceback of history, you can see things going off the rails before Caroline became a junior (I'm talking skating skills and technique here), I smell the hand of a parent and/or agent deeply involved in the hype, rather than Caroline herself. She was just too young to have been her own chief career strategist.
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- Jul 28, 2003
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The sad part is in the earlier days Caroline was in la la land...the next great hopeful for the US. If I remember correctly (I could be wrong) weren't Caroline & Mirai introduced at the same time at one of the Nationals?? As Juniors they were considered our new US women hopefuls. As time went on, Caroline had the attitude that she was the best. I remember her being a little snotty. Then Mirai started winning competitions and Caroline was getting low scores for her poor technique. I felt so sorry for her but I give her so much credit for staying and trying to learn better techniques.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2010
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- Joined
- Oct 19, 2009
Yes. But fans generate some of the hype, too.
Oh mannnnn...I don't know if I should say this, but heck I will. I've never seen this video/interview before but it's uncomfortable for me to watch for two reasons.
First, Mirai Nagasu is just so laid-back and naturally cute. Even today, she is so likeable. Caroline Zhang...well, I kind of see what some others have said about her in her younger years. I don't know if she was trained by someone to be like that, but she is constantly looking at the camera and trying to be cutesy. "Yeah, I got Kimmie Meissner's autograph *giggle*" I am not saying that I prefer her humbling experience growing into the skater with a number of issues to wrestle with (because I really would have loved to see awesome skating instead), but the cutesy-act is not appealing to me.
Second, the thing the commentator (not Scott) says at the end - "when you're both on the podium at the 2010 Olympics"? Oy, that makes me cringe, even though I know he's not being serious. It still carries a hint of expectation.
Caroline has made some noticeable improvements lately, though. She has gained speed and decreased/eliminated? her mule kick. I am definitely cheering for her continued progress. Mirai: I really hope she regains the top US position and does very well internationally.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I think Caroline would've been better off if she had taken this past season off and just worked on her training. It would've taken some the pressure off of her, as well. She definitely is more cautious during competition now and that slows her down, etc. She needed to work on her technique out of the limelight and feel more comfortable with the changes before going into competition. Now, she feels as though she's got even more to prove after last year's Nationals.
Both she and Mirai seem to have performance issues. Caroline's struggles have been much longer - contributed to by her poorer technique/bad habits. Mirai can fight, but when she sees the win in sight, is when she collapses - because she starts thinking more about winning, vs about fighting for the performance. Michelle Kwan also had the same performance anxiety at the Olympics - even though she never collapses as badly has Caroline and Mirai and was usually just edged out by not being perfect on that Olympic night.
Both she and Mirai seem to have performance issues. Caroline's struggles have been much longer - contributed to by her poorer technique/bad habits. Mirai can fight, but when she sees the win in sight, is when she collapses - because she starts thinking more about winning, vs about fighting for the performance. Michelle Kwan also had the same performance anxiety at the Olympics - even though she never collapses as badly has Caroline and Mirai and was usually just edged out by not being perfect on that Olympic night.
Taking the season off would have been a mistake IMHO. She was right to continue competing. It's tough to get back in it once you've been away for a while. Just like Asada didn't take a year off, but kept going. Tough for her fans to see her struggle but it's part of the process.
Is there a psychological benefit to competing, in terms of helping the skater get into the right mindset? Let's say you have two skaters who perform an identical set of elements perfectly in practice. The only difference is one of them competes and the other doesn't participate in competitions. Would the first one, by virtue of actively competing, trounce the second one? (This question is not only hypothetical; in pro-am competitions you might have a very capable pro skater used to skating mostly in exhibitions facing off against amateur skaters who participate in competitions on a regular basis.)
What a fascinating question. I can't wait to see answers from people with more skating (or live viewing) experience than I have.
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