- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
Oh dear. Caroline scored 20 fewer points than the first place winner. 
I hope she can skate better at TEB.
I hope she can skate better at TEB.
Caroline Zhang's 2009-10 season
- Thread starter Spun Silver
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2007
The best possible situation is that Caroline has recovered from her miniscus tear, but is not yet up to full speed and strength. She has about 5 weeks to get back into form for the Grand Prix. 
The worst situation is that she did not give her injury enough time to heal. :disapp:
The worst situation is that she did not give her injury enough time to heal. :disapp:
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2007
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
This is really not looking like a promising start to the season for Caroline in Olympic year. :no:
I was supportive of her decision to change coaches, even though I wasn't so sure about Charlene Wong. She really seemed a bit stuck in a rut the last couple of seasons, and she's been caught up by other US skaters and no closer to the top international competitors. A change in coaching situation seemed like just what she needed. But the meniscus tear followed by a rapid switch back to Li confirmed my worst fears. The new coaching situation clearly didn't work out, and she's now even *worse* off than before the switch, with lost time due to coaching changes and injuries. AND, I just don't see how Li can help her get better when she stagnated so clearly under Li's tutelage the last couple of years.
Now we hear reports of her skating just as slowly, making no improvement on the jumps, and in fact deteriorating in aspects of her skating, in her first competition. Well, that really doesn't bode well. Rachael really improved from her first summer comp to the second (her first comp's scores were lower than Caroline's at GW), so maybe Caroline would've skated better in a second comp, too. However, Caroline has a GP coming up very soon, before both Mirai's and Rachael's, and also Ashley's. So she really doesn't have much time to clean things up.
How I worry as her fan...
I was supportive of her decision to change coaches, even though I wasn't so sure about Charlene Wong. She really seemed a bit stuck in a rut the last couple of seasons, and she's been caught up by other US skaters and no closer to the top international competitors. A change in coaching situation seemed like just what she needed. But the meniscus tear followed by a rapid switch back to Li confirmed my worst fears. The new coaching situation clearly didn't work out, and she's now even *worse* off than before the switch, with lost time due to coaching changes and injuries. AND, I just don't see how Li can help her get better when she stagnated so clearly under Li's tutelage the last couple of years.
Now we hear reports of her skating just as slowly, making no improvement on the jumps, and in fact deteriorating in aspects of her skating, in her first competition. Well, that really doesn't bode well. Rachael really improved from her first summer comp to the second (her first comp's scores were lower than Caroline's at GW), so maybe Caroline would've skated better in a second comp, too. However, Caroline has a GP coming up very soon, before both Mirai's and Rachael's, and also Ashley's. So she really doesn't have much time to clean things up.
How I worry as her fan...
i still believe caroline will show the gritty steel inside her sooner or later this season. i just hope TPTB haven't already written her off by then, now that they've made nationals only 'part of' the selection process and so many other competitors seem to show progress early. yes i know physical injuries will hamper her, and staying with the same coach doesn't give fans reasons to hope that the same method will suddenly yield different results. still, there is something like a fierce defiance in caroline that tells me she's not going down easy. i still think she has an outside chance at the non-sasha olympic spot ^^
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
I don't think that Caroline will lay down and die either, but we should be concerned that if she maintains that same path she has been following really since she became a senior she will never live up to her huge potential. No, maybe she won't fall in every event or even mess up her jumping passes but the issues that were issues 2 years ago with her skating (slow speed, struggling entry into the lutz, flip and axel) have not gone away, in fact they arguably have gotten worse since her growth spurt. Her expression and interpretation of the music is there.... we have seen her during exhibitions. But she has a tendency to close up when it counts and does not perform with her face at all in most of her competitions. We all want the best for her and I for one would like nothing more than for her to harness that talent and skate like she knows how. She had a rough year last year and instead of recovering and coming back strong in the summer she had a rather "lost" summer, not what you want before and olympic year when your competitors will be busting their butts into top form.
At least from the videos, it did not look like she'd fully recovered....argh.
From Icenetwork's recap of Golden West:
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090908&content_id=6857926&vkey=ice_news
"Coaching changes were abundant as well this summer, as Zhang switched from Mingzhu Li to Charlene Wong and back to Li. Wong continues to work with Zhang on choreography."
From Icenetwork's recap of Golden West:
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090908&content_id=6857926&vkey=ice_news
"Coaching changes were abundant as well this summer, as Zhang switched from Mingzhu Li to Charlene Wong and back to Li. Wong continues to work with Zhang on choreography."
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2007
But there is another quote:
"I had some injuries and wasn't allowed to jump the past month, so it was hard to train," Zhang said.
So let's say somebody told us a week ago that Caroline hadn't jumped for a month. Would we think she could lay down 2 programs like that? It is actually surprising she did as well as she did.
"I had some injuries and wasn't allowed to jump the past month, so it was hard to train," Zhang said.
So let's say somebody told us a week ago that Caroline hadn't jumped for a month. Would we think she could lay down 2 programs like that? It is actually surprising she did as well as she did.
Well if she can't do jumps, you would think that would be the perfect time for her to work on her skating skills, stroking etc. Caroline could get away with the not so great jumping technique a lot more if she had better basic skating.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
Caroline had a knee injury I would think that would prevent her from working on her skating skills, stroking, etc as well as her jumps. Just saying.
But that's not what Zhang said, she said she was barred from jumps.
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
Per her Twitter tweets, in late July she was not allowed to skate at all. After that, she was allowed to skate but not jump. Then, at some point in August she was allowed to resume her regular training, including jumps.
Well that makes sense, but I still think though given that the speed issue hasn't improved in three years that right now it doesn't seem to be changing.
To be honest, I don't think Caroline has made any major improvements since she first showed up into the scene. She added the 3+3, but the same issues with her poor basics, her slow speed, the corkscrew technique into her jumps and the mule kick are all still there.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
Just watched Caroline's new SP. I think the music isn't good for her, she is too slow for it... :no: Hope it will be better, I like Caroline (but still think that Mirai Nagasu is better than Caroline, Rachael and Ashley)... And black dress... Something new for her 
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
I agree. I don't expect any major improvements in her speed or stroking technique if it hasn't happened by now. However, as she gets better trained and more used to skating these new programs, her speed in them should increase slightly.
Oh, dear, between the injury and lack of improvement, things don't sound so good for Caroline in this thread. I hope we're all wrong. This time of year is so tense, especially in an Olympic season--and if we feel this way, imagine what the skaters are going through.
By the way, someone just mentioned Mirai. What's doing with her, anyway? Has she surfaced anywhere?
By the way, someone just mentioned Mirai. What's doing with her, anyway? Has she surfaced anywhere?
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