Mid-Season Report: U.S. Ladies, R.D. Style

[R.D.]

I agree, Ashley's good but kind of boring. Mirai's awesome. I like how she's tough. I think she has the potential to be world champion one day

World champ? :chorus: I suppose it's possible...it's such a nice thought but seems like such a longshot based on where we are now...sigh.

 

[silverlake22]

World champ? :chorus: I suppose it's possible...it's such a nice thought but seems like such a longshot based on where we are now...sigh.

She's only 16 and just grew almost a foot, Rochette probably won't be sticking around much longer, Yuna probably won't either if she wins OGM, Miki probably will be done soon too, and Mao seem to be getting worse...I think it could happen in a few years :agree:

Of course, there are the little Russian girls she'll have to compete against, but I feel like the success of the little Russians might end once they weigh more than 80 pounds. Maybe i'm wrong though

 

[R.D.]

lol at the last paragraph!

I won't count out Asada just yet but that's for another thread

I think Nagasu would benefit from a little
more fire/desire in her skating. Her SC FS, although it was good, seemed rather on the bland side to me...meh?

ETA: but let's hope! Her, or Rachel, etc.

 

[MKFSfan]

There are a couple US Ladies on the Jr circuit who look more promising than even Caroline did at their age-with better technique! I'd love to see Mirai mature into a top contender. She just may...

 

[silverlake22]

lol at the last paragraph!

I won't count out Asada just yet but that's for another thread

I think Nagasu would benefit from a little
more fire/desire in her skating. Her SC FS, although it was good, seemed rather on the bland side to me...meh?

Yeah, I think it was because she was focusing on her jumps and forgot to present. Also, Carmen is not the best music for her. To pull off Carmen you have to you need sultry expressiveness and I don't think Mirai is quite comfortable enough with herself to try and pull off the whole sexy Carmen character just yet. Soon though! I remember Yuna did her Tango program when she was 16 and that was the first of the mature Yuna we saw.

I think it's good that she's finally moved on from her very cutesy routines she used in 07 and 08 though.

As for the little Russians, maybe they'll stay good. One of them could be the next Irina, although I feel Alena Leonova is already trying to steal that role. Those two look so much alike!

 

[R.D.]

There are a couple US Ladies on the Jr circuit who look more promising than even Caroline did at their age-with better technique! I'd love to see Mirai mature into a top contender. She just may...

Hmm...I don't follow juniors but really, it's nothing but a bunch of hype to me..once they get to senior their scores either go south or they lose their jumps...or they succumb to the pressure...etc.

 

[silverlake22]

Hmm...I don't follow juniors but really, it's nothing but a bunch of hype to me..once they get to senior their scores either go south or they lose their jumps...or they succumb to the pressure...etc.

Not for Yuna, she got better as she moved to the senior ranks :agree:. Can't say the same for Mao and most of the others

 

[R.D.]

Hopefully one of these other US ladies can break out, because the current crop needs all the help they can get

 

[MKFSfan]

Hmm...I don't follow juniors but really, it's nothing but a bunch of hype to me..once they get to senior their scores either go south or they lose their jumps...or they succumb to the pressure...etc.

Very true, but what have we got if not hope???

Here is Christina Gao from the Jr GPF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA4ZoDwqV_A
She reminds me of a young Michelle, or Yu-Na. She's coached by Orser, so maybe he'll work his magic! May be off topic, but she is debuting at Sr Nationals this January.

 

[R.D.]

Very true, but what have we got if not hope???

Here is Christina Gao from the Jr GPF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA4ZoDwqV_A
She reminds me of a young Michelle, or Yu-Na. She's coached by Orser, so maybe he'll work his magic! May be off topic, but she is debuting at Sr Nationals this January.

Ah. Well, I keep hearing about this girl over and over.....and over again. Thanks for actually providing a link though- hmm, has potential but best to play the wait-and-see game. When is she going to transition fully to seniors (internationally)?

I didn't know she was going to do senior Nats though. Does one think she'll be able to crack the top 10?

 

[silverlake22]

Very true, but what have we got if not hope???

Here is Christina Gao from the Jr GPF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA4ZoDwqV_A
She reminds me of a young Michelle, or Yu-Na. She's coached by Orser, so maybe he'll work his magic! May be off topic, but she is debuting at Sr Nationals this January.

Love this girl, her LP at the JGPF was so good! And wow she really is a dead ringer for Yuna at 14-15. They have the same build, same hair, same spinning and jumping styles, even that dress looks like the one Yuna wore at junior worlds 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ns6bqYhlg

The resemblance is kind of creepy. Hope this means good things are to come from her

 

[HCOSurfer]

What about up and comer Agnes Zawadzki? Her jumps are HUGE and she has perfect edges on her lutz and flip (a rarity among women these days). Plus she's been posting massive scores for a junior in regionals and sectionals (158.44 at Southwestern Regionals and 167.28 at Midwestern Sectionals).

ETA - Here's her LP from the DuPage Open this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlRMo1HOhQ8

 

[silverlake22]

What about up and comer Agnes Zawadzki? Her jumps are HUGE and she has perfect edges on her lutz and flip (a rarity among women these days). Plus she's been posting massive scores for a junior in regionals and sectionals (158.44 at Southwestern Regionals and 167.28 at Midwestern Sectionals).

ETA - Here's her LP from the DuPage Open this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlRMo1HOhQ8

She's good too. Angela Maxwell also has HUGE jumps. I think she got robbed last year at nationals, she should have been much higher than 8th. The whole judging at nationals last year was weird anyways, I agree that Alissa deserved to win the short, but I don't think her score should have been a 66 given that many girls who did the exact same jumps as her got low 50s. Maxwell did well at the JGPF though so hopefully she'll do well at nats this year:yes:

 

[Layfan]

Very true, but what have we got if not hope???

Here is Christina Gao from the Jr GPF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA4ZoDwqV_A
She reminds me of a young Michelle, or Yu-Na. She's coached by Orser, so maybe he'll work his magic! May be off topic, but she is debuting at Sr Nationals this January.

Well, I'm impressed. Reminds me more of Yu-Na than Michelle ... even her footwork sequences reminded me if Kim.
How old is she?

 

[Nadia01]

Well, I'm impressed. Reminds me more of Yu-Na than Michelle ... even her footwork sequences reminded me if Kim.
How old is she?

Christina trains in Toronto with Orser, so I'm sure she's seen Yuna skate / practice and maybe that had some influence on her style.

 

[silverlake22]

Well, I'm impressed. Reminds me more of Yu-Na than Michelle ... even her footwork sequences reminded me if Kim.
How old is she?

She just turned 15 in November, so I'm assuming she's a freshman in highschool

 

[Layfan]

She just turned 15 in November, so I'm assuming she's a freshman in highschool[/QUOTE

Oh wow! She already shows a lot of musicality and a bit of maturity for her age. We'll see how she develops...

 

[R.D.]

Christina trains in Toronto with Orser, so I'm sure she's seen Yuna skate / practice and maybe that had some influence on her style.

Well, if they have the same coach, the resemblance makes perfect sense, right?

I will approach the development of these girls with cautious optimism. Well, something between that and pure "wait and see". The scene in 2014 is going to change once again, I think. Hopefully the US ladies can find that edge that's been sorely lacking the past three years...

 

[PolymerBob]

That's good she's trying to work on her speed though. That article is over a year old though, she's grown more since then, I think about another 2 inches (she's 5'4" now right?). Maybe the growth has started to hurt her after all

The only thing that makes sense to me is that her injury wasn't fully healed at Skate Canada, or it messed up her training and she wasn't back in shape yet. I am hoping she can be back in top form come Nationals.

EDIT : There is another growth spurt of sorts. Comparing videos of Caroline from last year to this year, I really believe her shoulders have gotten broader. This will make rotating jumps harder. She needs to really hit the gym to increase her strength.

 

[janetfan]

Christina trains in Toronto with Orser, so I'm sure she's seen Yuna skate / practice and maybe that had some influence on her style.

Christina also has the same choreographer - David Wilson.

Christina has said Yuna is a big influence on her and she shares ice time with her everyday at practice.