Mirai is not done / Splits from Frank Carroll

[hurrah]

I was just watching a clip of 13-year-old Mirai (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEPMEIvN_gw&feature=relmfu) and wow, wow, wow. Those wonderful Russian wunderkids pale in comparison. The commentator said that she gets up at 4:45, trains for two hours before going to school, goes straight to ballet lessons after school, goes back to her parents' restaurant to eat dinner, does homework, and goes to sleep in the storage room, and then her dad takes her home still sleeping, and gets up the next morning to repeat the whole process again. The dedication that has gone into developing Mirai's talent is just unthinkable. It strikes me that Mirai's really been hit by puberty monster more so than other elite skaters (163-cm with sizeable torso). And trying to find a place for herself in both American and Japanese figure skating milieu is added pressure as well.

It must be hard being Mirai Nagasu, and it's no wonder she's feeling overwhelmed. If she can find a place where she can just be herself, maybe everything will fall into its rightful place.

 

[Jammers]

I agree Mirai when she was 13 could easily have competed with the Russian girls that everyone seems crazy about now. Tuk at 13 had nowhere near the speed or flexibility that Mirai had for instance and Mirai's spins would have blown her away. There was quality in everything in Mirai's skating.

 

[Poodlepal]

I didn't realize she was 5'4. That's fairly big for a skater, unless you have a very wiry, long-limbed body type like Carolina. Maybe her problem is just that she's not naturally tiny and pettite,and that caused her to lose ground.

 

[silverlake22]

I didn't realize she was 5'4. That's fairly big for a skater, unless you have a very wiry, long-limbed body type like Carolina. Maybe her problem is just that she's not naturally tiny and pettite,and that caused her to lose ground.

I don't know if she's even a full 5'4" but in any event that's a pretty average size for a figure skater these days. Kostner and Zawadzki are around 5'7", Korpi and Korobeynikova are about 5'6", Czisny, Kim, Meite, Silete, Gao, Gold are all in the vicinity of 5'5", Asada, Ando, Murakami, Lepisto are all like 5'4" so really Mirai's height is not an issue, and plenty of these ladies who are the same height or taller aren't stick figures either and still manage to jump well. Mirai's body did change a lot, but look at Caroline Zhang, she changed her technique and managed to get her jumps back stronger than ever even with her new body type. Further Mirai looks muscular and strong now, if she can land 3a without the harness (albeit cheated), she's clearly a strong and talented jumper. I think it's more a matter of her training.

 

[FlattFan]

I don't know if she's even a full 5'4" but in any event that's a pretty average size for a figure skater these days. Kostner and Zawadzki are around 5'7", Korpi and Korobeynikova are about 5'6", Czisny, Kim, Meite, Silete, Gao, Gold are all in the vicinity of 5'5", Asada, Ando, Murakami, Lepisto are all like 5'4" so really Mirai's height is not an issue, and plenty of these ladies who are the same height or taller aren't stick figures either and still manage to jump well. Mirai's body did change a lot, but look at Caroline Zhang, she changed her technique and managed to get her jumps back stronger than ever even with her new body type. Further Mirai looks muscular and strong now, if she can land 3a without the harness (albeit cheated), she's clearly a strong and talented jumper. I think it's more a matter of her training.

I thought her training was fine. Her run-through was good, wasn't it?
She needs to learn from Caro. Look at this epic melt-down, and she still kept her performance level up. Removing the jumps, it was an engaging performance until the final spin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExBdQlChy8w&feature=related

 

[chuckm]

Mirai can skate great in runthroughs and then freeze up for the FS. Where some skaters (like Kostner or Leonova) turn the switch "on" for performance, Mirai turns her switch to "off".

 

[Jammers]

I agree. When Mirai makes a mistake she stops performing and almost gives up. That's why she falls so far down the standings sometimes. Someone like Sasha kept on going even when she screwed up and that's why she was on so many podiums in her career.

 

[mskater93]

And I am sure that this was completely frustrating to Frank C! (The off switch after a mistake)

 

[R.D.]

If it's true that Carroll stresses not giving up, stressed this to Nagasu, and she's STILL giving up after a mistake- then there's probably not a whole lot of hope for her in that arena. It's true that Cohen never gave up and of course that's the reason why she has an Olympic medal in the first place. If it was Nagasu she would have doomed herself immediately just like at 2010 worlds.

 

[Spun Silver]

Mirai will turn 19 on April 16. There's still hope.

So much depends on how badly she wants it.

 

[Olympia]

If it's true that Carroll stresses not giving up, stressed this to Nagasu, and she's STILL giving up after a mistake- then there's probably not a whole lot of hope for her in that arena. It's true that Cohen never gave up and of course that's the reason why she has an Olympic medal in the first place. If it was Nagasu she would have doomed herself immediately just like at 2010 worlds.

I remember watching Sasha at the Olympics and fleetingly almost giving up myself. Thank goodness I didn't run into the next room as I wanted to when she stumbled that second time. If I had, I would have missed her magnificent rebound when she picked herself up and just kept going. She made that Olympic performance into one of her most memorable. I can only hope that Mirai develops that capacity.

 

[R.D.]

Mirai will turn 19 on April 16. There's still hope.

So much depends on how badly she wants it.

Of course. My point was that if Nagasu continues to give up after mistakes- it will continue to hold her back no matter how much improvement she makes. So much about this new system is maximizing points and you just HAVE to keep milking every point even after you fall.

 

[R.D.]

I remember watching Sasha at the Olympics and fleetingly almost giving up myself. Thank goodness I didn't run into the next room as I wanted to when she stumbled that second time. If I had, I would have missed her magnificent rebound when she picked herself up and just kept going. She made that Olympic performance into one of her most memorable. I can only hope that Mirai develops that capacity.

I had to lock myself up that day so I could watch that event unspoiled. However, once I saw the final group warmup I knew it wasn't going to be good for Cohen. So it was no shocker when she went down the first time. The second time, I was like "uh oh...potential meltdown looming". Somehow she found a way to pull through though- and I think there are several US skaters that could benefit from having that kind of fight in them. Nagasu being the primary target here, of course.

 

[mskater93]

I assume this is one of Frank C's hot buttons since it's one of his former students' hot buttons (one of my coaches) and if that happens with me in practice where I give up on something after a mistake (not so much anymore) the conversation starts with "Frank Carroll always used to tell me..."

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Spun, I'm not convinced Frank didn't dump Mirai. We don't know anything about who initiated the split. I don't know how public the end Carroll and Goebbel was - I know that it was Carroll's decision, but did he go out and lambast Goebbel in the media or anything? The reason I'm asking is because I suspect that Frank actually did initiate the end here, but is choosing not to be public about it. And why would he? A public excoriation of Nagasu would likely make it impossible for he to go to another respected coach, and since she is young and could still be a world beater, why throw her under the bus like that?

What struck me about Frank at Nationals after Mirai's LP was the difference in tone from the year previous. In 2011, he was vivid. He called her out when she left the ice. He called her out in the press. When the Flatt fiasco started, he was electrified with anger, boosting Mirai to great heights in words. But after this year.... he was just sad. He was trying to comfort her, but the appearance (in my perception) was of a coach/mentor figure face-to-face with the conclusion that they just can't help anymore. Anyone in that position has got to be frustrated by seeing so much natural talent, but being completely unable to focus it.

 

[Spun Silver]

That crossed my mind too. But there's no evidence for it, so I'll go by the public version until Mirai or Frank tells us otherwise.

 

[b-man]

I got the impression Frank told Mirai he would coach her another year, but if and only if she moved to Cathedral City where he would have more control over her training. When she, after discussion with her family, told Frank that wasn't going to happen, that was the end.

 

[silverlake22]

Are we sure Mirai and Frank actually split? There's been no articles and Mirai didn't even mention it at Ice Chips, just said that she wasn't currently training in Palm Springs because she wasn't working on programs. Perhaps once she gets new programs, she will resume training with Frank to prepare for next season?

 

[Mrs. P]

Are we sure Mirai and Frank actually split? There's been no articles and Mirai didn't even mention it at Ice Chips, just said that she wasn't currently training in Palm Springs because she wasn't working on programs. Perhaps once she gets new programs, she will resume training with Frank to prepare for next season?

We have Phil Hersh's tweets that say so: https://twitter.com/#!/olyphil

But there isn't much else...I am surprised that Phil hasn't followed up on it. Guess he's busy working on other stories.

 

[lowtherlore]

It’s odd she hasn’t moved near Carroll if it’s true housing arrangement was offered to her. Maybe something is going on around her or her family is financially challenged in supporting her skating more seriously than I imagined? I wish her the best with the new environment or whatever she choose to pursue, but it’d be unfortunate the talent like hers ends up wasted. I hope it will not be the case with her.