State of U.S. Ladies' skating 2016-17

[mrrice]

I finally found a video of Liza Kulik sitting with her Father in the KnC at the Pacific Coast Sectional. At least I think that's him....Is that Illia? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShChdJvtYfQ

 

[hippomoomin]

Karen needs more international exposure. She has not been to Worlds yet, and didn't compete at many senior B events. I am just afraid she will retire for college next year once she gets scholarship at a top university.

She has great speed, great edge, excellent spins, which are no less than ladies on the world podium. She just need to get her jumps consistent. Hope she was going through a body change in the past two or three years, and it is the time for her to settle with her body.

I think Karen was way underscored in her PCS. She is quite an artist already,but she has to land all jumps without seemingly noticeable UR in order to get reasonable PCS that she deserves.

 

[Mrs. P]

Karen needs more international exposure. She has not been to Worlds yet, and didn't compete at many senior B events. I am just afraid she will retire for college next year once she gets scholarship at a top university.

She has great speed, great edge, excellent spins, which are no less than ladies on the world podium. She just need to get her jumps consistent. Hope she was going through a body change in the past two or three years, and it is the time for her to settle with her body.

There was also the whole boot thing too. I can imagine trying on more than a dozen boots and not getting anywhere can do a number on your confidence.

She seem to slowly get back on form.

 

[Arriba627]

I finally found a video of Liza Kulik sitting with her Father in the KnC at the Pacific Coast Sectional. At least it's him....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShChdJvtYfQ

Thx so much for posting this mrrice! I've been dying to see her skate. She is really lovely. Dare we even hope?! ETA -- And she's 15. Pretty nice skating for a 15 year old!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

She seem to slowly get back on form.

What form is Karen getting back to? Her NHK score was less than a point below her career best total score. Her last two events were the best she has ever been.

 

[Mrs. P]

What form is Karen getting back to? Her NHK score was less than a point below her career best total score. Her last two events were the best she has ever been.

The US bronze medalist form, I suppose! She still needs to score a little bit higher in the SP -- her PB is still a few points off her junior days. She can score much bigger numbers if she does that and clean up the rest of the URs in both programs.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

The US bronze medalist form, I suppose! She still needs to score a little bit higher in the SP -- her PB is still a few points off her junior days. She can score much bigger numbers if she does that and clean up the rest of the URs in both programs.

She has really skated only one great program among the 28 she has performed during her career, which is why it seems strange to hear about her returning to form. She is a ~175 total score type of skater. Had she not skated her best performance in a widely televised event, I don't think people would consider her a factor.

 

[FlattFan]

Return to potential. How's that?
Karen Chen is spectacular when she was clean. Can't say that about some of the world medalists recently.

 

[andromache]

She has really skated only one great program among the 28 she has performed during her career, which is why it seems strange to hear about her returning to form. She is a ~175 total score type of skater. Had she not skated her best performance in a widely televised event, I don't think people would consider her a factor.

To be fair, at the time of her "one great program" at Nationals, she already had people paying some attention to her because of her modest successes on the JGP and as a novice/intermediate nationally.

Plus, there's a lot to like about Karen's skating. Speed, interpretation, good spins, big jumps. Though staying with Tammy Gambill has been a mistake. Someone who jumps as well as Karen does should not be a chronic UR case - she needs more snap into her rotations, IMO. I'm a total non-expert, but it seems to me that she's very slow about starting her rotations after take-off. Someone like Brian Orser would work wonders with her. How long will it be before a US lady goes to him?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Plus, there's a lot to like about Karen's skating. Speed, interpretation, good spins, big jumps.

She has all these characteristics. She is a very good skater but her programs feel rushed and frantic to me. When there is a change in tempo of the music, she still skates the same. That's probably true of many skaters, but if a skater doesn't have great programs they need to hit all the jumps to get the marks.

 

[Mrs. P]

She has really skated only one great program among the 28 she has performed during her career, which is why it seems strange to hear about her returning to form. She is a ~175 total score type of skater. Had she not skated her best performance in a widely televised event, I don't think people would consider her a factor.

She was scoring low-60s SPs in the 2014-2015 JGP season and that was with no 3-3. She scored 64+ in the SP during the 2013-2014 JGP season, which back then was a very notable score for that level. She qualified for the JGPF in her first season, but had to WD due to injury and she's been stuggling off an on due to injuries since then, along with the boot problems. Basically momentum was against her.

I feel we have never seen her at her full potential. She's a 175+ skater at the moment because she is not performing up to what she can clearly do based on her work ethic and talent. But 2015 Nationals gave us a sneak peak that she could be more of a 70+/135+ skater. She's not there yet, obviously but I'm hoping that perhaps her solid FS performances mean she can get there.

Return to potential. How's that?
Karen Chen is spectacular when she was clean. Can't say that about some of the world medalists recently.

That's a good way to describe it.

 

[andromache]

She has all these characteristics. She is a very good skater but her programs feel rushed and frantic to me. When there is a change in tempo of the music, she still skates the same. That's probably true of many skaters, but if a skater doesn't have great programs they need to hit all the jumps to get the marks.

Well....the bar for US ladies isn't extremely high right now...we're at a point where some out-of-nowhere great performances at Nationals can get some unexpected entries to Worlds. Fingers crossed that whoever those skaters end up being, they keep three spots.

 

[mrrice]

Thx so much for posting this mrrice! I've been dying to see her skate. She is really lovely. Dare we even hope?! ETA -- And she's 15. Pretty nice skating for a 15 year old!

Yes!! Let's hope. I love seeing her with her Father and I hope it works out well with him coaching her. Both of her Parents are OMG's so she must hear the stories from her relatives and the Parents of her friends. I'm sure her Parents rarely bring it up as it may make Liza feel extra pressure to deliver. My Father wasn't my coach but, he was my Manager before I turned 21. He was directly responsible for ending my skating career and launching my singing career all in the same week. It was a love hate thing but, it was the best decision he ever made.

 

[jenaj]

Unfortunately, I don't think Mariah can go much beyond her 3rd place at Skate America. I feel it is pretty much the same situation when Christina Gao grabbed a SA Silver in 2012. Gao was a better skater though.
Mariah's jumps are unstable, and her skating skills are pretty average. Very few female skaters can improve their jumps after they reached 20. Ashely Wagner is a rare case. But considering she is 20, and she is still seriously competing, chances might pop up again for her in the future. Lots of U.S. ladies are in a semi retirement mode or retire completely around the time they should go to college. Hope Karen Chen can be more consistent and don't retire to go to college, because she has so much more potential.

I don't disagree about Mariah's prospects (but happy to have her prove me wrong). But she was 2nd at Skate America, not 3rd.

 

[Arriba627]

Yes!! Let's hope. I love seeing her with her Father and I hope it works out well with him coaching her. Both of her Parents are OMG's so she must hear the stories from her relatives and the Parents of her friends. I'm sure her Parents rarely bring it up as it may make Liza feel extra pressure to deliver. My Father wasn't my coach but, he was my Manager before I turned 21. He was directly responsible for ending my skating career and launching my singing career all in the same week. It was a love hate thing but, it was the best decision he ever made.

Wow, no pressure whatsoever - NOT! :eeking: Sure would love to have another Kulik to cheer for. Seems I remember that Daria was into skating too, but maybe that didn't go as well. In any case, I'm ready to cheer for Elizabeta! :hap85:

 

[hippomoomin]

I think if Karen is packaged by a Eteri type of coach, her story could have been very different. Her coach is good at training skaters at a young age, but not to boost them to the top. Her small figure also limited her visual impact on ice.
I agree her programs have not been so great, not that they are bad either. But I like her both programs this season.

 

[mrrice]

Wow, no pressure whatsoever - NOT! :eeking: Sure would love to have another Kulik to cheer for. Seems I remember that Daria was into skating too, but maybe that didn't go as well. In any case, I'm ready to cheer for Elizabeta! :hap85:

I really hope Daria is in her corner. My Sister and I were both dancers and even though were never up for the same parts, we often were in the same projects. We both appeared in Grease, A Chorus, The Pajama Game, and West Side Story while we were still in High School. A Chorus Line was the last play I did before going on my first and I never did another play after that one. After all of our squabbles, I always loved it when she would travel to see me on the road. She was one of the few people who knew about all the struggles and hard work that I put in to get that job and she would tell me what a big deal it was to be where I was. It made me very happy.

Hopefully, they have a relationship similar to Gracie and Carly's where they genuinely seem happy for each other no matter what happens.

 

[frida80]

To be fair, at the time of her "one great program" at Nationals, she already had people paying some attention to her because of her modest successes on the JGP and as a novice/intermediate nationally.

Plus, there's a lot to like about Karen's skating. Speed, interpretation, good spins, big jumps. Though staying with Tammy Gambill has been a mistake. Someone who jumps as well as Karen does should not be a chronic UR case - she needs more snap into her rotations, IMO. I'm a total non-expert, but it seems to me that she's very slow about starting her rotations after take-off. Someone like Brian Orser would work wonders with her. How long will it be before a US lady goes to him?

I think she learned how to delay her rotations for extra points, but it may have impacted her 3T. I think she's perfect for Bryan. But Bryan has so many skaters, including Elizabet and 2/3 of the top Canadian ladies. I wonder if he would even have time for her.

 

[jenaj]

I love Karen Chen's spiral! https://youtu.be/zGI1PjsTPe4?t=246

I wish she would hold it just a little longer, though...

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

She's a 175+ skater at the moment because she is not performing up to what she can clearly do based on her work ethic and talent. But 2015 Nationals gave us a sneak peak that she could be more of a 70+/135+ skater. She's not there yet, obviously but I'm hoping that perhaps her solid FS performances mean she can get there.

You can say this about any skater who underperforms. I understand the excitement because of her speed, big jumps, and great spins, but you can't ignore the 10 senior events that have given her an opportunity to show what she is capable of. Ashley would be capable of a 150 LP score if she hit all her levels and nailed 7 triples with no "!" or "e" (and skated in the US), but I don't think any of us would argue that Ashley can be a 150+ skater.