What's up with Mira?
- Thread starter passion
- Start date
You are right. It is something how such a frankly very mediocre skater, for international skating standards that is, gets so much attention from so many of us.Perhaps she has that something special, that none of us see tangibly that is drawing us all into her.
I think it is because MIRA keeps saying she is one of the top skaters in the World. Wasn't it just last summer that she was saying all she needed to make it to the podium was two 3/3s? When a 'very mediocre skater' talks like that she is going to be pilloried. And after she finished last at Worlds, it would be a stretch to even call her mediocre.
Finishing last at Worlds does not make any skater "mediocre" in my view. In any case, Leung did not technically finish last.
Mira finished 24th and last of the 24 skaters who competed in the FS. This, after her post-SP prediction that she would finish in the top 8 in the FS.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
Chuckm is right on both those past Mira statements. Mira did imply before last season the triple-triple was going to take her into the top group of women:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=2c6112e7-fbb6-4e96-ab1c-884f5244219e
Which does show some obliviousness to the real problems at root that must be adressed before the triple-triple becomes a top priority.
I do also distinctely remember her proclaiming she was going to be top 8 in the free skate, even after her 20th place finish in the short program. I dont have an article on me now, but if I find it I will post it. Here is the one of her pre-Worlds talk of how she was going to shock some people and finish in the top 8:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=33318577-4717-4874-a5be-12843653d3d8&k=0
Well a surprise she probably was, even to those who had low (but realistic)
expectations for her, but not in the positive sense.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=2c6112e7-fbb6-4e96-ab1c-884f5244219e
Which does show some obliviousness to the real problems at root that must be adressed before the triple-triple becomes a top priority.
I do also distinctely remember her proclaiming she was going to be top 8 in the free skate, even after her 20th place finish in the short program. I dont have an article on me now, but if I find it I will post it. Here is the one of her pre-Worlds talk of how she was going to shock some people and finish in the top 8:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=33318577-4717-4874-a5be-12843653d3d8&k=0
Well a surprise she probably was, even to those who had low (but realistic)
expectations for her, but not in the positive sense.
The only thing I see is "I think it will be a surprise to the world where I'll be standing next week." Still, last place was quite a surprise anyway 
But I don't really see anything else to rag on. Maybe she really is bratty (wouldn't surprise me given that she figure skates!) but, eh, whatever. Not that she's taking away any medals from your faves :sheesh:
But I don't really see anything else to rag on. Maybe she really is bratty (wouldn't surprise me given that she figure skates!) but, eh, whatever. Not that she's taking away any medals from your faves :sheesh:
She didn't say triple-triples were exciting. She said triple-triples were "the key to breaking into the top group of women skaters".
Last summer, she said things like that over and over again, and boasted that she had mastered two triple-triples. She obviously believed she was on the brink of greatness---that's what she found "exciting". Of course, at that point she was coachless, having been 'fired' by Joanne, and her new coach was discouraged from even speaking to Mira.
Last summer, she said things like that over and over again, and boasted that she had mastered two triple-triples. She obviously believed she was on the brink of greatness---that's what she found "exciting". Of course, at that point she was coachless, having been 'fired' by Joanne, and her new coach was discouraged from even speaking to Mira.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2006
Perhaps what Mira needs, as I've said before is a tough, no-nonsense coach. Get out of Canada, even. Go to Japan, or Russia, or the United States. Canada has world class coaches, but she has the safety net of home. If she's in another country, where her coach is practically all she has, she will most likely be more humble and easier to work with.
I'm on a speech/debate team in college, and one of our speakers is just like that--he really thinks he's the best thing ever to happen, and he questions judges' decisions because he hasn't done well (he finishes near the bottom of the pile at almost every competition we enter) all year, and he thinks it's because he's trying to be "original" and they're just not ready for the material he uses. Newsflash, kiddo--you're not that great! Not to mention, the "original" stuff you use had won tournaments before.
Like Mira, this teammate of mine is coddled to the point of being babied by one of our coaches. He doesn't take criticism well because he doesn't get much of it. When we do criticize him, our coaches kinda soften the blow. Well, how the hell is he gonna improve?!
Like my teammate, Mira needs to spread her wings and (hopefully) soar and let the chips fall where they may. All of us, including Mira, might be pleasantly surprised once she truly leaves her comfort zone, pushes herself, and shows the world what she can do.
I'm on a speech/debate team in college, and one of our speakers is just like that--he really thinks he's the best thing ever to happen, and he questions judges' decisions because he hasn't done well (he finishes near the bottom of the pile at almost every competition we enter) all year, and he thinks it's because he's trying to be "original" and they're just not ready for the material he uses. Newsflash, kiddo--you're not that great! Not to mention, the "original" stuff you use had won tournaments before.
Like Mira, this teammate of mine is coddled to the point of being babied by one of our coaches. He doesn't take criticism well because he doesn't get much of it. When we do criticize him, our coaches kinda soften the blow. Well, how the hell is he gonna improve?!
Like my teammate, Mira needs to spread her wings and (hopefully) soar and let the chips fall where they may. All of us, including Mira, might be pleasantly surprised once she truly leaves her comfort zone, pushes herself, and shows the world what she can do.
Isn't that what many people are saying? If it isn't "needs a 3/3", then it's "needs a triple axel."
Maybe she did have 2 triple-triples. Skaters can have jumps and then "lose" them. From what I've read, that's not unusual.
There seems to quite a bit of reading into Mira's situation and her attitude. I know that we all do that, but why so negatively for this girl? She's so young. It can't be easy for her to hang onto or let go of her dreams. Couldn't the girl have been trying very hard to stay positive in what must have been a painful situation?
Then why have a coach at all? It seems rather pointless. A coach is supposed to give you guidance.
The only thing I see is "I think it will be a surprise to the world where I'll be standing next week." Still, last place was quite a surprise anyway
That statement was so eerily ironic.
I think what could help would be music she can relate to, and maybe smile a litle more. On quite a few photos of her, I tend to notice that she is not smiling or anything... no facial expression. Maybe it's not something she does naturally, so maybe a choreographer who could help her find music she can really relate to and show the world that she relates to it?
Kypma
So Mira said the triple-triple is "key", she didn't say that it's the ONLY thing she herself needs to get into top 8. Haven't we had at least two or three threads here recently more or less expressing exactly that opinion?! As for having jumps and losing them, Mao used to have a 3 sal, Yu-na a 3 Loop, Kimmie a 3 axel (!), and later on "lost" them. For that matter, Michelle Kwan used to have a 3T/3T, as well as a 3Loop, before she "lost" them. At the time when they were actively practicing these jumps and landing them (almost consistently), surely as positive, hard-working athletes, you'd expect them to think they'll get them even more consistent, not that they'll lose them in the near future.
Coaches technically can't "fire" their students, because they are paid and hired by them. Anyway, does anyone have specific or direct evidence for Mira being a particularly unruly student who refuses to listen to her coach? Or for that matter, how her mother is interfering in her coaching and making things difficult? Concrete references for both are appreciated, thanks.
By the way, I hope she's going to keep growing out her hair and get rid of the bangs. Regardless of whether looks SHOULD influence the judges' scores, sadly they DO bias them in practice. I thought her new hairstyle at Worlds definitely looked like a step in the right direction:
http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070327/leung_54187.jpg
In terms of music and choreography, she reminds me quite a bit of another powerful, athletic skater of Asian descent: Bebe Liang, who incidentally also fast-tracked into the senior (US) nationals quite early, at 12. I liked Bebe's firedance SP last year, I think somethng like that could also suit Mira quite well.
Coaches technically can't "fire" their students, because they are paid and hired by them. Anyway, does anyone have specific or direct evidence for Mira being a particularly unruly student who refuses to listen to her coach? Or for that matter, how her mother is interfering in her coaching and making things difficult? Concrete references for both are appreciated, thanks.
By the way, I hope she's going to keep growing out her hair and get rid of the bangs. Regardless of whether looks SHOULD influence the judges' scores, sadly they DO bias them in practice. I thought her new hairstyle at Worlds definitely looked like a step in the right direction:
http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070327/leung_54187.jpg
In terms of music and choreography, she reminds me quite a bit of another powerful, athletic skater of Asian descent: Bebe Liang, who incidentally also fast-tracked into the senior (US) nationals quite early, at 12. I liked Bebe's firedance SP last year, I think somethng like that could also suit Mira quite well.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Was your last post #78?for me it's still page 4
If you are on page 4 you must have your settings on "twenty per page." The "forum default" is 15 per page. You can change it by User CP -> Edit Options if you want to.
