Caroline Zhang thread

[DimaToe]

I wonder how many skaters are going to want to switch to Oppegard/Kwan during the off season, I mean the current hot trend has been Sato/Dungjen because of Alissa, and eventhough her improvement was great, it's nowhere near what Caroline has done due to her hard work/coaches, so I am curious to see how many skaters will be wanting to have what Caroline has.

[feraina]

I wonder how many skaters are going to want to switch to Oppegard/Kwan during the off season, I mean the current hot trend has been Sato/Dungjen because of Alissa, and eventhough her improvement was great, it's nowhere near what Caroline has done due to her hard work/coaches, so I am curious to see how many skaters will be wanting to have what Caroline has.

I think it depends on what a skater lacks. Caroline lacked good technique and good training habits, but not mental toughness or competitive focus. Alissa seems to have improved on the latter with Jason/Yuka, but it's not nearly as evident that her technique has improved, or that she's gotten fitter. I think, for example, Vanessa Lam could benefit from Oppegard/Kwan, given how tiny her jumps are. She's really looking in danger of looking her jumps once puberty hits, just like what happened to Caroline. Mirai, otoh, could use an improvement in mental toughness/focus, though I think she could also learn from Oppegard/Kwan in fitness training...

OT, I'd love to see Nina Jiang training with Victoria Volchkova. I think Victorial could really get her jumps consistent and package her into an elegant/sexy world beater. But I know there's no chance of that happening in this lifetime...

[AndyWarhol]

I think it definitely depends on the skater, the skater is going to have to WANT to improve, other wise its not going to work with any skater. Caroline obviously wants to be better, and kudos to her for her improvement.

[olympic]

It sounds like CZ will go for a 3f-3t along with the 3l-3l in the future.

It'd be great if she could replace one of the 2x's with a 3sal, too.

And of course, she needs speed.

Someone brought up Mirai. Unfortunately, in other threads, it sounds like Mirai's mom is interfering [Mirai can't move to Palm Springs to be closer to FC]. That's more problematic than any coaching situation.

[Sylvia]

Some people used to post that Caroline's mom was too "interfering" and therefore part of her problem. My two cents - I think we fans should leave the mothers/parents out of our discussions/speculations since it's pretty much hearsay information and hard to assess family dynamics from the outside.

[AxelAnnie]

I wonder if she plans to go to college in the fall.

Oh I hope not. She has put so much work into her skating. College will always be there.....these next two years and Sochi won't.

[johndockley92]

Some people used to post that Caroline's mom was too "interfering" and therefore part of her problem. My two cents - I think we fans should leave the mothers/parents out of our discussions/speculations since it's pretty much hearsay information and hard to assess family dynamics from the outside.

Interesting to note that Caroline's mom hasn't been at the last 2 nationals.

[Vash01]

Caroline (and Ashley too) has been one of the feel good stories of these nationals. It was so nice to see her so improved! I hope she continues on this path and wins the nationals some day.

[olympic]

Some people used to post that Caroline's mom was too "interfering" and therefore part of her problem. My two cents - I think we fans should leave the mothers/parents out of our discussions/speculations since it's pretty much hearsay information and hard to assess family dynamics from the outside.

You have a legitimate point. I brought that up only because it's been put out there in another thread and there has also been speculation about other skating moms [Chin, Zhang] on this Board

[Polymer Bob]

Here is the small medal ceremony at 4CC. They seem to be having fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8FLNaC2zhE

[jjane45]

Here is the small medal ceremony at 4CC. They seem to be having fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8FLNaC2zhE

I could barely hear anything from the video. Sounds like there were smart answers though. Anything particularly interesting?

[Polymer Bob]

Yes it's true that parts of the video are hard to hear.
One thing that surprised me is that Caroline has grown an inch taller than Ashley.

[smarts1]

^ I know! The way she skates makes it look like Ashley is taller than Caroline.

[pinky166]

^ I know! The way she skates makes it look like Ashley is taller than Caroline.

Caroline has a long torso and short legs, so she looks shorter than someone with long legs and a short torso. For example, Mao, looks so tall on the ice, but she and Caroline are close in height. That's why Yuna looks so tall.

[judgejudy27]

OT, I'd love to see Nina Jiang training with Victoria Volchkova. I think Victorial could really get her jumps consistent and package her into an elegant/sexy world beater. But I know there's no chance of that happening in this lifetime...

Why would that happen with Volchkova. I dont know much about her coaching but she had dreadfully dull presentation when she competed.

[Sylvia]

I assume feraina is referring to the fact that Viktoria Volchkova currently coaches Polina Korobeynikova (a.k.a. "Olesya 2" ), among others.

IN article mostly about Caroline Zhang before the start of 4 Continents: California pearl regains her luster

[Sylvia]

Today's (2/21/12) edition of Sarah and Drew's "Insider Edge" blog on IN includes this snippet:

As always happens, Sarah saw a lot of skaters at the airport when she flew home from the Four Continents Championships on Feb. 13. Caroline Zhang was waiting for her flight to Los Angeles and happy to chat. Asked if she was going to take a postseason vacation, she said, "You mean today? Because I'm taking today off. I don't like to take vacations. You just have to reset all your jumps afterward."

Zhang said she'll be working on the triple Axel in the offseason, as she has before. She usually stops working on it when the season starts because of the risk of injury, but if it were to become a solid jump for her, she would include it in her programs next season.

"Oh, definitely. I actually like it better than double Axel," she said.

[Chris_E]

I can't really picture her landing a 3 axel but good luck to her! Maybe it will help her gain some more speed on the entrance into her double.

[krenseby]

I can't really picture her landing a 3 axel but good luck to her! Maybe it will help her gain some more speed on the entrance into her double.

That's exactly what I thought too.. Practicing the triple axel might have a positive impact on her double axel.

[Polymer Bob]

That's exactly what I thought too.. Practicing the triple axel might have a positive impact on her double axel.

And not only that, but practicing the triple axel might also have a positive impact on her triple axel.