Caroline's Numerous Flip-Flop's Explained

I think I put two and two together here.

Remember when Caroline Zhang left Li Mingzhu to train with Charlene Wong, only in September to about-face and reverse course back to Li Mingzhu? It all makes sense now.

When Caroline made the initial switch to Wong she said she "needed a change" to improve her skating. But I believe it had more to do with Li Mingzhu being in talks to coach China's Women's Skating Team.

News broke yesterday that Li Mingzhu has inked a four year deal to coach the Chinese Women's Team. Zhao Yinggang, director of China's Winter Sports Administrative Center, said "negotiations have been going on since last year." Just about the time Zhang thought she would be out of a coach. Deal didn't go through for that season and Zhang gets to keep her coach. Deal goes through and Zhang now again is out a coach. Thus, last week's announcement that Caroline is switching coaches to Tammy Gambill.

"I am grateful for my time with Coach Li," Zhang said in a US Figure Skating Press Release. "She has not only been a great coach for the past five years, but also a good friend to me and my family."

I get the feeling Zhang would have stuck it out with Li had the deal from China not come.

U.S. Nationals Preview (Ladies)

Finally, we have reached the ladies competition at Nationals. Seems like it took forever to get here. More than any other discipline, this one is completely up for grabs with lots of ladies with a shot at taking it (or second place which secures the other Olympic Berth).

Rachael Flatt - She's winning my poll on who people think will win the title. She's been the runner up for two straight years now and looks poised to finally take the crown. Her big moment this season so far was at Cancer.Net Skate America where she upset Kim Yu-Na in the free skate. Kim went on to take the title but Rachael proved she could be a heavy hitter. She has a crowd pleasing short program that could vault her ahead of the competition. A betting person would put their money on her...will they cash in?

Alissa Czisny - The defending champion has had an up and down season to this point. She did nab the silver medal at HomeSense Skate Canada but it wasn't off a great performance. Alissa is one of the most gifted skaters as far as artistry is concerned in the competition. Holding her back is those nerves; something she and her mentor, Brian Boitano, have been working on. If she can keep the nerves under check, land her jumps, and most importantly rotate her jumps, she'll have a great chance of making the Olympic Team.

Mirai Nagasu - She arrived in Spokane in good spirits. The 2008 Champ has looked far more confident this season but she is still getting those pesky jump downgrades from under-rotating her jumps. The only thing between her and an Olympic berth is a quarter turn cheat. She admitted during a USOC Presser in Chicago earlier in the season that she was a bit 'intimidated' by the presence of Sasha Cohen in the event. She'll need to get over the 'fear factor' and trust her training has prepared her for this moment.

Caroline Zhang - She's had a rough season to this point. She was late settling on a coach going from Li Mingzhu to Charlene Wong...then back to Li. After a so-so start in Paris she landed a devastating 8th place at HomeSense Skate Canada after numerous mistakes and jump downgrades. Along, with jump downgrades, Caroline is often slow and also receives edge calls on lots of her jumps. Her coach, Li, has also stated that she enters this championship with a back injury that will require constant therapy...further setbacks indeed. She'll need to do several things to be competitive for an Olympic berth in Spokane...land jumps, skate faster, and find a way to connect with the audience. When Caroline is on she has a natural way of relating to the crowd but if she's off, it just doesn't work.

Sasha Cohen - A good portion of the skating world (myself included) doubted she would even make it to this event. After withdrawals from Trophee Eric Bompard and Cancer.Net Skate America and continued talk of injury and unsuccessful triples...the writing 'seemed' to be on the wall. But her coach John Nicks said she has worked harder in the several weeks leading up to this event than she has ever worked in her life. We all took a deep breath when she actually arrived in Spokane and then our jaw dropped when in her first practice session she looked amazing! Now translating a solid practice to a solid competition is another issue. Artistically she can't be touched. People keep talking about her inexperience with the IJS but in fact she is one of the most experienced skaters, posting some of the systems top scores after its inception (her 2003 Skate Canada score is still #6 on the top score list). I had a sneaky suspicion that if she showed up in Spokane she'd be up to the challenge. Olympics bound for the third time?

Emily Hughes - Finally making it back to Nationals after a two year hiatus, she's kind of the wildcard in the bunch. Spokane ice has been good to her, the last time she was at Nationals was here (2007) and she was the silver medalist. A silver medal here would send her back to the Olympics again. At Cancer.Net Skate America she looked a tad rusty but was giving it good attack. If she worked out the rust and is rotating her jumps fully (that is what did her in at Skate America) and can bring that spark that comes natural to her (all Hughes'?), I suspect she'll be in the hunt for a medal and perhaps a trip to the Olympics.

Ashley Wagner - Ashley was the lone American woman to make the Grand Prix Final where she placed a respectable 4th. She's looked solid in practice leading up to the event and has seemed very focused. She's stated that rather than attempting lots of tricky triples, she's just trying to do what she can do well and earn positive GOE's. Third in 2008, fourth in 2009, is 2010 her year? In my poll she is in second place for those predicting who will win this competition. She's been the U.S. leading lady so far this season...does it continue with a trip to Vancouver?

The Globe Trot

It's been busy times in the world of figure skating!

Starting here in the U.S., we are still reeling from the two big announcements that came down this past week. First, Kimmie Meissner's withdrawal from the Grand Prix and almost by default withdrawal from the entire figure skating season due to her inability to compete and qualify for Nationals. Second, Sasha Cohen's last minute decision to withdraw from Grand Prix Paris. Sasha's withdrawal is being met with some skepticism as she performed in Improv Ice with "an injury" prior to her withdrawal from a major international event. Lots are doubting if her comeback is for real; she'll have the opportunity to redeem herself at Skate America. Also, big news for figure skating fans, we're getting more television figure skating broadcasts than we have in years thanks to a deal inked between U.S. Figure Skating and NBC Universal...WIN!!!

Japan is jumping for joy as Daisuke Takahashi made a successful return to competition last week by winning the 2009 Finlandia Trophy. While there is some work to be done on the free skate yet (he lost that portion of the competition to Russian Sergei Voronov), his short program turned heads and earned an impressive score in it's competitive debut. Japan was not jumping for joy when it lost the 2009 Japan Open (actually finishing last in 3rd) behind an impressive Team Europe and Team North America. Even more disheartening was Japan's high-flyer Mao Asada, not looking her best, and losing more ground to Canada's Joannie Rochette. Asada was just third among the women, losing not only to Rochette but also Finland's Lepisto.

In Canada, they are beginning to ramp up for the Olympic Games full throttle. Leading men's contender, Patrick Chan, was recently dubbed "Ice Prince" by the Toronto Star. Who would this Canadian Prince's dream date be asked Toronto Star sports reporter Randy Starkman? "Jessica Alba. Definitely. I wouldn't even talk the whole date. I'd just look at her with my jaw dropped." Enough said. The city of Vancouver is starting to get a picture of what traffic will be like during the Olympics...chaos. Businesses are being urged to have their employees either walk to work, take public transportation, or better yet...stay home.

The other big news in the world of skating comes from Paris, France where the Senior Grand Prix kicks off. Big match-ups are expected amongst the men and ladies fields. Korea's Kim Yu-Na departed for Paris today with her new programs (a "James Bond" themed short and Gershwin free) in tow. She's up against Mao Asada (who must skate better than she did at the Japan Open), Italy's Carolina Kostner, and American Caroline Zhang. The men are more of a mixed bag with Oda and Joubert looking like the front runners but the possibility of a surprise winner looms.

Coaching unshuffle

I think Caroline Zhang has brought the summer of coaching reshuffling to an end with an anti-climatic unshuffle!

She announced officially yesterday (the rumors had been flying for over a week) that she is returning to Mingzhu Li. Three months ago, Caroline switched from Li to train with Charlene Wong. Wong had formerly coached 2008 National Champ Mirai Nagasu who recently switched to Frank Carroll.

It's not a complete split though. Zhang told the press she'll continue to work with Wong on "choreography and footwork."

Hopefully that's the last shuffle I'll report and we can move ahead with the skating season.

UPDATE: At the last second, two more teams decided to switch coaches just in time to be the final skaters to do so this summer (literally...just hours before the autumnal equinox!). Gilles and Donohue as well as Summersett and Gilles have left Patti Gottwein at the Broadmoor Skating Club to train with Elizabeth Punsalan Swallow at the Detroit Skating Club. Jeremy Abbott made the same skating club switch earlier this summer. You can read the full story here.

Around the World

In Russia, Mao Asada is the buzz this week as she trains with Tatiana Tarasova in Moscow. I cannot find a translated version, but @tokitama69 has posted an interview with Fuji T.V. Mao gave in Moscow on her blog.

Canadian Joannie Rochette has just returned from Peru with some eye opening experiences. She was there to help World Vision Canada get their message across and to see firsthand how Canadian contributions to World Vision are impacting life in Peru. "It wasn't too hard. There was only one time that I cried because it was too much but, even though the people were very poor, they were happy to get help from World Vision and you could really see the difference it made in their lives," Joannie told Ice Network. Also in Canada, casting has begun for CBC's "Battle of the Blades." The show will pair hockey players with female figure skaters and I'm sure hilarity will ensue.

In Japan, Johnny Weir is entertaining fans in Kanazawa, Japan. He's been tweeting about how much he loves it there and how he is looking forward to rocking Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face" for his fans. Also in Japan, Daisuke Takahashi (Looking quite posh! Love the tan and hair!) has resumed his training (jumps still look a little rusty) and @tokitama69 has also posted that video as well.

News out of Italy is reporting that Carolina Kostner is trying out with a new coach for two weeks...that would be Frank Carroll! The Italian national sports newspaper "Gazette of the Sport" is saying while Kostner hasn't made her final decision, she will be in L.A. with Carroll for the next few weeks to try the partnership out. Carroll is also quoted as saying he'd be happy to train her and "Carolina is a lovely girl, she only needs to be more consistent".

Lots taking place here in the U.S. First a happy story! Caroline Zhang had her luggage, complete with skates, stolen from her at the airport just yesterday. After nearly a day of police searching, her skates were recovered. I tweeted her saying she should "pull some celebrity cred, flash some Junior World bling, and ask the officers to hurry." she didn't think that would work, but glad all is resolved. Ice Network is spilling the beans on tons of music choices for next season, you can check it out here, but I will mention that we cannot go a single season without someone using "Carmen." Ugh! Mirai Nagasu has chosen to use it this upcoming season for her free skate and that makes me sad. Finally, Kimmie Meissner (Sounding more confident and looking very fit!) is looking to famed ballet instructor Gyula Pandi to help her with her style. "It was a shock, at first, when I met him," Meissner said. "I was, like, blown away by everything he told me. He pulls out these words of wisdom all the time. And I just soak it in. He brings so much to what I do because he helps me realize little things that can make [my performance] 10 times better."

A final bit of news from Azerbaijan, Ice Dancers Fraser and Lukanin have retired from competitive skating citing physical stress and financial hardship.

Need some direction?

From time to time I check into the search engine queries that direct individuals to my blog. Here are some of the recent heavy hitters and all that I can offer on the topics:

Whitney Jo Lawson - The "Braniac" to competitive skater in six weeks flat! I did a post on her last October. She was on the MTV show "Made," must have re-aired. The original blog post is here.

There are a lot of searches associating Caroline Zhang with Don Laws, who coaches Patrick Chan. Not exactly why people are searching for these two in conjunction but I can tell you that Caroline will not be training under Laws, but rather Charlene Wong. You can check the story here.

Michelle Kwan - Nobody knows yet? No official word and the mystery Skate America slot persists...

Jeffrey Buttle - Yes, he's on Twitter (@J_Butt)!

I fairly certain that Alexei Yagudin is not planning on competing next season. He is about to be a dad! But Evgeny Plushenko is in!

Lastly, I couldn't find any Charles Shou-San Pao YouTube videos when I did my pic of the week post...sorry.

Yet more shuffling...

(Insert "Hustle" music)"Do the Shuffle...Da da da da da da da da da"

Yes, we come to another round of coaching changes. This time, it's Caroline Zhang, who has left her coach of 4 years Mingzhu Li and will now train under the tutledge of Charlene Wong.

No, you're not mistaken, Charlene Wong IS the coach Mirai Nagasu just left to train with Frank Carroll.

"I feel that I need a change to further improve my skating, so I have chosen to work with Charlene," Zhang to Ice Network. "I feel she will be able to add a new dimension to my skating."

Interesting, interesting, interesting. Who's next to switch coaches?