Kimmie Meissner never bothered reading what people said about her last year, as the 2006 world figure skating champion struggled through a flop of a season.
She didn’t need to. She was saying many of the same things in her own mind.
“It was pretty tough,” Meissner said. “I really try not to think about it too much. I had a lot of issues going on. But I feel like I’m in a better place now.”
And it took moving to a new place to get her there.
Rejuvenated by a switch to Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to the gold medal at the Nagano Olympics, Meissner is eager to prove the old Kimmie is back. She gets that chance right away, facing Kim Yu-na, winner of the last two Grand Prix finals, and rising American stars Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt this weekend at Skate America in Everett, Wash.
Skate America begins Friday. The women’s short program is Saturday.
“I have a lot of different goals,” Meissner said. “Mainly, I just want to come out and be consistent in every competition and get my confidence back in competing.”
Meissner burst onto the skating scene at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, when she became only the second American woman to land a triple axel in competition. A year later, she surprised just about everyone by winning the world title with the performance of her career.
With Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen moving on to try other things, Meissner was hailed as U.S. figure skating’s next big star. Not to mention the early favorite for Vancouver.
She was all of 16, in just her first full season as a senior.
“Things happened for her really quickly,” said Meissner’s mother, Judy. “It’s really hard coming up behind a legend like Michelle Kwan. That’s a hard act to follow.”
It didn’t help that Meissner’s aunt was diagnosed with cancer, that the skater grew several inches or that she and then-coach Pam Gregory had worked together for so long, they knew each other’s styles too well.
Put it all together, and it made for a distressing 2007-08 season. Meissner showed signs of inconsistency despite winning Skate America and finishing second at Trophee Eric Bompard, then finished last at the Grand Prix final after falling three times.
She reworked her free skate before the national championships, only to fall on her first two jumps. She managed only three clean triples and tumbled all the way to seventh place, earning a spot on the world team only because three of the top four skaters were too young to go.
“(I was thinking) `I know exactly how to do this, it is not hard for me, so why am I so inconsistent?”’ Meissner said. “I got to a certain point where I just had to make a change and relearn everything and keep it fresh and keep it exciting.”
When she vented to her friend Todd Eldredge about her troubles, the six-time national champion suggested Meissner come to Florida and work with him and Callaghan, his longtime coach. Known as one of the best technicians in the business, Callaghan was just the answer.
“It is not so much his philosophy is different; I guess just the way he tells it to me,” she said. “You can tell somebody one way and if you hear it a different way, it makes more sense. It is the way he is telling me to do a certain jump and it is clicking with me. ‘Oh, so much better.”’
Meissner headed south two weeks after nationals, saying she would train with Callaghan through the world championships. Though she finished seventh there, she felt she’d made progress in just the few weeks she worked with him and Eldredge.
“I felt like if I could spend a lot of time with them, I could make big changes,” she said.
But a permanent move would mean big changes in her personal life.
Meissner, the youngest of four and the only girl, is extremely close to her family. Even after she graduated from high school and started classes at the University of Delaware — where she also trained — she continued to live at home, making an hour-long commute each way, every day.
She also hates to fly, and living outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla., would mean she’d be doing even more of it.
When she and her family sat down to discuss the move, though, there was never really any question.
“After nationals, I knew I had to do something if I wanted to keep skating,” Meissner said. “(And) I just love it too much. I couldn’t imagine not having skating.”
Meissner’s mother helped her settle in and still makes frequent visits. For the first time in her life, though, the 19-year-old is on her own, living in a two-bedroom apartment.
“It took time to get used to living on my own. Pretty much every noise scared me,” she said. “I’d have to go and check the locks 20 times. I was just a little paranoid.”
There has been no such adjustment period with Callaghan and Eldredge.
The somberness that seemed to weigh on her last year is gone, replaced by the quick smile and breeziness that makes her so endearing. Just as Meissner’s unhappiness was evident last year, it is clear she is enjoying herself once again.
“For a while, it felt more like a job than something I was choosing to do. Now I’m excited to go into the rink,” she said. “I want to show people I really do love skating and I can still do it.”
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