More on Gregory & Petukhov's Coaching change

Tonichelle · Sep 11, 2007

They also announced their programs this season. I'm really excited that they worked with Renee Roca on their free dance... and that Denis is bringing his choreography to their programs as well. It'll be interesting and I think they can do very well this season. I think it's unfair to count them out just because they're going in a different direction than last season (and really they're not, they're looking for what works, and I think this just might.)

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070910&content_id=33078&vkey=ice_news

It also gives insight into why they left, and what their game plan is! Can't wait to see them live in January!!!! :love:

Tinymavy15 · Sep 11, 2007

i guess it will be a sort of patriotic freedance. Interesting. somthing orginal. I can't wait for riverdance!

kittyjake5 · Sep 11, 2007

Thank you so much for posting. They both sound very upbeat about the coaching change and I hope it works out for them. Johnny's designing their costumes can't wait for that.

feraina · Sep 11, 2007

Hey, I was there at the Chelsea Piers rink where the trio posed for the picture in the article! The photographing took forever, and one of the photographs had Denis & Johnny move their arms/hands around in different poses, and finally ended up with the one in the article.

I only had one brief chance to greet the skaters, and I decided to say hi to Johnny -- :love:

-- I wish there was time to say hi to Melissa & Denis too! I loved their lifts in the program.

Mathman · Sep 11, 2007

You should have snuck around and got in the picture!

Tonichelle · Sep 11, 2007

Melissa and Denis are so much fun to talk to!

I highly recommend saying hi anyone who gets the chance!

They're great to their fans!

layman · Sep 12, 2007

This quote from Natalia Lininchuk really stood out to me:

"Lininchuk took the couple's departure philosophically. "They did not [return] to us after worlds," she said. "They did not skate [at University of Delaware] this summer, and to fight for medals you must work like 10 horses. But good luck to them." "

Sounds like they had no intention of returning to Lininchuk/Karponosov after the World Championships.

Personally, I agree with Lininchuk that the only way for this couple to stay competitive with teams like Davis/White and Virtue/Moir (who beat them at Worlds) is to "work like 10 horses."

Tonichelle · Sep 12, 2007

They've worked extremely hard, and I'm sure will continue to do so... but they also have to be able to afford their coach(es) and I'm sure one way they are able to is by touring, which they did this summer in COI.

Ptichka · Sep 13, 2007

One thing to keep in mind about Linichuk is that she is an extraordinarily vicious person. Linichuk and Karponosov were in a very privileged position through the nineties; they were able to build up their school through Linichuk's close friendship with Alla Shekhovtseva (Piseev's wife). Many observers believe that at the time she has "sacrificed" some of her teams for the sake of others. Her statements about former students have often been seriously out of line; not just about the students she's had conflict with, such as Gritchuk, but also students that have remained loyal to her, such as Krylova (Linichuk made some very unkind remarks about Angelika's weight).I think she has gotten a bit smarter over the last few years (going from having one of the biggest ice dancing schools in the world to being a virtual pariah will do that to you), but I still wouldn't put much stock into anything she says about former students.

layman · Sep 13, 2007

Still...Lininchuk did not say anything (re: Gregory/Pethukov) that was not true.

The competition at the present time is simply too tough for any team to rest or skip training (if they want to remain competitive).

kittyjake5 · Sep 13, 2007

layman said:
Still...Lininchuk did not say anything (re: Gregory/Pethukov) that was not true.

The competition at the present time is simply too tough for any team to rest or skip training (if they want to remain competitive).

No she did not but given her history of derogatory remarks about other skaters her comment about G/P sounded like a veiled insult meaning that G/P do not work hard enough. jmo

hockeyfan228 · Sep 13, 2007

I think their performance experience in COI was as valuable to them in the long-term as spending the summer in the rink. Surely on some level they know that even making the podium is a long-shot, and having crowd support bodes well for their professional career. (Stars on Ice?)

Tonichelle · Sep 13, 2007

kittyjake5 said:
No she did not but given her history of derogatory remarks about other skaters her comment about G/P sounded like a veiled insult meaning that G/P do not work hard enough. jmo

It was more than just a little underhanded, IMO and I'm not just saying that because I really like Melissa and Denis... it's because I KNOW they work their butts off and she's more than suggesting that they don't....

layman · Sep 14, 2007

Constructive criticism

One thing that I would like to see Gregory/Pethukov work on is their twizzles.

They are often very far apart and out of synch. Virture/Moir and Davis/White demonstate their technical superiority in the twizzle sequences by performing the twizzles much closer together, much faster and with much better synchronization than Gregory Pethukov. Twizzle sequences count for a lot in the NJS.

Moreover, Gregory/Pethukov need to improve the difficulty and speed in their footwork sequences to be competitive with Davis/White and Virture/Moir. I saw huge improvements in this area when they trained with Lininchuk/Karponosov but Gregory/Pethukov are going to have to build on it further (this season) to keep up with the talented field.

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