Gracie Gold: "I Perform My Best When I Stay Fully In Each Moment" | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Gracie Gold: "I Perform My Best When I Stay Fully In Each Moment"

Li'Kitsu

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
zschultz1986 said:
Really? We're comparing Gracie with Rachel? Artsciboy, Gracie is also getting the PCS when she doesn't land all the jumps. There's a marked difference between the ceiling of Gracie Gold and Rachel Flatt. One can jump like Kim Yuna, and the other is Rachel Flatt.

And jumps have absolutly nothing to do with the PCS. Beat me, but I liked Rachael and her presentation and programs, and I'd have her above Gracie in those areas the way Gracies skates by now, though Gracie has the potential to improve.
Gracie is an amazing girl, and she seems to have a cool head on her shoulders - that's probably the best part even among all her talent. The american hype machine is annoying as hell though.
 

miki88

Medalist
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
I see Gracie Gold as World Gold medalist in 20014 and the star to beat til 2018 where she blows away the competition. I'd rather watch her at this point than Mao. Carolina is so stunning, her skating is better than Yuna's but not her tech content. But if yuna blows it, and does not have the programs, and Gracie is not is the pressure positions, she could easily pull a tara or Sarah. She can jump and all else is very good and improving. Mao is not a given. Carolina will not be scored as high unless she can add some difficulty this season. Don't underestimate thisgirl. If she has the confidence of Tara and Sarah, she can be a dark horse podium threat.

I am in her corner. She and Akiko, Caro and Osmond are my favorite skaters at present. Akiko is really skating incredibly. I loved her WTT performance. Mao is declining. Akiko is fabulous, sadly Japan won't admit Mao is not the best lady anymore. Mao had the perfect vehicle this year. I don't know what TAT will do. I wish Wilson had Mao. Or maybe Jeff Buttle. I wish Sandra Bezic would have done CoP programs. TaT is wrong for Mao at this point. Camerlengo is better.

I agree Grace needs Mills or ? She really is a hardworker so don't think the veterans will be held up. Caro has had several Olympics. Mao and Yuna have had their big day too. I hope the kids get the scores they deserve. Akiko should be a podium threat. It is a shame she is overlooked by so many fans. She is awesome.

Akiko is great when she is on. But she is still erratic. She was definitely a contender for a medal at this year's Worlds but she made too many mistakes. So I don't think, based on results this season, she should be the best lady skater in Japan. As for fans overlooking her, I certainly don't feel it in this forum. Though I agree she is underrated by the judges at times but I also think her inconsistency is a detriment to her earning the reputation she deserves when she skates well.
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Ashley fired Philip Mills? Who is she using for next year's programs?

It appears that Mills made the decision to stop working with Ashley because he felt that something in her skating wasn't meshing well with his choreo. In any case, there's been no word yet on who Ashley's new choreographer will be, but Wilson, Dickson, and Nichol would be at the top of MY list.
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
And jumps have absolutly nothing to do with the PCS. Beat me, but I liked Rachael and her presentation and programs, and I'd have her above Gracie in those areas the way Gracies skates by now, though Gracie has the potential to improve.
Gracie is an amazing girl, and she seems to have a cool head on her shoulders - that's probably the best part even among all her talent. The american hype machine is annoying as hell though.

This. I still can't believe that people honestly wondered why Gracie couldn't hold it together for the first half of the season.

(Hint: It's because, any time she actually managed to skate a clean program, she'd instantly be slapped with the "Future of American Skating" sticker again, despite being a first-year senior with little international experience.)

If anything, the hype will only increase in the Olympic season--Nike is close to a sponsorship deal with her--but hopefully, she's learned to block it out and just do what she's capable of.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
And jumps have absolutly nothing to do with the PCS. Beat me, but I liked Rachael and her presentation and programs, and I'd have her above Gracie in those areas the way Gracies skates by now, though Gracie has the potential to improve.
Gracie is an amazing girl, and she seems to have a cool head on her shoulders - that's probably the best part even among all her talent. The american hype machine is annoying as hell though.

Yes Gracie needs to improve her presentation and programs but Gracie beats Flatt in jumps speed and ice coverage and spins too. Why do you think she gets good PCS scores despite needing polish? She has good overall basic skating skills.
 

zschultz1986

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
This. I still can't believe that people honestly wondered why Gracie couldn't hold it together for the first half of the season.

(Hint: It's because, any time she actually managed to skate a clean program, she'd instantly be slapped with the "Future of American Skating" sticker again, despite being a first-year senior with little international experience.)

If anything, the hype will only increase in the Olympic season--Nike is close to a sponsorship deal with her--but hopefully, she's learned to block it out and just do what she's capable of.

She's never NOT been the "Future of American Skating." I don't think I've ever asked that question (though I am only one person) and I have noted that this is only her first year in seniors, that she needs to mature and refine her presentation and choreo, and that she had a very good first year in seniors, and that she has a shot for a medal next year if she does mature and skates clean, wit hthe tech content she has. What about those points do you find A) unreasonable or B) Hyping her up?

BTW, all that pressure (well, good pressure) is GOOD for a skater, if they can handle it. Good/Great competitors learn to either A) Block out the extraneous stuff (See: Yuna) or B) use it (See: Christopher Bowman... usually). It's good, in my opinion, that she was under that particular crucible this year, as it seems she has learned to do either A or B this year, and will be better equipped next year (the Olympic season) and for years to come.
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
She's never NOT been the "Future of American Skating." I don't think I've ever asked that question (though I am only one person) and I have noted that this is only her first year in seniors, that she needs to mature and refine her presentation and choreo, and that she had a very good first year in seniors, and that she has a shot for a medal next year if she does mature and skates clean, wit hthe tech content she has. What about those points do you find A) unreasonable or B) Hyping her up?

BTW, all that pressure (well, good pressure) is GOOD for a skater, if they can handle it. Good/Great competitors learn to either A) Block out the extraneous stuff (See: Yuna) or B) use it (See: Christopher Bowman... usually). It's good, in my opinion, that she was under that particular crucible this year, as it seems she has learned to do either A or B this year, and will be better equipped next year (the Olympic season) and for years to come.

I didn't mean to attack your opinions. Sorry if it sounded that way.

What I found ridiculous/hype-suggestive was that it started based on one good season she had as a JUNIOR, far before we had any idea of how she'd fare as a senior. Everyone saw how she crumbled at Skate Canada, her first major senior competition, with all of the media attention surrounding her. Many people expected that competition to be a race between Gracie, Liza T, and Akiko. Meanwhile, Kaetlyn Osmond, who had little to no pressure entering SC, ended up winning the entire event.

Two weeks later, at the Cup of Russia, the hype had gone down and Gracie won the silver medal. At US Nationals, where the hype was higher than ever (just look at NBC's broadcast of the event) and everyone expected her to qualify for the World team based on ONE decent senior competition, she bombed the short program. She showed in the free skate that she was finally learning how to handle the enormous expectations.

I never said that pressure is a bad thing--after all, that's how Yuna Kim, Michelle Kwan, and Mao Asada were made. Gracie will certainly need to keep her psychological front up next season, but we need to keep in mind that she will still be a relatively NEW senior. She has the potential to be a future World and even Olympic champion, but it's unlikely to happen next season.
 

skateluvr

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Gracie needs more than better choreography or musicality. She skates like a linebacker and with the same posture too - she's my refridgerator break. She needs to undergo an Angela Nikodinov like makeover fast.

yes she hunches but she's not a ballerina. same could be said of kim's posture. Jumps will win the day. linebacker? wish we had several more like her. Bezic loves her.
 

zschultz1986

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Gracie needs more than better choreography or musicality. She skates like a linebacker and with the same posture too - she's my refridgerator break. She needs to undergo an Angela Nikodinov like makeover fast.

You're over-exaggerating, she doesn't need THAT much more musicality. She DOES listen to the music, or it looks like the she does. Her musicality is fine, it's really just the right vehicles that she needs.

My trepidation, as with others, about Gracie's long program this year, is that there wasn't much "depth" to it. The "Life is Beautiful" soundtrack is something that was wholly bittersweet, a game to save his son's life in a Concentration came. She played it kinda one-dimensional because the program was one-dimensional, which is the problem I have with that specific program.... but I think that this next year and years to come, she can and will handle more and skate with more "depth" or have a program with more varied emotion, tension, and impact.

She had a program and skated it like she is in her first year in Seniors. I wouldn't expect her to have the same level of emotional depth or maturity as Mao or Akiko or Caro, because she's 17. A first year Senior with 3Z-3T and 2A-3T, not too shabby. She's got a bright future if she keeps on improving.
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Her posture is fine, much better than Miki Ando's, however, she does need to loosen up a little bit as her upper back and shoulders look stiff, still. She's got good speed and ice coverage along with some difficulty in program construction (blade to ice, not just the tech elements)
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
A post-season interview with Gracie's coach, Ouriashev:

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130423&content_id=45565596&vkey=ice_news

Icenetwork.com: Tell us about your cooperation with such choreographers as Scott Brown, Pasquale Camerlengo and Oleg Epstein.

Ouriashev: All choreographers with whom she works are very talented people, and the more of such people her path intersects with, the better it will be for her creative growth. Scott Brown is not just a great choreographer but also a good adviser. He's a kind of link between me and Gracie.

:bang: Sounds like next season's programs will look similar to this one's, unless Camerlengo has a go at her.
 
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