New article, with quotes from Patrick. I thought this was really cute!
The reigning world silver medallist, and one of Canada's top hopes for a medal in the sport in Vancouver, looked perfectly at ease Wednesday, performing his short program before an arena packed with schoolchildren. He broke into a grin when the shrieks of the children grew so loud, his music had to be restarted twice.
Afterward, he glided around the boards, high-fiving everyone seated in the front row
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jEbaOtO4KyMjrbXPigcDyQGEaqvA
ETA:
This article has a picture - look at the little boy's face on the far right in the red jacket - now that's pure happiness and disbelief! "Wow, I can't believe I got to touch his hand!"
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure-skating/news/newsid=25736.html
Maybe Patrick and Laws were not a good fit and as Patrick got older it became tougher to deal with for both. Nobody's fault. About the timing, if I were a skater I'd want to be as comfortable with my coach as possible prior to the Olys. If I were a coach I'd want to be as comfortable as possible with my skater. If there were a problem with the relationship, I think I'd want to end it before the biggest competition in the sport. Just my speculation.