- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
LOL, or when you moved to follow and support Gracie after Alissa retired....
State of U.S. Ladies' skating 2016-17
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
LOL, or when you moved to follow and support Gracie after Alissa retired....
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2005
Gracie is getting a new coach http://www.icenetwork.com/news/2017/01/22/214115550/carroll-says-he-will-no-longer-be-golds-coach
I wasn't my wish for it to happen like this. She's at her lowest point of her career. He just dumped her one day after. I just ache for her.
- Joined
- May 20, 2015
I wonder who Gracie will go to - Back to Alex? Kori Ade? Audrey Weisiger? Christy Krall/Damon Allen? Maybe moving will give her the fresh start that she needs.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
I feel like the stunt with throwing the warm up vest is all tied together. I think they fought, and she upset responding with "throw it away" and so he did it publically in front of reporters. I think she was probably really upset and down on herself and feeling like a failure and I feel like he is kicking her while she is down. I think clearly they need to cut ties, but makes me questions Carroll.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
Mixed emotions but something had to give! I really hope her camp helps her make the best decision and knowing that it was announced the day after the competition tells me both parties knew going in that it was over. So for that, all the credit in the world to Gracie for doing what she did and I sincerely hope she comes back next year with so much confidence and a little bit of arrogance! She is someone the USFS needs!
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2005
Agreed. It's one thing if she fired him but that's not what happened. Gracie :sad4:
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
I don't understand why there is frustration with Frank!? He has tried to work with her all season to no avail. There is nothing either of them could do to remedy Gracie's challenges at this point so parting ways is the best for both. He showed a lot of class agreeing to let her go back to Alex in an effort to help her get back on track. Heck, if anything, we should be angry at Alex for some of the things he has been saying. Frank is a legend who has helped Gracie for years become a top competitor, Alex has not produced one skater though he claims that Gracie is a product of his system and would not be where she is now if she would have kept doing what she was doing when she was with him. Really?! Gracie is a mature, young professional who has fell on hard times and she needs to get herself out of the funk that she is currently in. Frank is an ambassador of US figure skating and has produced a number of quality competitors at the Senior level.
For me it's the timing and what he did. He knows she is in a very vulnerable state so it could have been handled after they left the event with dignity. My concern is for her and I just can't imagine someone in his position handling it like this, it was cruel.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2014
Just wanted to add to your excellent post that Gracie, who has a physician father and a former nurse mother, has an abundance of resources (financial and otherwise) at her disposal to get herself whatever psychiatric/psychological help she needs for her problems. To expect a skating coach--any skating coach--to magically solve them for her is simply not a realistic expectation.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2012
I support many skaters, including ones who struggle but have good qualities. Alissa's spins, for example.
Better that it happened right away so that Gracie has as much time as possible to find a new coach and forge a relationship before next season.
Reading the article based on her split with Frank it almost sounds like she doesn't have any plans yet and was only going to start thinking about it once the season ended. You almost got the feeling she DIDN'T want to split with Frank and his "firing her" was a shock. That probably is wrong but it was the immediate impression I got.
Going back to her old coach for a period of time to try and "salvage the season" while still staying with Frank (how many top coaches would allow that?) was in my opinion wrong. She should have done what Yulia did. Scrap the season, decide on a new coach, bring them with her to nationals with zero expectations (this is a rebuilding phase and we start now not later!) and then get a head start on the next season. Instead she appeared to be clinging to a lost cause
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
Ashley is a complete pro and knows how this sport is. You win some you lose some, national championships score are often outside the skater's control subject to XYZ... she knows more than anyone how it works in this sport, especially having lived through Sochi and how her outspokenness on important issues 'may' have affected her scoring/overall standing with certain judges, and her 4th place ranking at Olympic year Nationals (taking Mirai's spot) affected her perceived ranking. National Championships are often more about the strategic game federations plays upon the rival of nations. IMO, Mirai was given her perfect chance to win everything, but did not deliver, Ashley likely to be appointed second (they probably hold her a bit back for Mirai? her obvious UR didn't help), Karen is about setting up the future (Polina) and really she is the only one delivered on the day. One can scrutinise over everything including the PCS, but if you really consider everything, the scoring is understandable. She probably could have been given a few more PCS by reputation but lose overall (the correct ranking as it is now), but it is not like she wasn't a benefactor of past judge's 'discretion' as well, and knowing her, this will light a bigger furnace and she will rock at worlds.
I disagree. Karen wasn't the only one who delivered on the day. Ashley delivered, so did Mariah. So did Caroline Zhang. You can tell from my posts that for me, skating a brilliant program isn't just about scores or winning.
I totally agree with you that "knowing her, this will light a bigger furnace and she will rock at worlds." Go Ashley!
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
I think this too. With the song she chose and the position she was skating in, the moment was set up for her to be a powerful comeback or just... devastating.
Spending part of her training time on really learning to perform that program the way it needed to be performed might have helped her grasp the moment. At the very least, it might have given her something for part of her brain to think about, other than how important it was to get the jumps.
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
I agree. There's no way Frank would have caused a ruckus or engaged in a hollering contest with her. But as I read about the steps that occurred -- Gracie's mom planted the suggestion that Gracie needed a change of scene -- I wondered if he didn't feel "managed." Of course, once he "caught" that message, Frank suggested Alex (did Mrs. Gold agree right away?) and then even set it up for a USFS official to ask Alex if he'd be receptive, so Gracie didn't have to make a cold call. He did everything the Frank Carroll way, correctly and politely, but it doesn't surprise me that he was angry enough to fire Gracie.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
Getting bitter or angry enough about that sort of thing seems below Frank Carroll, IMO. He might not have handled this split very professionally, but there's nothing wrong with a skater needing a temporary change of scenery or input from another coach, and I would assume Frank realizes that, especially given all the work he does with other coaches' skaters. Isn't Elisabet Tursynbaeva training at Eteri's rink when she spends time in Russia instead of Canada with Brian? (Eteri is her old coach, right?)
I just can't see that sort of thing upsetting Frank, at least in my impression of him. But he and Gracie have clearly been on a downward trajectory for some time, and both of them had to have known that this was coming. Everyone else on the outside did. I agree though that Gracie did appear to be clinging to a lost cause. She and Frank should've split over the summer, or after Skate America at the latest. But maybe now she can get the fresh start she needs. She left Alex in the summer leading up to the Olympic season and everything worked out fine - she's got even more time to rebuild now. Let's see what she can do. I'm waiting with bated breath to find out what she'll do next.
