Has Gracie Gold regressed?

[MarinHondas]

Recently I have been watching Gracie's old videos from 2012-13. She had massive jumps back then, she was doing 3-3-3.(in practice) I never noticed until now how much she actually has regressed technically. Personally, I think she should go back to Alex Ouriashev. I skate at the same rink he coaches in and all of his students I have seen are really really good jumpers... She needs a few refresher lessons from him... What are everyone else's thoughts on this? Has she regressed in your opinion? Should she go back to Alex or get a new coach entirely?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Do you think doing massive jumps would improve her consistency on them?

 

[MarinHondas]

well it's not only the size of the jumps but also the edge on the flip.. she didnt have that issue in 12-13 either.. The consistency would probably remain the same.

 

[mrrice]

Do you think doing massive jumps would improve her consistency on them?

I think Gracie is experiencing some mental fatigue. I feel the same way about Mirai. I think they need a week at a luxury spa and a session with a good therapist and they'll be fine. I truly think they're mentally exhausted

 

[amethyst star]

Recently I have been watching Gracie's old videos from 2012-13. She had massive jumps back then, she was doing 3-3-3.(in practice) I never noticed until now how much she actually has regressed technically. Personally, I think she should go back to Alex Ouriashev. I skate at the same rink he coaches in and all of his students I have seen are really really good jumpers... She needs a few refresher lessons from him... What are everyone else's thoughts on this? Has she regressed in your opinion? Should she go back to Alex or get a new coach entirely?

From what I heard, Gracie and Alex didn't exactly part on good terms.

 

[noskates]

I agree with Mrrice...I think both Gracie and Mirai are mentally exhausted. They've been scrutinized from every possible angle and the pressure must be daunting. I have no idea what the answer is for Gracie but if I had a choice I would (1) change coaches; and (2) get a new choreographer. Try music that isn't old and staid and put some life in those programs. Ditch the tangoes - they've been overdone the past several years. Go with something fresh and ennervating and regain your love of the sport.

And don't read message boards. :noshake:

 

[narcissa]

From what I heard, Gracie and Alex didn't exactly part on good terms.

what do you mean?

 

[Nathan13]

Another excuse for bashing Gracie :noshake: leave the poor girl alone

 

[MarinHondas]

Another excuse for bashing Gracie :noshake: leave the poor girl alone

Hey! I love Gracie! I'm a huge fan. Just an observation.. her jumps are still better than most of the ladies field!

 

[andromache]

well it's not only the size of the jumps but also the edge on the flip.. she didnt have that issue in 12-13 either.. The consistency would probably remain the same.

This is actually an urban legend. I looked at the Workds 2013 protocols not too long ago and Gracie had an e on her flip.

And let's not forget that the bigger the jump the harder it is to land/do a combo after. (e.g., Courtney Hicks and Gabby Daleman.) Its possible that the change in her jumps was intentional, with the hope of improving her consistency.

 

[Tolstoj]

Recently I have been watching Gracie's old videos from 2012-13. She had massive jumps back then, she was doing 3-3-3.(in practice) I never noticed until now how much she actually has regressed technically. Personally, I think she should go back to Alex Ouriashev. I skate at the same rink he coaches in and all of his students I have seen are really really good jumpers... She needs a few refresher lessons from him... What are everyone else's thoughts on this? Has she regressed in your opinion? Should she go back to Alex or get a new coach entirely?

Absolutely and actually i've the same feelings for Polina Edmunds.

I really like the old Gracie: the aggressive attack, her huge jumps, the facial expressions,...Has she regressed? debatable, but surely she had the potential to be a far superior athlete than what she is now: she cannot land a 3F-3T today, and that's a fact.

Frank's changes made her skating a lot less interesting to watch: no more trademark jumps, stone face, no changes in her spins after so many years, the magic is missing in these programs.

I don't know why people cannot admit this, probably because they have too much respect for Frank.

 

[SarahSynchro]

I don't know why people cannot admit this, probably because they have too much respect for Frank.

Good grief, I don't know what forums you've been reading lately, but around here Frank was getting crucified after Skate America a few weeks ago.

Unless you're referring to the USFSA powers that be; in that case, I believe you're right.

 

[musicfan80]

I think Gracie is experiencing some mental fatigue. I feel the same way about Mirai. I think they need a week at a luxury spa and a session with a good therapist and they'll be fine. I truly think they're mentally exhausted

I'm waiting to see on Mirai - let's see what happens at her next competition. I do agree with you about Gracie - at least for right now - I think at a minimum she needs to withdraw from her next GP assignment and hopefully recharge for Nationals. It's still around two months away.

Absolutely and actually i've the same feelings for Polina Edmunds.

Frank's changes made her skating a lot less interesting to watch: no more trademark jumps, stone face, no changes in her spins after so many years, the magic is missing in these programs.

I don't know why people cannot admit this, probably because they have too much respect for Frank.

I've wondered how her freshman year in college will affect Polina and her skating - I hope the outside interests are positive for her.

I think Frank's coaching philosophy isn't for a lot of skaters - and even the "better fits" can get burned out by him. Isn't that kinda what happened with Michelle Kwan and (to a lesser extent) Timothy Goebel? It worked with Even Lysacek - but I think he was more willing to be that much of a workaholic.

 

[KatGrace1925]

This is actually an urban legend. I looked at the Workds 2013 protocols not too long ago and Gracie had an e on her flip.

And let's not forget that the bigger the jump the harder it is to land/do a combo after. (e.g., Courtney Hicks and Gabby Daleman.) Its possible that the change in her jumps was intentional, with the hope of improving her consistency.

You are correct, I went through Gracie's old scores awhile back and this flip edge problem is not a Frank Carrol thing like people think.

 

[KatGrace1925]

Absolutely and actually i've the same feelings for Polina Edmunds.

I really like the old Gracie: the aggressive attack, her huge jumps, the facial expressions,...Has she regressed? debatable, but surely she had the potential to be a far superior athlete than what she is now: she cannot land a 3F-3T today, and that's a fact.

Frank's changes made her skating a lot less interesting to watch: no more trademark jumps, stone face, no changes in her spins after so many years, the magic is missing in these programs.

I don't know why people cannot admit this, probably because they have too much respect for Frank.

She could never really do a 3F-3T though. The edge call is not new. She has a perfect lutz, not so much her flip.

I honestly still think her jumps are amazing. I watched nationals with my parents who know very litte about skating and my dad said Gracie's jumps were the biggest on the field and her technique was stunning. When she's on she's on, a small reduction in height was probably intentional.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I think she's reaching a mental limit. The pressure is bigger now then before. Yes she has always had pressure but back then she was a blank slate with promise. Everybody was hoping she would bring the US back on the podium and consistently challenge for the gold as American ladies had done in the past. Even though she didn't do it as fast as people hoped she was still very young and people were willing to give her the benefit and wait. She was willing to wait and work hard. But after working her butt off only to have multiple seasons of underwhelming disappointments the frustration of not living up to her personal hopes and dreams as well as the expectations of everybody else its taking its toll. She hoped things would have come together by now and they haven't and she's also most likely feeling the negative feelings of everybody around her.

It's not about regressing, its about having far too many disappointments and negative baggage in the back of her mind.

 

[MarinHondas]

She could never really do a 3F-3T though. The edge call is not new. She has a perfect lutz, not so much her flip.

I honestly still think her jumps are amazing. I watched nationals with my parents who know very litte about skating and my dad said Gracie's jumps were the biggest on the field and her technique was stunning. When she's on she's on, a small reduction in height was probably intentional.

That's incorrect. In the Junior level that was the combo she did and she did it in the beginning of her senior career. She later switched to 3l-3T but still had 3F-2t-2t

 

[andromache]

That's incorrect. In the Junior level that was the combo she did and she did it in the beginning of her senior career. She later switched to 3l-3T but still had 3F-2t-2t

Then I'm going to assume that training the 3Lz-3T is what killed her flip edge, since most lady skaters tend to be proficient at one or the other. Training a great lutz makes getting that inside flip edge hard to get.

Also, with Alex Gracie did 3F-3T in SP and 3Lz-3T in LP, at least in 2012/2013 - which is actually a really interesting strategy for making sure both jumps are solid, you can do a combo off both jumps, but also seems risky given that most top skater with fully developed bodies are really only good at one 3-3 combo (or two if you count 3-1lo-3 combos also). It seems like the safer strategy to have the same, more solid 3-3 in both programs.

Somewhere between juniors and seniors that flip edge went wonky - or it was always a problem but maybe junior technical specialists weren't so picky? In 2013 she got e calls.

 

[hippomoomin]

Honestly speaking, I think almost all ladies regress in jumps from their 2nd or 3rd junior seasons on, with only a few exceptions, such as Ashely Wagner and Akiko Suzuki, who did not have 3-3 in the junior years.

 

[Barb]

those big jumps are difficult to control, Liza´s jumps look less impressive too. I wonder when FS will have another Midori.