The latest on Gracie Gold

[princessalica]

I think that it would be good to go back to Alex for a while at least.

 

[jaylee]

I find Frank Carroll's actions classless and unprofessional. Dumping someone when they're down in such a public way, without discussing it with them first, is just unacceptable. That's not how you do it with ANY job.

 

[Sydney Rose]

THIS. HE IS 4X AS OLD AS SHE IS. Clearly he's about as wise as a 21 year old! This is just utterly ridiculous. I can't believe this happened, I actually thought that screengrab tweet must've been photoshopped/faked. I can believe Gracie's angst (she's 21, barely an adult. Whether or not there are 21 year olds out there who are mature, the reality is she's still very young.) but I cannot believe Frank. You don't air your drama with your skater to national media! Heck you don't air drama with other skaters to national media!

They are done. They should've been done a while ago, but now they must be. If Gracie stays with Frank, she's staying with someone who thinks it's okay to stab her in the back. Heck I even wonder if all these mental issues that may be caused indirectly by Frank (I wouldn't have said this before yesterday, but if he's like this to her in public, imagine what he does to her privately).

She looks like a zombie, on and off the ice. Like someone tried to take her and her skating and slowly mold all aspects of her that made her different into a perfect princess barbie doll, and she slowly loses her mind. All of the bad decisions after bad decisions after bad decisions surrounding her skating were just BAFFLING. Why keep the flip in the SP? Why skate at Golden Spin when she was never going to do well? But this quote shows: it's because her team has lost their minds. Why her parents are not intervening, I have NO idea...

Coaches say less than wonderful things about their skaters all the time. Gracie is hardly the first skater Frank has made critical comments about. And Rafael has certainly not held back when talking about Adam or Ashley or, most recently, Nathan. Same for Brian Orser--some of his comments about Hanyu last year still make me wonder "What in the world was he thinking?" to say that in an interview.

While I understand the tendency to romanticize the skater/coach relationship, especially by younger fans, it's just not reality. Those relationships are complicated and we really know very little about what's happening behind the scenes.

As for blaming Frank for Gracie's mental state, based on what her mother said in interviews prior to the 2014 Olympics, she had those problems before she ever went to Frank. He may not have helped her with her anxiety issues but that doesn't mean he made them worse.

 

[sarama]

If Gracie truly wants to continue, I hope she goes training in Canton. Zueva's programs were always more suited to her than Lori's, and whatever they are doing at that rink is definitely working for Patrick so it could work for her as well.

 

[blackey]

Coaches say less than wonderful things about their skaters all the time. Gracie is hardly the first skater Frank has made critical comments about. And Rafael has certainly not held back when talking about Adam or Ashley or, most recently, Nathan. Same for Brian Orser--some of his comments about Hanyu last year still make me wonder "What in the world was he thinking?" to say that in an interview.

While I understand the tendency to romanticize the skater/coach relationship, especially by younger fans, it's just not reality. Those relationships are complicated and we really know very little about what's happening behind the scenes.

As for blaming Frank for Gracie's mental state, based on what her mother said in interviews prior to the 2014 Olympics, she had those problems before she ever went to Frank. He may not have helped her with her anxiety issues but that doesn't mean he made them worse.

just wondering what comment about hanyu did Brian made?

 

[andromache]

I find Frank Carroll's actions classless and unprofessional. Dumping someone when they're down in such a public way, without discussing it with them first, is just unacceptable. That's not how you do it with ANY job.

I'm going to assume they have discussed it. Why wouldn't they have?

She needs a change. The time is now. Alex might work short-term, but they had a fallout for a reason. Go to Marina Zoueva, keep Alex on as a consultant.

 

[blackey]

If Gracie truly wants to continue, I hope she goes training in Canton. Zueva's programs were always more suited to her than Lori's, and whatever they are doing at that rink is definitely working for Patrick so it could work for her as well.

Zueva might be a great choreographer but I never think she is a good coach for single skater...

 

[jimini]

NBC just announced Frank/Gracie splitting and showed some clips of them from this week. They picked some clips of Gracie & Frank from this week (practice & warm-up it seems) where he is talking to her and she's either looking down or away. This sure played out awkwardly, but they do not need to be a team anymore.

 

[creaturelover]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/01/22/gracie-gold-meltdown-caps-lackluster-season/96925948/

This article states Gracie retrieved the jacket from the trash. Can't say I am surprised Gracie will no longer be coached by Frank.

 

[Lissy]

Wow people are really quick to judge and jump to conclusions. We don't know what their working relationship was. It's possible that last night Gracie made it clear that she was done working with him and Frank was just asked about it before Gracie was asked. Also, it's possible that Gracie was a horrible student who stopped getting along with her coach and disrespected him and that's why Frank let this "breakup" be known. We don't know the details and instead of jumping to conclusions and trashing either Frank or Gracie, maybe take a step back and wait? Clearly their partnership wasn't working for either of them. Hopefully things will end cordially and Gracie will find a new coach that will mesh well with her. This could be the best thing for Gracie.

 

[cinnamon]

I think Frank demands dedication and he didn't see that this season with Gracie.

This reminds me of when TT wasn't happy about Sasha baking cookies other than training.

 

[skateluvr]

NBC confirmed Frank wil no longer coach Gracie. I think she goes back to Alex.

 

[Layback11]

We can only hope this is for the best.

 

[Anni234]

I wouldn't be so quick to blame Frank in everything. I mean I don't think all this has been easy on him as well. And surely there is a lot going on between them that we just cannot know about, only speculate.

 

[bytheriver]

Zueva might be a great choreographer but I never think she is a good coach for single skater...

I agree. She is working for Nathan, but he only really started dominating once he continuing working with Raf for tech stuff. Patrick had strong tech to begin with, and honestly he is anomaly. One of those skaters that can use a choreographer as his main coach for years and still succeed to some degree.

 

[narcissa]

just wondering what comment about hanyu did Brian made?

same

 

[princessalica]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/01/22/gracie-gold-meltdown-caps-lackluster-season/96925948/

This article states Gracie retrieved the jacket from the trash. Can't say I am surprised Gracie will no longer be coached by Frank.

Makes me just want to cry for her.

 

[musicfan80]

I think Frank demands dedication and he didn't see that this season with Gracie.

Or a certain mental toughness. Yes, Evan was a machine, but he was also able to move on from the disappointment he must have had at the 2006 Olympics. Same goes with Michelle Kwan after the 1998 Olympics.

I find Frank Carroll's actions classless and unprofessional. Dumping someone when they're down in such a public way, without discussing it with them first, is just unacceptable. That's not how you do it with ANY job.

I think him mentioning the contract detail is lot more telling. I hope that this doesn't get ugly.

 

[desertskates]

I certainly did not see this going any further with them together, but I wish he had waited until the entire competition and gala had concluded. I feel like announcing this now is kind of sucking a bit of the attention away from the competition that is currently in progress. Oh, well... so it goes.

 

[ice coverage]

NBC confirmed Frank wil no longer coach Gracie. ...

More precisely:

NBC did not confirm the story itself.
NBC cited the IceNetwork story -- in which Hersh broke the news.

The point is that Hersh deserves credit for the reporting.
NBC had no original reporting. Merely cited the IN article by Hersh.​

In any case, it is big news. Good luck to Gracie, and my best wishes to Frank.