Was Tonya Harding poorly coached? | Golden Skate

Was Tonya Harding poorly coached?

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I have enjoyed watching Tonya (as well as Mirai and Adam) on DWTS. Tonya has a lot of elegance that I don't think came across when she was skating in her peak years of 1991-1994. I went back to watch some of her earlier programs, and she displayed a lot of elegance as a teenager, too.

Here's her in 1987: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuZuqr8nXQ

For me, she didn't improve much artistically over her career from how she skated in the video above. Do you think she was responsible for some of the poor choices made in regards to her skating (such as the bad music choices, like the 1991 LP) or were her coaches to blame for the lack of improvement over her career?
 

charlotte14

Medalist
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Well, she was responsible for making many wrong choices for herself which of course including choosing the wrong coaches.
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Yeah, I think coaching was the least of her problems tbh.

No, I don't think Tonya was coached poorly at all. As much as I love her, she made her bed and she has to lie in it. What's good to see is that she's really making an effort to regain her once positive reputation. Tonya was so spectacular when I saw her in 1991 that I thought for sure she'd win everything, including the Olympics in 1992.

Had she listened to the coaches who got her there and trained the way she had to win in 1991, I think she would have been fine. She admitted that she got lazy and wanted to spend time with Jeff. She didn't train the way she used to and she paid the price.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I don't think she was coached poorly. The bad music choices while tacky also defined her and helped her stand out.

I think it was good coaching that helped her get the accolades she did get and her own personal issues that held back her career. Quite a shame, but she still has wonderful highlights within her career.
 

Seren

Wakabond Forever
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 21, 2014
I know both of Tonya's coaches. They are both excellent coaches and very kind, good people. Both of the them went out of their way to help Tonya succeed.

That's all I'm going to say.
 

ruffledgrouse

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
I think Tonya developed a resistance to criticism as a defense mechanism against her mother's abuse. And that may have protected her psyche at home, but it made coaching her a challenge. I remember an interview with one of her coaches where the coach talked about Tonya's stubborn streak- how if she asked Tonya to do something and Tonya didn't want to do it, there was no way to get her to.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
I would say Tonya was parented poorly. That likely didn't help with her coaches and her self-discipline on the ice. Figure skating is a very self-disciplined sport. You really have to be motivated. Her home life probably didn't give her the stability needed to practice and prepare for competitive skating. Very much the opposite for Nancy Kerrigan. I'm glad to see Tonya showing a different side on DWTS - maybe she's finally found some happiness.
 

Ballade88

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 19, 2017
I know both of Tonya's coaches. They are both excellent coaches and very kind, good people. Both of the them went out of their way to help Tonya succeed.

That's all I'm going to say.

I did not know much about her coaches but that was the impression I got from watching an old documentary about her and I, Tonya. Her first coach was said to be very caring and supportive of Tonya and helped her to achieve success early in her career. But sadly that wasn't enough given all the other stuff that was going on in her personal life.
 

RobinA

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
I think Tonya didn't have the personality type for ultimate success in figure skating. Of course, she DID succeed in figure skating against many odds. And it seems from this distance that her coaches did plenty. She didn't exactly have no-names for coaching. Most people in her position wouldn't even have tried in skating. So she was her own best friend and worst enemy at the same time. Her strong points got her as far as she went and her less strong points kept her from the ultimate prize. Maybe. No telling what would have happened if the Nancy-whack hadn't gone down. My own speculation was that Tonya wasn't really a threat to Nancy at that point, despite what she thought at the time. I also think the Whack ended up with Nancy being a better skater. I suspect that a Whackless Olympics would have had Tonya and Nancy top 10, probably Nancy ahead to Tonya, and god knows who else in what position. I don't remember well who else was a contender than except obviously Baiul. Baiul would probably have beat pre-Whack Nancy less controversially at least. Just my feeling at the time, which hasn't really changed since.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I think Tonya's coaches were the only stability in her life and did the best they could with what they had to work with. They cared about her and not just on the ice. Personally I've always believed that Tonya had every possible advantage given her circumstances but just didn't have the mental fortitude to see it through. She continued to smoke, get involved with people like her husband, etc. I certainly would not blame her coaches for anything,
 

Ballade88

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 19, 2017
I wonder if Tonya’s career and life would’ve been far better if she skated in a country with a state-sponsored sports system (Russia, China). Usually, I’m all for young skaters remaining with their families, but Tonya is an exception. If she’d been able to leave her turbulent home life and reside with her coaches during her career, she would have most likely made better choices and all the drama could’ve been avoided.
 

TontoK

Hot Tonto
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Jan 28, 2013
Country
United-States
One of my best friends is a college football coach.

He tells me that the worst thing that can be assessed of an athlete is that "he is uncoachable."

He defines that as meaning that no matter the skills and gifts of an athlete, if he doesn't respond to coaching, then he'll not be successful (or won't live up to potential).

No matter the circumstances that led Tonya to that point (family, money, etc), and I have some sympathy towards her in that regard, I think she fit the bill - uncoachable.

She wasn't alone. Nicole Bobek and Chris Bowman also strike me as being in that vein.
 

sinnerspinner

On the Ice
Joined
May 4, 2017
I say this as a Tonya fan.

No one told her to gain 10 lbs (on her 5ft frame) and take up smoking . Some of her issues she created.

Also, she had some serious personal issues between abusive husband and crazy mother. In this case, I used the term mother very loosely.
 

sinnerspinner

On the Ice
Joined
May 4, 2017
I know both of Tonya's coaches. They are both excellent coaches and very kind, good people. Both of the them went out of their way to help Tonya succeed.

That's all I'm going to say.

Yes. Rawlinson took on extra students to help pay Tonyas way, if I remember correctly.
 

RobinA

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
It really shouldn't be lost sight of that Tonya was an extremely successful figure skater. Very few people who start out in figure skating, even with the desire to become elite and the will to do everything "right," actually do make it to that level. She did. So despite her shortcomings and a very shaky base, she did do a whole lot right.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
It really shouldn't be lost sight of that Tonya was an extremely successful figure skater. Very few people who start out in figure skating, even with the desire to become elite and the will to do everything "right," actually do make it to that level. She did. So despite her shortcomings and a very shaky base, she did do a whole lot right.

I agree. I think that she probably worked hard on the things she liked working on (jumps and spins) and was less disciplined in other areas. I just wish she were packaged a bit differently, embracing the athleticism but skating programs with a bit more variety to showcase her femininity. Based on what people are saying here, it was probably Tonya who fought back against any effort to be more artistic.
 

Inessence

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 15, 2017
Tonya’s second coach has been working with her again recently. She even went to watch her dance on DWTS.
 

Lester

Piper and Paul are made of magic dust and unicorns
Final Flight
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Was she responsible, were the coaches responsible...
As far as I understand Tonya Harding grew up in a difficult environment, and she probably did the best she could under the circumstances. It's nice that she now has a chance for a rehabilitation of sorts.
 
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