Most Liked Coach....

[edonice]

Frank Carroll seems like he's really tough on his students, but he manages to be tough and also garner their lifelong trust and respect. Also, would you want anyone else in your corner? He fiercely supports and defends his students when they're skating up to his expectations.

I have also been so impressed by Yuka and Jason, because they seem to take a holistic approach to skating rather than focusing in on just what needs to be fixed that day. They especially seem like a great team for older skaters, since they encourage their students to take ownership of their own skating.

Mostly, I like when coaches have clear expectations, respect their students (and are respected in return), and allow their skaters to take the spotlight. With these coaches, you always get the sense that the skater's health and readiness is their absolute top priority.

[senorita]

^Thats why he dumbed Goebel as soon as he got Lysacek?

Since MK dropped him he never looked good to me again, especially with stuff he says in public.

The Sato family rules!

[orbitz]

^Thats why he dumbed Goebel as soon as he got Lysacek?

The public doesn't know why Frank "fired" Goebel. I highly doubt that he simply dumped Goebel because Lysacek seemed like a better prospect at the time.


I like Jason & Yuka, but I'm not drinking their cool-aid yet . They're not miracle workers. I think that the more students they take on then we'll see a more diminishing return.

[ks777]

I love what Rafael Arutyunyan did to Mao.

[ponta1]

Mr. & Mrs. Sato
Yuka Sato & Jason Dungjen

It's not so much whether they've had successful students, but moreso that they just seem like such nice, caring, understanding coaches. I'm sure there are plenty of other coaches who are like that too, but something about the Sato's just sets them apart for me.

[aliceanne]

Well I may get flamed for bringing up Patrick Chan but in my mind he made great progress between Skate Canada and Worlds, I really didn't think he would get his triple A and quad together the way he did. Judging by the body language his coach maintained her confidence in him and it paid off.

If I were an elite skater I would want someone like Kristy Krall.

[OlieRow]

If my non-existent skater kid was rising through the ranks and looking for his/her first "big time" coach, I'd probably send it to:

singles: Frank Carroll
pairs: Jim Peterson/Lyndon Johnston
dance: Robbie Kaine/Cheryl Demkowsky-Snyder (sp?)

All 3 seem to have strong and supportive relationships with their athletes, yet seem to be able to develop their skills and get the most out of their skaters.

[aliceanne]

Not sure that he has any current high-level skaters, but Doug Leigh seems to have pretty good relationships with everyone he has coached.

That made me think of Ellen Burka. I've always thought it would be cool to be coached by her. I wouldn't turn down any of the others mentioned in this thread if they offered though.

[siouxdonym]

If I were a skater, I'd go to John Nicks or Nobuo Sato.

[blue_idealist]

Well I may get flamed for bringing up Patrick Chan but in my mind he made great progress between Skate Canada and Worlds, I really didn't think he would get his triple A and quad together the way he did. Judging by the body language his coach maintained her confidence in him and it paid off.

If I were an elite skater I would want someone like Kristy Krall.

Yeah, I forgot about her. She and Patrick seem to have a very good relationship.

[pinky33]

I wonder how many of these coaches made their skaters. I admire the coaches that take a skater from wall hugger to triples. These are far and few. The true heros of the sport are the coaches that have the ability to make a skater that can then move on to be an international athlete.

[aliceanne]

I wonder how many of these coaches made their skaters. I admire the coaches that take a skater from wall hugger to triples. These are far and few. The true heros of the sport are the coaches that have the ability to make a skater that can then move on to be an international athlete.

This is true. Many international stars learned their technique from anonymous coaches in their hometown before they moved on to celebrity coaches.

[aftershocks]

^^ Yep, in that case, I'd like to mention Mabel Fairbanks (who coached a number of skaters who went on to world renown -- she also brought together Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, and coached them until they left for big-time pairs coach, John Nicks).

Also, Priscilla Hill, I believe has been a wonderful coach to a number of skaters (even tho' reportedly she may not handle the emotional aspects as well -- a psychologist can be brought in for that).

I like how Linda Leaver and Brian Boitano maintained a close relationship throughout his amateur and professional career. He never dumped her, and she helped guide him to get the extra help he needed as his career progressed.

I like so far what I've seen of Kori Ade -- not knowing too much about her as yet.

Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson seem to have done a lot of good work in developing their skaters (in the past they've won USFSA/PSA Developmental Coaches of the Year awards). Ross Miner is very talented, but obviously Mark and Peter deserve a lot of credit in helping him come back from an injury last season to do well on the GP circuit, grab a bronze at Nationals and skate two very good, clean performances at Worlds -- Ross deserved some better marks in Moscow.

[Jenna]

Kori Ade seems like a really nice person and I admire her relationship with Jason Brown.

How could anyone not like Frank Carroll!

[Jammers]

^Thats why he dumbed Goebel as soon as he got Lysacek?

Since MK dropped him he never looked good to me again, especially with stuff he says in public.

The Sato family rules!

Yeah Michelle really did well in SLC without a coach didn't she?

[pinky33]

Serhii Vaypan has been doing a great job develpoing young skaters!

[Ozzisk8tr]

Robin Wagner, Tom Z and Morozov (if you ask them that is).

[DickButtonFan]

I like TAT for the way she cared for Yags, she called him her hercules lol. You can tell she cares for her students.

[victoriaheidi]

If I were a skater, I'd want Priscilla Hill or TAT to be my coach. Seeing as I live in LA, if I'd grown up skating my whole childhood, I would have wanted John Nicks or Frank Carroll, though.

If I were a dancer, I'd be rushing myself to Canton!

[Ozzisk8tr]

Kori Ade seems like a really nice person and I admire her relationship with Jason Brown.

How could anyone not like Frank Carroll!

Not to mention Kori Ade is about the hottest looking coach out there at the moment. Hollywood good looks, and seems such a lovely person.