About Gracie Gold - Phil Hersh

[Mayra]

I think with Gracie's situation, she and her team are somewhat starting this hype...I mean, after all it's them who keep posting her videos on her YouTube account...

I don't see it any different from coaches and skaters talking up random combinations that we'll never see. I've heard Frank talking up Mirai's jumps for a few seasons now and I've yet to see a clean 3/3 or 3axel. Ditto Wagner. It's how the game is played IMO. At least Gold is actually putting her money where her mouth is.

Gold seems pretty realistic about where she is at with her skating. If others run away with themselves based on a few videos that's on them. JMO

[Stormy]

Bad form, Julie, bad form. We get it, you're bitter. Do you have to be so obvious? I hope if Alissa does see this, that it just reaffirms her sense of having done the right thing in leaving you.

On Gold: The EYEBROWS.....!!!

Wow, if there was ever a pot calling the kettle black, it's here. Bad form knocking a 16 year old for, of all things, her eyebrows.

[RFOS]

What the hell is wrong with her eyebrows?

[leapfrogonice]

So Phil Hersh to be eliciting commentary from the likes of a competitor's former coach. Whether Julie Berlin was intending to simply provide an enthusiastic response, the way her comments were presented made it impossible to NOT consider them somewhat dismissive of the current reigning US champ, who happened to be a long-time but now former student. Stuff like, in essence, she's our best chance/only chance for Sochi, makes one wonder whether what is being more than implied, is that the current top US lady(ies) has no chance in her opinion.

Stir that pot Phil

[peibeck]

Miki Ando has skated through the music for her entire career, but it didn't stop her from winning two World Championships.

And Slutskya as well. Although I think both did try to improve their artistry as the years progressed.

I guess for Hersh this is too good to resist, with Gold training in the Chicago area and him working for the Chicago Tribune. Hopefully she won't end up on one of his withering, hateful blogs if she doesn't live up to his expectations however.

[Louis]

With the way Alissa Czisny is skating, she needs to worry about making it out of a qualifying round. IMO, she has been the most "hyped" skater this season. Her programs suck, her jumps are awful, and she looks like she's going to topple over at any second, yet commentators, fans, and judges are all sugarcoating.

IMO, we could use a bit more hype of the juniors and bit more harsh reality about the limitations of Czisny, Flatt, and Wagner. And, sadly, you can probably add Nagasu to that list unless a different skater shows up at Nationals.

[mgobluegirl]

I think the article and the hype are premature, but I think she's promising and I like watching her skate. And when I watch the beginning of her free skate this year, I think she's listening to/skating to the music beautifully. It just seems to get lost a little bit along the way. But she uses her arms well and has nice speed and posture, in addition to solid jumps and spins.

To be fair about the youtube videos, Gracie posts those herself. She's been doing it for a few years already, before any of this hype happened. I think she's got one on there of her landing her first triple flip. Seems like she just likes to post them; there's no problem with that, I've seen other skaters do it too.

[isamelia]

Gracie is the real deal. There is nothing to overhype, but much to appreciate. Let's let nationals play out and then Junior Worlds. As a viewer I would have enjoyed seeing her contend with the Seniors this year but she is taking one competition at a time, from club competitions to her JGP event and lighting a fire every time. At 16, she is well positioned to make a run at Sochi. Let the girl skate and bring the house down.

[orbitz]

Miki Ando has skated through the music for her entire career, but it didn't stop her from winning two World Championships.

But Miki was also touched by the magic fingers of Morozov. Maybe Gracie should give Nicolai a call

[RFOS]

[modern_muslimah]

But Miki was also touched by the magic fingers of Morozov. Maybe Gracie should give Nicolai a call

You had to go there.

[Anita18]

If Zhang's body had stayed relatively the same after puberty like Kristi's then she probably could've eeked out a few more successful years under IJS with bad techniques. The stereotype was that Asian skaters were successfull, because they didn't grow hips, among other things .

We don't grow hips, but we still gain some weight somewhere.

Gracie has nice presentation - I think she's a little flaily, but it's not something that can't be fixed. How she handles the pressure will definitely be the clincher.

[FSfan107]

I like Gracie a lot and she has soooo much potential but the hype does scare me a little. On the other hand, if she wants to be in Sochi she needs to get used to the pressure as soon as possible so she can handle it when it really matters. Some great skaters have survived the hype and gone on to outstanding senior careers. Better to struggle to deal with it now than suddenly appear as a gold medal prospect in late 2012/13 when the pressure will be even greater and implode on the biggest stage. Either way it's going to be a very interesting couple of years for Gracie.

I agree with your point, that it is better to get use to the attention and pressure as soon as possible. I actually don't think the attention and hype for Gracie has been too over the top in the news media (this excludes message board posts). Back in 90's, when some junior competitions were televised on TV, there seemed to be more hyping of the junior skaters.

[ChibiChibi]

I don't see it any different from coaches and skaters talking up random combinations that we'll never see. I've heard Frank talking up Mirai's jumps for a few seasons now and I've yet to see a clean 3/3 or 3axel. Ditto Wagner. It's how the game is played IMO. At least Gold is actually putting her money where her mouth is.

Gold seems pretty realistic about where she is at with her skating. If others run away with themselves based on a few videos that's on them. JMO

I'm not suggesting that it's a bad thing that the Team Gold promotes Gracie, but I'm saying that we probably don't need to worry about hyping her much because obviously the team is promoting her. If she has a great support system and she has a personality to handle pressure, then it's great!

[Iceman]

At best, only one of these--Mirai, Ashley, Czisny-- will be on the US Olympic team imo and I won't be surprised if none of them are. They are all getting left behind in the technical dust. And Kostner's time at the top will be brief unless she does something other than what she is doing now.

[victoriaheidi]

My thoughts:

1. If I were Team Gracie, I'd sort of want to throw some hype her way. There's all this talk of Russian wonderbabies and all that, and if she's going to compete with them, she needs to have the same name recognition they do. Outside of the skating world, it makes sense that Team Gracie would want to try to create the next big star in FS, especially since America stopped paying attention to skating at some point. Could she be trying to bring the focus back?

2. Yes, I'm reticent, but her skating is so great to watch! Her jumping is just something extraordinary and I happen to like watching her. Again, unlike Caroline Zhang, Gracie has already gone through puberty and came out on the other end a jumping superstar.

3. Wild guess: she can probably handle the pressure better than we think. Again, she's older than megahyped babies and she is, in terms of the majority of the world, just some chick from Chicago. I can see my sister, who is the same age as Gracie, handling the pressure with maturity and-for lack of a better word-grace. Of course, this varies by person, but still. I agree that she wants this publicity, too.

Either way, if she wants to be an Olympic Champion, time to get used to the hype now.

[Wyliefan]

It sounds like she's enjoying the hype. And good for her. If you have to live with it, you may as well enjoy it!

[love_skate2011]

^

I agree, Gracie needs all the hype she can get
she is of course very talented and she needs exposure and buzz
to keep her on the radar with her other competitors

[Frau Muller]

This sounds like Kiri Baga hype, 12+ months ago!

[Sylvia]

I agree, Gracie needs all the hype she can get

No, she just needs to continue to skate/compete well, starting with Nationals next month.

This sounds like Kiri Baga hype, 12+ months ago!

Huh? Baga was never hyped in the mainstream media.