It's Splitsville for Patrick Chan and coach Don Laws.At first it seemed it was a regular split as Laws has taken a job as head coach at the West Palm Beach Facility where he has been based. As the story unfolds, it may have been a dicier parting than originally believed.
Amy Rosewater reports in a special to Ice Network that perhaps things got dicey after HomeSense Skate Canada when Patrick went to train in Colorado Springs. When Laws joined Patrick there it wasn't so much in a role as a coach but as a "spectator" Laws says.
Chan made a quick trip back to Florida to do a show and then went back to Colorado Springs for 'altitude' training. Laws was quite surprised at this since Vancouver is at Sea Level. That's when Laws contacted Skate Canada and had them credential Toronto based choreographer Lori Nichol as well as Colorado Springs based coach Christy Krall as Patrick's coaches. "I will say that he did not run from me," Laws said. "I ran from him." Eeeeeeeek!
The rest, as they say, is history.
I'm sure an unwanted hiccup literally days from the BMO Canadian National Championships but Patrick, I'm sure, will do fine with Lori and Christy.
I'm sure there will be more on this story as the media digs into it in London during Canadian Nationals.
UPDATE: Don Laws has said his main reason behind resigning as Patrick's Coach was the disatnce issue with Chan training in Colorado Springs and himself based in Florida.
"They said the reason they went to Colorado Springs was for altitude training," Laws told Randy Starkman of the Toronto Star. "He wasn't supposed to be there for as long as he's been, but that's their choice, not mine. I can't coach anyone 2,000 miles away. That just doesn't work."
He went on to say, "There was no disagreement like some people might imagine, no fight going on. I'm certainly going to miss Patrick. He's a great individual...It's not that I did it with a smile on my face, but I felt that it was necessary."
6 comments:
I agree with Don Laws... Why does he need altitude training? If he needs it, he should be going to sea level not higher
per the wikipedia on altitude training "Athletes or individuals who wish to gain a competitive edge for endurance events tend to take advantage of exercising at altitude due to the physiological changes that occur from the environmental differences compared to that at sea level." ... that is to say that if you train your body to last 4.5 minutes when the air is thin, you'll have no problem when dealing with sea level air.... which makes sense, whether it's just an excuse in this case or not... in other news i wonder whether that quad of his works yet
uhhhh, you mean his triple axel? He can't even get that down 100%, I doubt he's working much on his quad. This will not be his Olympic for sure with heavy competitions from Plushy to Lysacek. I don't see him on the podium this time around. Maybe four years from now.
I think Patrick is easily one of, if not the most, artistic men in the field. I think he can make up where he lacks in technical difficulty he can overcome with stronger components. I wouldn't count him out just yet.
That said, we know the judges LOVE Plushenko so it wont be easy by any stretch.
Yes, he's probably the most artistic of the bunch. But that doesn't translate to top scores if he cannot stand on his feet as in Grand Prix Final. While Plushy and Joubert are not nearly as artistic (esp. Joubert), judges have not been marking their artistic scores substantially lower than Chan's which means whether Patrick is artistic or not, it hardly means jack when it comes down to the final tally. If Plushy, Joubert, and Takahashi hits every single one of their jumps, no one can beat them. Period. No ifs ands or buts. Thus it is sad that just about everyone else's destiny isn't controlled in his own hands but upon these three.
I know Patrick from the RDV in Orlando where I worked. I also know Don Laws from having worked with him many years ago in Ice Capades. Patrick has made a huge mistake. However, I saw it coming as Patrick, over the past year, has become increasingly self-centered and egotistical. He needs to remember there were better skaters before him and will better skaters coming after him. I think his performance at the short program shows that he has made a wrong choice with coaches. It's all downhill from here.
Post a Comment