It's great to have a skating coach who is invested in their athlete, cares about their well being on and off the ice, and can serve as a mentor. But when a skating coach starts to develop her own slave house, that's when problems start.
We all remember Robin Wagner as the coach of Sarah Hughes. We recall the fluff pieces of Sarah and Robin's close relationship with one another. Instead of being coach and student, they were "buds" sharing giggles with one another.
Now I have a hard time believing Sarah had any say in the situation. Sarah was literally her slave. She forced her love on Sarah as much as she forced ten million arm accents in Sarah's "Don Quixote" program.
When Robin Wagner screamed bloody murder after finding out that Sarah had won the Olympics, my young body shivered with fear. I would find myself alone in my bed at night, worried that Robin would come scoop me up and bring me to her slave trade.
Robin was not only a technical coach, but she was also a choreographer. Her best moments were in the 2002-2003 season when she gave Sarah Hughes two gems for programs.
Her short program had so many bizarre arm movements that I thought she was performing Tai-Chi. And who can forget the beginning pose of her long program when she gives herself a breast exam.
She also butchered Sasha's Russian-ified "Swan Lake" into her own version of "Swan Mud Puddle." Although, I will give her credit since Sasha Cohen's only clean competitive free skate was attained with this program.
Robin wanted the same relationship with Sasha as she had with Sarah. Knowing Sasha fierce, this was not going to work out too well. Robin would touch Sasha is if she was her pet poodle and flock around her like Mel would flock Bret and Jemaine in Flight of the Concords.
Sasha was not going to be dictated again. She couldn't handle it with Tarasova, and was foolish enough to not recognize that Robin would be a hundred notches up the manipulation meter. Alas, their relationship soon ended.
Since then, Robin has been suspended by the Professional Skater's Association for unethical behavior. Apparently, her slave house was discovered and has since been discontinued. Sarah Hughes was found to be hidden away in Robin's basement, away from civilization, and claiming to be "attending" Yale University.
All about the wacky, yet wonderful, but warped world of figure skating. Disclaimer: Sequins must be worn while reading this blog.
wait. i think i lost you. slave house?
ReplyDeleteWell, this slave house is a figment of my own imagination in my distorted mind. That's about the best explanation I can give you.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoy your sense of humor. Keep up the great work, and drop by and say "Hi" every now and again. I miss you.
ReplyDeletegratefulmkfan
OMG you are a genius! And wow, Robin Wagner did an ethic violation thing. Her lack of boundaries always been an iffy thing, but that's probably because I was raised by wolves and didn't have human contact. So her pawing her skaters send me into a fetal position on the living room floor wondering where is my Buck.
ReplyDelete--Enilina
What is all of this ridiculousness? You take a creative person with drive and ambition, who is simply trying to instill a work ethic in her athletes and turn it into "slave" nonsense. This is a sport! If we all stay in our comfort zone we stay just that- lazy and comfortable. Skaters at non -Olympic levels are doing double run throughs and listening to their coaches' pushing them. Micro managing (so be it) is a necessity in these times of IJS. She only helped cultivate an Olympic champion. Whoever this is, let it go!! If a coach is too good at their job, this type of criticism is unfortunately inevitable.
ReplyDelete