Lysacek, Ten will move with Carroll to L.A. facility
Olympic gold medalist, world silver medalist will train at Toyota Sports Center
(05/22/2013) - Frank Carroll and two of the top men's skaters in the world will begin working at the Toyota Sports Center beginning June 1.
Carroll, who trains reigning Olympic champion Evan Lysacek and 2013 world silver medalist Denis Ten, had coached at the Los Angeles rink before heading to another rink in Palm Springs, Calif., a few years ago. Carroll has a home in Palm Springs and said he found an apartment in Los Angeles.
"Yes, I am going back to the Toyota Sports Center, at least for a year anyway," said Carroll in a telephone interview from Chicago, where he is attending the Professional Skaters Association conference. "I love it a lot at the (Desert) Ice Castle, but there is no Olympic-sized rink, no three surfaces, no private ice and no gymnasium. Toyota now has three ice surfaces, and they promised us as much ice as we would need."
Carroll will join an elite staff, which features several top coaches, among them Christa Fassi and Tiffany Chin.
The two rinks are about a two-hour drive apart. For Lysacek, the move will be welcome, since his life is pretty much centered in Los Angeles. In addition to having Carroll closer to town, Lysacek's trainers are also based in L.A.
The plan for Lysacek is to come up with a new short program, but he will use Samson and Dalilah for his free. He had planned on using that music for the free skate last season but never unveiled it in competition because of injuries.
Lysacek has not competed since winning the Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010. He missed Skate America with a groin injury and then underwent surgery in November to repair a torn abdominal muscle.
Lysacek has been training, and Carroll said he is relieved to report that the champion no longer has boot problems.
"Things are going well," Carroll said. "He seems to be happy with his new skates. He had about a dozen pairs of skates in his closet and none of them worked. Now, he has new ones that seem to be working."
That said, Carroll said Lysacek is in good training condition and is on track for a comeback, which Lysacek hopes will culminate in a trip to Sochi, Russia, for the Olympic Winter Games in February. In addition to being able to compete in the men's event, Lysacek has said he hopes to compete in the team skating event, which will make its Olympic debut in Sochi.
When asked if he thinks Lysacek will be able to compete in Sochi, Carroll said, "I hope to God he does."
And if he does compete, can he become the first man to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals since Dick Button did so in 1948 and '52?
"We don't talk about winning," Carroll said. "If he can make it back to that level, I think Evan would be very, very happy."
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