A Carousel of Coaching on Ice

Many believe Michelle Kwan began the trend of frequent coaching changes when she left Frank Carroll, right. (Amy Sancetta -- AP)

Why do so many modern skaters seem to share Cohen's willingness to run rather than ride out the hard times? Interviews with a number of coaches and skaters point to several contributing factors:

• With youngsters winning the gold medals at the last three Winter Games -- 16-year-old Oksana Baiul in 1994, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski in 1998 and 16-year-old Sarah Hughes in 2002 -- skaters who fail to advance with similar speed grow impatient and frustrated, especially on the women's side.

"When things happen, they grasp at something," Laws said. "They feel they've got to do something."

• The large paychecks available to Olympic-eligible skaters, who no longer have to turn professional to earn money from certain tours and shows, have extended careers. The big money and fame also have expanded egos and decreased tolerance for dominant, powerful coaches, some say.

"The top people in the world are pretty much told how wonderful they are by everybody," said Frank Carroll, who has worked with Kwan, Goebel, Nikodinov and now Kirk. "When you are being told how wonderful you are, it's really easy to fall into the trap of, 'I don't need this coach anymore. I don't need to listen to the same-old, same-old.' "

Said Boitano, who trained under Linda Leaver for 16 years and won the Olympic gold medal in 1988: "I think people hold their coaches responsible for a lot of their own mistakes."

• Increased interaction among skaters and coaches through shows or summer exchanges heightens the chances skaters will bolt from one high-profile coach to another. Such exchanges, which usually occur with the blessing of the eventually jilted coach, have preceded many of the recent coaching moves. Kwan decided to leave Scott Williams for Rafael Arutunian in 2003 after meeting him at her home rink and observing his expertise with skates and blades. Goebel trained with Weisiger before making the jump from Carroll to her in November; Weiss did the same with Laws after being introduced to him by Weisiger.

The concept of coach-sharing, though, is hardly new. Leaver said Boitano spent summers with other coaches including Carroll, Nicks and Carlo Fassi. Boitano never left, she speculated, because of their longtime, loyal relationship.

"We have a huge, huge, huge amount of trust in each other," she said.

• The rise in the 1980s of choreographers, now an essential part of each skater's repertoire, makes coaches who used to be responsible for every aspect of a skater's program less involved and, perhaps, more expendable. When he was with Kwan in 1994, Carroll choreographed her long program and choreographer Lori Nichol did her short. Now, Kwan consults with three choreographers in addition to her coach-of-the-moment. In his first year with Scott Hamilton in 1979, Laws recalled, he had a hand in every decision. Now, he merely coaches Weiss, who has a choreographer, pilates instructor and hypnotist.

"When I started teaching, I did everything, choreography, picking the music," Laws said. "It's another world now in that respect."

Though coaches acknowledge that the breaks can go both ways -- Carroll actually urged Goebel to leave because of dissatisfaction with their four-year working relationship -- several said they are only effective with skaters with whom they can spend sufficient time.

The trend for fly-by-night relationships seems to have peaked in the wake of Kwan's decision, which was then considered momentous, to leave Carroll just four months before the 2002 Games. Kwan had been with Carroll for 10 years; few could imagine her with anyone else. Neither, perhaps, could she. After an unusual year coaching herself, she hired Williams, who seemed more an on-ice companion than instructor. About a year later, she left him for her current coach, Arutunian, who formerly coached Russian Alexander Abt.

Despite the plethora of changes, Kwan has been consistently strong. While she has failed to win an Olympic gold medal in two attempts, she has remained among the world's elite, winning three U.S. titles and one world championship while avoiding the mystifying lows that have plagued skaters such as Cohen.