Carroll coached Evan Lysacek to the Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, Linda Fratianne to silver at Lake Placid in 1980, Michelle Kwan to silver in Nagano in 1998, Timothy Goebel to bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan to silver in Sochi in 2014.
WORCESTER—While growing up in Worcester, Frank Carroll learned to skate on Crystal Pond, not far from Clark University, and he went on to become one of the most liked and highly regarded coaches in figure skating.
Carroll coached Evan Lysacek to the Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, Linda Fratianne to silver at Lake Placid in 1980, Michelle Kwan to silver in Nagano in 1998, Timothy Goebel to bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan to silver in Sochi in 2014. Fratianne, Kwan and Lysacek also won world figure skating championships under his guidance. In fact, Kwan won the 1994 world junior title, four senior world championships and nine national crowns with him by her side.
After battling cancer, Carroll died on Sunday at the age of 85 in Palm Springs, CA, where he lived the last 35 years. U.S. Figure Skating announced Carroll’s death on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“U.S. Figure Skating mourns the loss of coaching legend Frank Carroll,” the association posted. “A member of the World and U.S. Figure Skating Halls of Fame, Frank was instrumental in the careers of numerous Olympic and World champions and many future Hall of Famers.”
Carroll was known for his wit and sense of humor as well as for his ability to bring out the best in his students.
Carroll graduated from St. Peter’s High School and Holy Cross. He grew up in a three-decker on Richards Street in the Main South section of Worcester. After he and his family moved to Hitchcock Road, he began skating indoors at the Worcester Arena. He became a good enough skater to win three medals at the national level before joining the touring Ice Follies for $250 a week in 1960.
Carroll was accepted into law school at the University of San Francisco in 1964, but decided to try his luck at acting instead. Because of his physique from skating, he served as an extra in several beach films, or “terrible B movies,” as he described them. He moonlighted as a figure skating teacher – something he had done while attending Holy Cross – and eventually turned his full attention to the sport. Carroll coached figure skaters in 10 Olympic Games and he was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and the Professional Skaters Association Coaches Hall of Fame. In addition, in 1997 he became the first figure skating coach to be named Olympic Coach of the Year.
He retired in 2018.
After he coached Lysacek to Olympic gold in 2010, he said, “This is just frosting on the cake for me. It’s not something I coveted after a while. It was something I thought maybe would never happen.”
Lysacek told NBC Sports via email on Monday, “I started working with Frank when I was nothing in skating. Frank taught me and shaped me, as an athlete and as a person. Although he said several times that he didn’t much care about winning an Olympic Gold, I wanted it for him.”
Kwan told USA Today, “For over 10 years Frank was by my side − coaching and mentoring me to be the best skater and person that I can be. He bestowed upon me a wealth of knowledge and history of the sport he loved so much. Off the ice and over the years, he became much more than just a coach. I know he’s changed the lives of thousands of skaters for the better, and I’m grateful that I’m one of them and I wouldn’t be here without his guidance. I love and miss Frank very much.”
It’s crystal clear that the skating world will miss Carroll and that’s quite fitting when you consider he learned to skate on Crystal Pond.
Bill Doyle has been a professional journalist for 47 years, most of them as a sports writer for the Telegram & Gazette. He covered the Boston Celtics for 25 years and has written extensively about golf, boxing and local high school and college sports. He also worked for the campus newspaper when he attended UMass-Amherst. He can be reached at billdoyle1515@gmail.com
