January/February 2012 PS Magazine by Professional Skaters Association

JANUARY/ FEBRUARY

2012

www.skatepsa.com

Rachael Flatt

2011 U.S. National Silver Medalist 2010 Olympian & National Champion 2010 Skate America and NHK Trophy Silver Medalist

Rachael skates in Custom Gold Star 375s facebook.com/riedellskates iSkateRiedell.com ÂŠ2012 Riedell Shoes, Inc.

COLUMNS 4 6 8 10 14 18 38

Over the Edge | Jimmie Santee Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message | Angie Riviello-Steffano

FEATURES 12

Ratings | Kris Shakarjian IJS Insights | Libby Scanlan

| by Dorothi Cassini

Legal Ease | David Shulman

9 9 34 37 40 42

2012 Boston PSA Conference: The coaches are

coming! The coaches are coming!

Sport Science | Heidi Thibert Education | Carol Rossignol

Photo by Brenda Glidewell

One In A Million: Sonja Henie | by Patricia Shelley Bushman

Excellence On Ice

2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Preview

Great Tips

| by Jo Ann Schneider Farris

Ratings Exams Passed

2011 National Solo Dance Championships

Meet Your Area Representative New Members PSA Calendar of Events

2012 ~ No 1 #ISSN-574770

Ice Stage Archives | by Kent McDill

30 Photo by Paul/Michelle Harvath

2011 PSA Survey Results

Cover photo by Mark Walentiny

Over the Edge

PSA OFFICERS President First Vice President Second Vice President Third Vice President Treasurer Past President

JIMMIE SANTEE

PSA BOARD OF GOVERNORS West

atching Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN 2, Mike Greenburg quoted a line from the movie, A Few Good Men, surmising that the excerpt represents the people that sat by for years and let dozens of children be sexually assaulted by former Penn State coach, Jerry Sandusky. If you recall, the movie is about a group of Marines who, following orders, unintentionally kill another soldier and the incident is then covered up by the superiors. At the end of the movie, Judge Randolph finds the accused guilty of conduct unbecoming a US Marine and orders Lance Corporal Dawson and Private Downey to be dishonorably discharged. A bewildered Downey asks Dawson what that means. Downey doesn’t seem to understand that they have done something wrong… they were just following orders. Dawson answers that, as Marines, they were to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves and on this occasion, they failed. I agree with Mike and the screen writer; we are here to protect those who can’t protect themselves. But what does it take to do the right thing? Even Joe Paterno said he wished he had done more. I think the most disturbing fact surrounding Sandusky was that he got away with his predatory behavior for over 13 years and it was not a secret! Reading the Grand Jury investigation report, there were many opportunities for witnesses to do the right thing. Even when investigated by authorities, they dropped the ball. How many children were abused because no one stepped up in 1998 when the first allegations came to light? This is not a new problem and not one you would generally associate with football, but in society in general. As I wrote last year, USA Swimming reported that they banned 36 coaches over the previous 10 years for sexual misconduct. Literally as I write this, a lawsuit has been filed in Indiana targeting USA Swimming, Indiana Swimming, and a school district. In addition to looking for financial compensation, the suit seeks the firing of top officials at USA and Indiana Swimming. It was reported in the Indianapolis Star that officials had a couple of chances to stop the coach from molesting the child. Again, what does it take to do the right thing? Burying your head in the sand and making believe that nothing happened or that someone else will report the activity is just unacceptable. Three years ago, U.S. Figure Skating passed a motion that all coaches and officials must pass a background screening. Many professionals criticized the plan; they felt it was unfair and too expensive. Two years ago, PS Magazine published an issue entirely on Ethics. Its featured article “Tough Times” was written by Olympian and PSA Governor Paul Wylie. In an unforgettable quote from the feature, Wylie stated, “What can we do to daily live up to our best intentions? Obviously we must adhere to

It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

East

Doug Ladret Todd Sand Dorothy Cassini Patrick O’Neil Denise Williamson Rebecca Stump Alex Chang Paul Wylie Jackie Brenner Kris Shakarjian Glyn Jones Brittany Bottoms

PSA

Doing the Right Thing

Mid-West

Angela Riviello-Steffano Scott Brown Christine Fowler-Binder Dorothi Cassini Carol Murphy Kelley Morris Adair

Members at Large

ISI Rep to PSA U.S. Figure Skating Rep to PSA Executive Director Legal Counsel

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Awards Coaches Hall of Fame Education Seminars State Workshops Apprentice, Intern Area Representatives Hockey Accreditation PS Magazine Sport Science Ethics, Endorsement, Products Executive Executive Nominating Finance Fundraising ISU Coaches Commission Legal Nominating Professional Standards PSA Rep to ISI Ranking Review Ratings Special Olympics U.S. Figure Skating Coaches

PSA AREA REPRESENTATIVES Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 6 Area 7 Area 8 Area 9 Area 10 Area 11 Area 12 Area 13 Area 14 Area 15 Area 16 Area 17

Jimmie Santee David Shulman

Scott Brown Robbie Kaine Christine Fowler-Binder Thomas Amon Dorothi Cassini Rebecca Stump Marylill Elbe Paul Paprocki Bob Mock Heidi Thibert David Shulman Angela Riviello-Steffano Kelley Morris Adair Carol Murphy Larry LaBorde David Kirby David Shulman Kelley Morris Adair Lynn Benson Gerry Lane Brandon Forsyth Kris Shakarjian TBA Alex Chang

Amy Hanson-Kuleszka Anne Marie Filosa Lee Cabell Stacie Kuglin Gloria Leous Mary Lin Kent Johnson Patrick O'Neil Jennifer Cashen Thomas Amon Dan Mancera Andrea Kunz-Williamson Tracey Seliga-O’Brien Leslie Deason Michele Miranda Phaler Karen Howland Jones Nancy Garcia

THE PROFESSIONAL SKATER Magazine Mission: To bring to our readers the best information from the most knowledgeable sources. To select and generate the information free from the influence of bias. And to provide needed information quickly, accurately and efficiently. The views expressed in THE PROFESSIONAL SKATER Magazine and products are not necessarily those of the Professional Skaters Association. The Professional Skater, a newsletter of the Professional Skaters Association, Inc., is published bimonthly, six times a year, as the official publication of the PSA, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902. 507.281.5122, Fax 507.281.5491, Email: office@skatepsa.com © 2004 by Professional Skaters Association, all rights reserved. Subscription price is $19.95 per year, Canadian $29.00 and foreign $45.00/year, U.S. Funds. ISSN-574770. Second-class Postage Paid at Rochester, MN 55901 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to The Professional Skater, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902. Printed in the USA.

a minimum standard of ethics.” A year and a half ago, at the request of Paul Wylie, the PSA met with Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL hockey player who had been subjected to years of sexual abuse by his junior coach. Sheldon was a co-founder of Respect in Sport, a Canadian company whose mission is to educate athletes, coaches, officials, and parents on appropriate contact. They met with U.S. Figure Skating as well. Following this meeting, US Figure Skating and PSA decided to produce a sportspecific e-course on abuse. Just completed, PSA partnered with several noted experts: Dr. Clark Power of the University of Notre Dame’s “Play Like a Champion®” program, Dr. Max Trenerry of Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Gloria Balague from the University of Illinois – Chicago Circle. The objective of this two-part course, CER ET 201/SS 206 “2 GRO-W Champions”, is to provide education on the definition, recognition, elimination, and prevention of abusive coaching, and the building of safe training environments. At the annual Conference and Trade Show in Dallas this year, PSA presented a panel discussion regarding abuse in sport which included Paul Wylie, Sheldon Kennedy, Pat St. Peter, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, and Nancy Hogshead-Makar. A three time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Professor HogsheadMakar is Professor of Law at Florida Coastal School of Law, and an authority on Title IX, the NCAA rule on equal play. Also this year, PSA reached out to ISI and implemented a combined grievance process. By signing this deal, the PSA was able to help ISI close a loophole that had allowed the opportunity for questionable coaches to keep teaching once they were excused from either PSA or U.S. Figure Skating. Also this year, ISI has implemented its own requirement for coaches to pass a background check. I am proud of the fact that PSA has long taken a stance to

promote ethical coaching. I am also proud that together with U.S. Figure Skating we were able to produce the CER course on abuse as well as support U.S. Figure Skating’s commitment to producing a safe training and competitive environment. Because no system is perfect, we understand that a motivated pedophile can get past our safeguards. This is why it is imperative that coaches be diligent in keeping an eye out for suspect or abusive relationships. We owe it to the children to do our utmost to protect them. I suggest that you take 2 GRO-W Champions sooner than later. It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.

NOTICE

Sport Science and Medicine The Coach's Guide to Figure Skating Sport Science and Medicine has been revamped and updated to create an informational third edition. This educational guide is a must-have for any coach, as well as coaches preparing to take the Sport Science and Medicine rating exams. Additionally all Sport Science & Medicine exams will be updated to incorporate the changes made in the third edition of the Coach’s Guide. The changes to the exams will be effective as of January 1, 2012.

PS MAGAZINE

President’s Message ANGIE RIVIELLO-STEFFANO

Let me introduce myself…

Angie Riviello-Steﬀano L

adies and gentlemen of the Professional Skaters Association, let me introduce myself to those of you who might not know me. I was a competitive skater who traded college for touring in an ice show. After the show, I started coaching and realized that I had found what I love to do and my new profession. The only problem I encountered when I was making my way as a young coach was when I would go to public functions and be asked the famous question, “So what do you do for a living?” My answer would be, “I teach figure skating.” Then there was always the long pause and the follow up would be “...Oh, that’s fun, so what’s your real job?” My journey with PSA began 17 years ago when I started teaching full time. One of my fellow coaches tried talking me into joining the PSA and I thought “Sure, why not?” As I started to learn about the organization, I knew that PSA was something I wanted to become involved in. I started attending some of the educational opportunities through the PSA, and was amazed, and then I was hooked! I first attended a PACE in Indianapolis, not knowing what it was all about. On my way home from PACE, I was so excited and I also knew that ratings was where I was headed. Preparing for ratings made me a better coach, better person and somewhere in the entire journey, it made me feel that I had finally obtained the college degree that I traded skating for. When I passed my second master rating, it truly felt like I had graduated.

Take note.. .

I became a ratings examiner, began committee work and then I became a presenter at my first conference in Denver, Colorado. Shortly after, I received a phone call from Carole Shulman, who advised me that my name had been submitted for the Board of Governors election. I was shocked, humbled and honored….and then, I actually won. I didn’t realize how many coaches along my journey I had impacted in a positive manner and they, in turn, voted for me to represent them on the Board of Governors. Now, six years later, I have served in many different positions including Seminar Chair, Ratings Chair, National Education Chair, and as First VP, the oversight for Administrative/Legal Group. I have been on PACE Faculty for Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado and Alabama, as well as a presenter at seven different PSA Conferences. Currently, I am the Arena Supervisor for the City of Kettering, Ohio where I had previously served as the Skating Director for 15 years. I am excited for this new journey and honored to be in the position of the 19th President of PSA. I look forward to working with all of you as we move forward.

Keep up with the PSA... On Facebook Professional Skaters Association(PSA) On Twitter @ProfSk8rsAssoc Email New PSA e-newsletter to be unveiled February 2012

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

Created by David Lipetz, Off-Ice Specialist and Physical Therapist

Ratings KRIS SHAKARJIAN

Group Instructor Rating Exam Revision Effective: Boston Conference 2012 By Marcia Williams

es, the rumors are true. The updated Group Instructor be a bit scary for some, but don’t worry! If you have exam will be unveiled May 2012 at the Conference in the current U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Instructors Boston. The group subcommittee has been working very Manual or the ISI Manual, you will be just fine! If you hard to revise the Group Instructor are preparing for a discipline that you exam and add new questions. Many don’t normally teach, ask your local of the previous questions have been hockey coach, synchronized coach, “...think of a ratings kept, and the revised questions will dance coach etc. if you can sit in encompass many aspects of a group exam as a type of job on some lessons so you will be a bit lesson program, from scheduling to more knowledgeable. Also, ask your emergency action plans. skating director for the opportunity interview. You want There are a few significant changes, to be placed on some classes you’re one of which is the six categories that to be sure to make a normally not assigned to (ie. jumps, questions are grouped into: spins, MIF etc.). The U.S. Figure 1. General/Overview great first impression.” Skating Lesson Planning Manual, Volume Two, is also a great resource 2. Ethics & Education (includes and some of the updated questions legal issues and social media) were obtained through the material. 3. Communication & Business Practices (employment, The pink pages in the PSA Directory will be updated professional development, dealing with parents/ with all the requirements that are needed prior to regisco-workers/supervisors) tering to take an oral rating. Please double check, as some of the requirements have changed. It’s also highly 4. Teaching Methodology/Skills (skill progression, tips, recommended that Group Instructor candidates be First drills, technique, drawing) Aid and CPR certified. 5. Class Management/Planning (discipline, control, Last but not least, think of a ratings exam as a type of learning styles, traffic patterns, lesson plans) job interview. You want to be sure to make a great first 6. Safety/Equipment (first aid, emergency response, impression. When you enter the room, your clothing emergency action plans, boots and blades, lacing, says a lot about you as a skating professional. Wear sharpening, clothing) clothing that is comfortable, but looks professional. Be able to demonstrate and walk through skills so wear One other change that candidates should be aware of, shoes that enable you to do just that. Please don’t chew beginning at Conference 2012, is that the candidate will gum, wear exercise clothing or sweat pants, or answer no longer have the option to select the specialty class of your cell phone (yes, it has happened). Sit up tall and his or her choice during the skills portion of the test. The proud, make eye contact with your examiners, be examiners will now begin to choose the specialty classes prepared, confidant, enthusiastic, and most importantly, that will be asked during the exam. The rational behind know your skating. Have fun and good luck!! the committee’s decision is that in order to be a good master level group instructor, you should have teaching knowledge in all aspects of group coaching. This may

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

Recently Passed

RATING EXAMS Congratulations to the following coaches who passed the Basic Accreditation (BA) and ELCC:

Congratulations to the following coaches who successfully completed the requirements for a Rating Certiﬁcate:

E-Learning Management | BA Exams

Indianapolis, IN | October 29-30, 2011

MASTER

Joanna Conrath Lulcy Galleher Tracy Griffin Brenda Guariglio Julia Harmony Susie Lenssen Lauren Malec Margot Marino Wendy Reeves Clelia Sigaud Jessica Williams Joanna Zehme

Lila Joy Arnold CM,RD Ashley Bryan SFS Leah Carlson RFS

Tim Covington SFS Sarah Vanderpool RG Andrea Yovanovich RG,CG

San Francisco, CA | October 8, 2011 Josselyn Baumgartner RM Stephnaie Ewing RFS Christopher Kinser RM Stephanie Lab RG

Alexander Murashko SFS Darlene Sparks CPD,RFS Richard Swenning RM, RFS

MASTER RATING • Congratulations coaches! Megan Edwards MM

Susan Jackson Wagner MM

Becky Spillar MG

Devan Heiber MPD

Caryn Malone MG

Nicole Stalker MPD

Trisha Hessinger MM

Kim Reehoff Johnson MG

Renee Tesmer Brainerd MG

PROFESSIONAL SKATERS ASSOCIATION

EXCELLENCE ON ICE THE GREENSBORO ICE HOUSE Greensboro, NC

AMES FSC Ames, IA

EXTREME ICE CENTER Indian Trail, NC

PARK CITY ICE ARENA Park City, UT

BELLINGHAM SPORTSPLEX SKATING ACADEMY/CLUB Bellingham, WA

GERMAIN ARENA Estero, FL

ROCHESTER FSC Rochester, MN

HONNEN ICE ARENA Colorado Springs, CO

SAVEOLOGY ICEPLEX Coral Springs, FL

THE KETTLE MORAINE FSC West Bend, WI

ICE CENTRE AT THE PROMENADE Westminster, CO

SHATTUCK-ST. MARY’S SCHOOL AND FSC Faribault, MN

THE RINX TOTAL SKATING PROGRAM Hauppauge, NY

KENDALL ICE ARENA Miami, FL

SKYLANDS ICE WORLD Stockholm, NJ

THE STEEL ICE CENTER Bethlehem, PA

CRYSTAL ICE HOUSE Crystal Lake, IL

LOUISVILLE SKATING ACADEMY Louisville, KY

SPRINKER RECREATION CENTER Tacoma, WA

US ICE SPORTS COMPLEX Fairview Heights, IL

EAGAN ICE CRYSTAL FSC Eagan, MN

MARQUETTE FSC Marquette, MI

STAMFORD TWIN RINKS Stamford, CT

BLADE & EDGE FSC Omaha, NE CITY OF KETTERING Kettering, OH COLORADO SPRINGS WORLD ARENA ICE HALL Colorado Springs, CO

WINTER CLUB OF INDIANAPOLIS Indianapolis, IN

2011-2012 Membership Year PS MAGAZINE

IJS Insights LIBBY SCANLAN

Maximizing The Grade of Execution P

ast IJS Insights articles have focused on maximizing the base value of elements by understanding spin and step level criteria, and the importance of landing clean jumps. While the base value is being determined by the call of the technical specialist, members of the judging panel are marking each element with a Grade of Execution (GOE) based on the overall quality of the elementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s execution according to the guidelines and requirements. The judges GOE marks range from +3 to -3 with 0 considered the baseline. The GOE is calculated by deleting the highest and lowest mark on the panel, and averaging the remaining marks. This averaged mark (the trimmed mean) is added to (or deducted from) the elementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base value. In order to improve the Grade of Execution, it is mandatory for coaches and skaters to understand the positive guidelines and bullets used by the judges to arrive at this score. This document is available on the U.S. Figure Skating website under Technical Information and in ISU Communication 1672. When errors occur during the execution of an element, the judge is required to reduce the GOE. For example a fall in an element typically results in the reduction of a -3. The guidelines used by judges for GOE reductions, and the Scale of Value for each individual element is also found on the U.S. Figure Skating website under Technical Information.

Jumps Jumps are rewarded for an unexpected, creative or difficult entry. If there are clear and recognizable steps or free skating movements immediately preceding the jump the GOE will be enhanced. Credit will be given if while in the air the skater varies the air position, delays the rotation and/or gets good height and distance. Judges are looking for extension on the landing with good flow and effortless execution displayed from entry to exit. Match the jump element to the musical phrasing in the program and it will be rewarded! The judge also notes errors that occur during the jump element. Mistakes receiving a negative GOE include a long preparation (telegraphing the jump), a poor take-off, or a wrong/unclear edge takeoff on the flip or Lutz. Lack of speed, height, distance and a poor air

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

position are reflected in this score. If the landing is weak (a bad position, scratchy, on the wrong edge), steps out, or the skater touches down with the hand or foot, points will be lost in the GOE. Jump sequences and combinations must maintain a flow and rhythm between the jumps. If a skater does two three-turns between jumps in the combination (without transferring weight to the free foot) it will receive a -2 GOE. Jumps short on rotation are deducted based on how much rotation is lacking. In the short program, if there are no required steps/movements preceding the jump, the GOE will be negatively affected by a reduction of -3 in the GOE. Spins Skaters will be rewarded for centering quickly and displaying good speed or acceleration in the spin. If all rotations in the positions are balanced, and are considered good (including the height and air positions in flying spins) the score will be positive. The spin should show creativity and originality, and must exhibit control throughout all its phases. Attention is paid to how effectively the spin matches the music phrasing. Skating to the music will translate into points in each GOE, and also will be reflected in the Choreography, Interpretation, and Performance/Execution Component scores. Spin errors include lack of speed, less than the required revolutions, poor or awkward positions, and traveling. If during a change of foot the skater does an exit curve to an entry curve when changing feet it is considered poorly executed. During the flying spin incorrect take-offs and landings will garner a negative GOE. If in the flying spin the position in the air is not attained deductions can range from -1 to -3. Like jump elements, the skater should not touch down with the free foot or one or both hands. Step Sequences and Choreographed Step Sequences In order to maximize the step sequence GOE attention should focus on executing deep clean edges throughout the sequence including the entry and exit of all the turns. Control should be maintained while the skater displays commitment of the whole body to the accuracy of the steps. The sequence should be skated with clarity, preci-

“The Grade of Execution and Component score is certain to improve if a skater’s daily schedule includes disciplined practice of Moves in the Field in conjunction with other multi-lateral edge and skating skill exercises.” sion, energy, and good speed or acceleration. It should appear effortless, be creative and original, while matching the musical structure. All of these positive aspects will serve to enhance the GOE mark of the leveled step sequence AND the Choreo Steps. In the Choreo Steps the skater should reflect the concept and character of the program while displaying an ability to attain positions and variations quickly. Reductions of the GOE in the step sequences will occur when the positive aspects described above are not achieved. The judge takes into account the performed pattern and will deduct if the pattern is incorrect or if less than half of the pattern is executed without steps and turns. If the skater stumbles during the sequence there is a reduction of GOE. The short program must not include any listed jumps of more than one-half revolution during the step sequence element. Choreographed Spiral Sequence Like the Choreo Steps, the Choreo Spiral sequence should reflect the concept and character of the program and display an ability to attain positions and variations quickly and

effortlessly. The spiral sequence will be rewarded for flow, energy, speed, flexibility, good body line and full extension during execution. The sequence should be creative and original, matching the musical structure while appearing effortless in execution. The GOE is negatively affected if the skater stumbles or has poor spiral positions or edge quality during the Choreo Spiral sequence. Planning for the New Season Now that regionals, sectionals and junior nationals are over coaches and skaters have begun mapping out strategies for improvement in the new season. The Grade of Execution and Component score is certain to improve if a skater’s daily schedule includes disciplined practice of Moves in the Field in conjunction with other multi-lateral edge and skating skill exercises. Off ice training including strength and flexibility classes will prove beneficial. The important thing is to be committed to this part of training and stick to the program!

PS MAGAZINE

Coach Bob Mock with his student Olivia Dorsch; coach Brandon Forsyth with his students Kellie-Ann Shawn and Wolfgang Ebersole; and coach Charles Fetter with his student Meaghan Lukacs. Photos by Brenda Glidewell

2011 National Solo Dance Championships By Dorothi Cassini Here I sit overlooking the lake at the historic Broadmoor Hotel as the sun sets in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The National Solo Dance Championships were held September 23-25, 2011, at the Colorado Springs World Arena and hosted by the Broadmoor Skating Club. This event was the culmination of the U.S. Figure Skating Solo Dance Series which was launched in January 2011. The Series included a total of 35 non-qualifying competitions as participating events within the series. There were 238 skaters that took part in the Series competing at various participating competitions in an effort to earn points (based upon placement) and qualify for advancement to the Championships. When the Series season concluded in mid-August, 129 skaters had qualified to compete at the National Solo Dance Championships, with 123 skaters from around the country taking part in the event this week. It was a great success. There was such excitement in the air the entire week. The skaters had worked very hard throughout the year to get to this point and felt that their efforts had paid off in so many ways. The camaraderie was tangible as the skaters supported each other and truly enjoyed themselves both on the ice and off. One of the judges stated that it was a pleasure to judge the Championships because the solo dancers were all well trained and prepared. Congratulations to our PSA coaches who took part in the series and made the dream possible for these athletes. There was also a fun / social event offered

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to the competitors on Saturday night called the Solo Dance Team Maneuver event. It was a great time for all involved to meet their competitors, network with their peers and enjoy skating free dance elements together as a team. The teams were divided by level, decorated their own poster and came up with a team name. They then competed against each other in a relaxed competitive atmosphere. U.S. Figure Skating provided pizza and a t-shirt as well as awards for the most creative name, best poster and most team spirit. The skaters really enjoyed themselves and learned a lot. U.S. Figure Skating did a great job developing the Solo Dance Series and helping coaches and athletes understand the process. As a dance coach, I feel this was a wonderful concept for U.S. Figure Skating to help cultivate the dance program and keep our athletes competing even though they may not have a partner. My skaters loved it and canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to compete again in the coming year. We also took advantage of the legacy of figure skating in Colorado Springs while we were here. Not only did we come and walk the grounds of the Broadmoor Hotel, but we also toured the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, U.S. Olympic Training Center and even got a walk in on a nice day at the Garden of the Gods. I wanted to make sure my skaters understood what skating means to the city they were competing in. It was a memorable trip with great experiences, laughter and goals that were set for the future. How can a coach ask for more?

Photo by Local Motion Productions

Photo by Wendilee Walpole TOP:

Pre-Gold skaters Maeve Pascoe, Tori Alexander, Alexandra Bellotti, and Elizabeth Zhang. BOTTOM: Sarah King, Preliminary Solo Dance Championship round 1st place.

FRANK AND EVAN LYSACEK FRANKCARROLL, CARROLL,OTHER OTHERWORLD WORLDTEAM TEAMCOACHES COACHES ANDOLYMPIC WORLD CHAMPION CHAMPION E VAN L YSACEK KNOW LEGAL CONCERNS. DO YOU? EGAL ISSUES ISSUES AND AND C ONCERNS. D O YOU ? KNOW WHO WHO TO TO CALL CALL WITH WITH L

619.232.2424 or 619.572.9984

Jonathan Geen Attorney at Law Partner, Borton Petrini, LLP Over 20 years of legal experience National Judge in Singles / Pairs Former Skater http://bortonpetrini.com/bio/geen_se.pdf Coaching Agreements Rink / Coach Agreements Dispute Resolution / Grievance Counseling

Agent Agreements Show / Entertainment Contracts General Business Law and Trademark / Copyright

The Forgotten Art of Skating Etiquette Available for purchase

• Visit the PSA Online Store

View online or download at www.skatepsa.com/PSA-TV.htm

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It seems that hardly a day goes by in any rink in America where skaters don’t complain about someone getting in their way during their program. Maybe it’s a kid working on an Axel in the Lutz corner or someone practicing moves in the field in the opposite direction. Worse is the coach who follows their skaters throughout the lesson, oblivious to anyone else on the ice. Regardless, if skaters and coaches can work together, we can begin to change the culture ... one skater, one coach, one parent, one club, and one rink at a time. We can do this by making it a focus to teach our skaters the history, traditions and etiquette of our sport. This presentation is a great tool to begin the process. PRODUCED BY THE PROFESSIONAL SKATERS ASSOCIATION 2011

PS MAGAZINE

Sport Science HEIDI THIBERT

The Impact of Impact By Peter Zapalo, M.S., Heidi DeLio Thibert, Kat Arbour, Ph.D., Mitch Moyer, and Jen Burke, M.D.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The impact focus group was made possible by a partial grant by the PSA to the U.S. Figure Skating Sport Science program.

ump impact forces and their effects on the bodies of our elite and developing young skaters are of significant concern to U.S. Figure Skating and PSA. Increasing training volumes are reported by our athletes in order to learn and master multi-rotational jumps and throws. Additionally, a seemingly high rate of acute and chronic injuries are reported, many of which disrupt training and perhaps, could have been prevented. In response to this concern, a wide spectrum of sports science professionals, including sports biomechanists, medical doctors, psychologists, physical therapists, trainers, boot manufacturers, high-level coaches, the U.S. Figure Skating High Performance Department and members of the PSA staff were invited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Oct 13-14, 2011, for a focus group to discuss “the impact of the impact.” Physiological training/preparation, growth and development, musculoskeletal biomechanics, and the boots and blades used by our athletes are all areas that contribute to the issue. Coaches strive to develop the greatest potential in their athletes, and the sports medicine community works to support the health and well-being of our athletes. The need to provide information drove discussions in each of the following areas: • Review of the latest research on the impact forces of jump takeoff and landings. • Review of commonly occurring injuries related to jumping, and how these are identified, diagnosed, and appropriately managed by health care providers and by the coach/trainer. • Discussion of injury prevention and performance optimization strategies, using a combination of on-ice instruction, off-ice training, and sports medicine intervention. • Examination of how current boot and blade technology relates to the above issues. • Consideration of how an athlete’s individual mental approach to training, jumping, and ultimately performance, might contribute to overtraining. (How much jumping is too much jumping? How many repetitions does an athlete need to do to “feel confident”?) • Practical applications of all of the above issues.

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What are the risks of repeated jump impact? Kat Arbour, Ph.D, has studied the impact of jumping for several years with Jim Richards, Ph.D, at the University of Delaware. The details and results of Dr. Arbour’s impact study will be published in a subsequent issue of PS Magazine. Briefly summarizing her findings: • Figure skaters performed as many single, double and triple jumps as they could while a device measured the landing tibial shock. Tibial shock is a measure of how quickly the shin stops moving when the blade hits the ice and is lower when the shin has more time to stop. The tibial shock at landing for single, double and triple jumps was not significantly different. • Tibial shock at landing was not significantly different between the double jumps of skaters that can or cannot land the three most difficult triple jumps. • The skaters who can land the three most difficult triples have an average of six inches greater jump height on their doubles compared to the skaters that cannot land the three most difficult triple jumps. The higher jump height did not affect the landing tibial shock for the more advanced skaters. Increasing the amount of time to prepare the body for a landing appears to reduce the landing shock on the athlete’s body. What are the injuries related to jump impact? • Overuse injuries that can be related to repeated jump impact are common. These injuries include stress fractures, shin splints, low back injuries, groin strains, hip flexor injuries, knee injuries, and foot and ankle issues. • It is important to note that these injuries can occur even if the athlete is using a boot that is appropriate to their size, level of jumps, ability and practice frequency. Does the volume of repetitive impact affect athlete risk? The volume of repetitive impact likely has an effect on an individual athlete’s risk of injury, and there are many factors that contribute to the risk. It is widely accepted for coaches of pair teams to track and limit the number of high impact elements, such as throws their teams perform

• Dynamic Flexibility (i.e. the ability of the joints to actively move through a full range of motion.) • Functional Ankle strength (i.e. the actions of plantar flexion and dorsiflexion in combination with proprioception and adequate lateral stabilizer strength.) • Quickness (i.e. the explosive movement that is a landing.) Dr. Arbour reminds us that, “Landing forces have been estimated to be about 8-8.5 times body weight (Breuning & Richards, 2006). During the landing, the leg muscles lengthen at the same time they are trying to stop the downward motion; this is termed eccentric muscle work. Skaters with eccentrically strong leg and ankle muscles can land more softly and ultimately reduce landing impact. If the muscles are weak eccentrically, then the landing leg will not be able to provide the same shock absorption and the landing impact will be higher.”

each day. However, this practice has not universally transferred to the singles discipline where athletes often attempt >100 jumps a day. The research suggests that coaches (should) give consideration to monitoring the number of jumps performed daily, including singles, “popped” jumps and warm-up jumping exercises. Ultimately, a daily “jump count” may be a useful tool for injury prevention (similar to the pitch count adopted by Little League Baseball.) At this point, it would be premature to suggest a universal cap on jump volume per session, per day. What role does the health and conditioning of the athlete’s body have on impact related injuries? The body needs to be trained to be resistant to the impact forces of landings. Recovery and nutrition also play a vital function. U.S. Figure Skating is preparing an exercise program guide to accompany the 2012 S.T.A.R.S. program that will address impact injury prevention. What are the elements of training that can prevent impact injuries? • Eccentric strength in the leg and ankle muscles (i.e. the strength required for a “soft” landing.” In eccentric contraction, the force generated is insufficient to overcome the external load on the muscle and the muscle fibers lengthen as they contract. An eccentric contraction is used as a means of decelerating a body part or object, or lowering a load gently rather than letting it drop.) • Core strength (i.e. the strength required to create and maintain optimal body positions in the air and on the ice. This involves all the muscles in and around the trunk and pelvis that link the upper and lower extremities. • Proprioception (i.e. the awareness of where the body is in space.)

What can coaches emphasize to prevent impact injuries? • Correct jump take-offs • Correct body alignment within the jumps • Correct jump landings o Stiff landing positions = INCREASES impact of landing o Soft landing positions = DECREASES impact of landing • Use of coaching tools such as: o Jump assisting devices: (stationary jump harness or pole harness) o Video and cameras (Dartfish; cell phone; high speed camera, etc.) o Protective equipment (butt pads; shockabsorbing insoles, etc.) o Apparel with audio cues (ankle cuff; vest, etc.) • Balance of off-ice and on-ice training o Communication between the coach and the off-ice training staff is essential in order to appropriately limit impact volume. For example, it may not be wise to have the off-ice trainer conducting a 30-45 minute off-ice jump class after the athletes have already jumped on three free skate sessions that day. World and Olympic coach Christy Krall emphasizes that while every jump takes off differently, there is only one landing position. The toe of the landing foot should point toward the ice, in preparation for the landing, and the body should align with the body’s rotational axis during the landing. One of Christy’s favorite quotes is that “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.” In summary, take-off and landing forces are difficult to measure directly. Technique, equipment fit and quality, health status, and recovery strategies are all factors that influence the risk of injury due to impact forces. Figure skating requires proper physical preparation in order to perform safely and effectively.

continued on page 17

PS MAGAZINE

Host a WORKSHOP Think it would be great to attend a workshop in your area? Why not host one yourself ?! Here’s what you need to know… Running a State Workshop is a great way to not only educate the coaches in your area, but to also attain PSA educational credits without needing to travel or lose lesson time. WHO CAN HOST A STATE WORKSHOP? • Any PSA member is eligible to host a State Workshop. It is not necessary to be a rated professional or a skating director. You may also choose a co-host to assist you in your preparations.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? • Invite speakers/presenters who would be willing to donate their time, talent and expertise. • PSA can approve up to $100 for expenses for speakers per workshop (travel, lodging, etc.). • Send your workshop application and agenda to PSA 90 days prior to proposed date. • PSA office will send you everything needed once your application is received. • PSA will create your flyer for you once you have decided what your topics will be and you are closer to your workshop date.

BENEFITS • You can tailor your workshop according to the needs of your area and the expertise you have available in close proximity. • Economical way to attain your PSA credits without as much travel/hotel. • May run 3-6 hours in duration. • Attending coaches can receive 4-6 educational credits. • Can choose specific topics that would be most meaningful to your area coaches (Group, Free Skate, Moves, Equipment, Ethics, Ratings, Synchro, Technical Specialist, Nutritionist, etc.).

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• PSA will also provide email addresses of PSA members in your area. • No ice time is required or needed (not covered for reimbursement from PSA). • If you feel ice time would be beneficial, contact your rink manager or local club to see if they would be willing to donate ice time toward coaches’ continuing education.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • Can be held in any month excluding May, September, and October. It may be beneficial to coordinate with a competition date when coaches will already be in the area. • You can advertise on club websites, with flyers at the rink, and send emails to other skating directors in your area to invite their coaching staff.

CONTACT Barb Yackel at the PSA office (507) 281-5122 or Dorothi Cassini (513) 668-1063 for help or additional information.

DID YOU KNOW?

continued from page 15

4040 Music – Singles For singles events, music is chosen by the competitor; A. For short program and free skate, vocal music with lyrics is not permitted, except as follows: 1. For all short programs and free skates up to and including the intermediate level, for all events using the 6.0 system of judging and for all adult events, vocal music with lyrics is permitted.

Skating Quote “In group lesson number six I think we learned how to turn backwards and then just kind of wiggle. That wasn’t really skating backward, but I guess I was going in the right direction.” - Dorothy Hamill

Proactive and responsible coaches strive to educate themselves about and implement research-based, developmentally appropriate drills and 2012 CONFERENCE teaching techniques that support Landing impact forces will be the athlete development while maintaining topic of several presentations safety. In addition, coaches should at the 2012 PSA International encourage healthful decisions made by Conference & Trade Show in the athlete to promote healthy lifestyles Boston May 24-26, 2012 where and low-risk training practices. This Mahlon Bradley M.D., Kat includes training volume, rest and Arbour, Ph.D, Jim Richards, recovery, and optimal nutrition to Ph.D, and Christy Krall will maintain the body’s health. Coaches comprehensively address this should be knowledgeable about the focus. Registration for the 2012 age and skill levels of their athletes. By PSA Conference & Trade Show recognizing the patterns of cognitive, is open now at skatepsa.com. motor, emotional, and social development, the coach can create effective learning environments that allow athletes to progress and improve at different rates. Most importantly, the coach should be properly trained to recognize the need to balance training practices, competition readiness, and injury prevention.

PS MAGAZINE

Education CAROL ROSSIGNOL

Focus or Concentration?

You Be the Judge. By Merry Neitlich, The Coach’s Edge

ny skater who has successfully gotten into the “zone” before competing will never forget the feeling. It is being in this centered spot in one’s head that creates the calm and confidence that leads to a clean and wellexecuted performance—like those enjoyed in practice. This mental edge allows a skater to transfer their skills into a strong program while under the pressure of competition. But is it focus or concentration or perhaps both that allows this to happen? Can a skater and coach work together to make it occur repeatedly? Phillip Mills, world and Olympic choreographer and coach, refers to this as ‘being in the bubble’ at competition. “The bubble,” Mills says, “is a place that is centered in the universe. Nothing can permeate it. You are focused visually, auditorily, and psychologically. I equate this to the blinders a race horse wears when he is on the track. There is only one goal in mind. The focus is on the process and execution not about worrying about the result.” Getting in that bubble does not happen by chance. According to Paul Sullivan, New York Times columnist and author of the book Clutch, reacting well under pressure or in a clutch situation is not for the faint of heart. In reality, it is the opposite of choking under pressure. He cites that in order to be clutch, a person needs to focus, have discipline, have the ability to be present blocking out everything else, and own a strong drive to push out fear. Many confuse focus with concentration. The two are very different. Concentration is giving the direction of someone’s attention to a single object such as the technical steps needed to complete a jump. Focus, on the other hand, is the center of all of someone’s activity or attention blocking out all else. It is having a strong focus that allows individuals to get into the zone while under pressure. Being in the zone or bubble creates a strong imaginary shell around an individual so that all of their concentration is on their objective—not letting

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

any distractions enter. Preparation allows for the development of focus. Skaters must train and practice hard working closely with their trusted coaches to build confidence to skate clean programs with strong elements, transitions, and presentation. Once this is attained, at any level of the sport, the skater uses this preparation and confidence to build their armor-protected bubble. It allows them to maintain their primary focus for the event without allowing any distractions to pierce the armor. Coaches play a pivotal role turning a skater’s concentration into a strong focus by not allowing their athletes to lose their edge or to start thinking of other distractions. It is a true bonding experience between the coach and skater. Frank Carroll compares this single-mindedness to tunnel vision. He states, “Once a skater is in the tunnel they should only focus on the light at the end of it. They can’t lose their center to anyone or anything. They shouldn’t look to either side but just be motivated by the light straight ahead at the end of that tunnel.” As coaches, we must give our skaters the tools to focus before every performance.

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2012 PSA International Conference AND Trade Show

Early B Regis ird tratio n deadl ine is Janua ry 9 , 2012

BOSTON “Without goals and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” -F. Dodson Planning for success is a crucial part of every endeavor and is the theme of the 2012 PSA International Conference and Trade Show May 24-26th, 2012. Our staff is taking the theme to heart and is busy planning and preparing for the performance of a lifetime in Boston. We hope you will join us! On- and off-ice presentations will include a variety of levels and disciplines, as well as supplemental topics, to help you develop the well-rounded athlete. Don’t let other coaches get the edge over you—come to Boston and revolutionize your coaching!

Confirmed Sponsors at the PSA Conference include:

Colonial Coach Jimmie Santee

• Presidents Reception • Jackson/Ultima • ORDA–Lake Placid Olympic Regional Development Authority • American Specialty/ESIX • Awards Dinner – Riedell/ Eclipse Blades • Arena Breakfast - Riedell/ Eclipse Blades • Saturday Morning Breakfast Panel – Disney’s World on Ice

The annual PSA awards dinner will be held Thursday May 24, 2012 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. This grand event will honor accomplished coaches and award winners with the presentation of PSA EDI Awards. In addition, we are thrilled to announce that the Saturday morning breakfast panel discussion on Competition Best Practices will include 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes!

Trivia Contest WINNER!

Name: Glenn Replogle From: Troy, Ohio What are you looking forward to at Conference?

It’s been about 10 years since I’ve attended, but with all the changes in our sport I’m looking forward to the demonstrations and lectures on these topics. This upcoming conference will allow me to return home with new knowledge and motivation.

THE WHERE THE BOSTON PARK PLAZA HOTEL

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t. 800.225.2008 www.bostonparkplaza.com

t. 617.782.5900 www.scboston.org

Fun things to do in Bos ton CHEERS BAR

A quick word with our Keynote: PAUL WYLIE What do you plan to share with coaches at Conference? Some discussion of my skating and coaching career, but I would like to dig into several different topics: style, psychology, and technique. People want to learn about one technique that works for everything, but inevitably you come up with a skater and think what do I do? I need some help in figuring out how to get this skater to land a triple loop or whatever it is, and what is nice about conference is it’s a place where we can learn from other people, and what is working for other people. What is your favorite part about Conference? I love the feeling of learning. I love the hallway discussions, impromptu lunch meetings, and the sense of camaraderie that comes from being at conference. It is like nationals- here are a bunch of people who are competitive with me, but also people who do the same specific thing that I do. It is a small world so we can get together and understand each other. What is your biggest challenge as a coach? In the end, we are professional problem solvers. We don’t have skaters who come to us with perfect bodies or perfect minds or perfect home lives, so each one of them presents a wonderful challenge. It is “how do we create an environment where that student can succeed beyond their expectations?” You lived in Boston while attending Harvard. What was your favorite Boston attraction or place to eat? The hotel is in an incredibly historic area. Faneuil Hall is within a 2 minute walk. The Freedom Trail is totally worth doing. We are in the hotbed of American history. The Boston Common and the Public Garden are so beautiful. The theater district is just down the street. Two of the most famous cemeteries in the country are there. The fathers of our country are literally buried there. Fabulous

restaurants are right down the street. Certainly worth going to is Harvard Square to get a falafel wrap and walk around to see if you can’t spot the next Lauriat or a budding Unabomber!

As a coach, how do you plan for success? What I try to do is map out the season with the skater and the parents and create milestones. I think there are certain milestones that a skater should reach, but I try to keep expectations realistic. I have a sense of what the rhythm of the season is, and if there is one thing I do the most it is repetition and run-throughs, trying to get to a level of muscle memory mastery. You plan by assessing what the skater can do, and then by assessing what the skater needs to improve and bring them the tools. You can’t do it all yourself. You collaborate with the spin coach, or the choreographer, and plan within a budget. Sometimes your expectations have to be managed yourself. Not everybody is shooting for an Olympic medal. Success is defined differently for different skaters. It [planning] is an ongoing opportunity to communicate with various milestones that we hit or reassess. Is it more difficult to teach a mohawk to a 6 year-old or a triple Axel to a teenager? I think it is more difficult to teach a triple Axel to a teenager. Six yearolds are tremendously obedient, and the motivation it takes to continue to push a triple Axel is difficult. There is a lot of falling involved, but teaching a mohawk to a six year-old is also hard; both of them are hard. Jimmie Santee or Benjamin Franklin: who had better hair? Jimmie is crazier looking than Benjamin Franklin. <wink>

Distance from hotel: 10 min walk Description: This is the bar that inspired the TV show Cheers and is “where everyone knows your name.”

FREEDOM TRAIL Distance from hotel: 10 min walk to start Description: The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile walk through many of Boston’s historical sites. “The Freedom Trail is totally worth doing. We are in the hotbed of American history.” – Paul Wylie

BOSTON COMMON Distance from hotel: 5 min walk Description: The Boston Common is the oldest public park in the United States.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Distance from hotel: 5 min subway ride Description: This museum houses an extensive and varying collection of art.

FENWAY PARK Distance from hotel: 15 min subway ride Description: Fenway Park is home to the Boston Red Sox and the Green Monster. “Even for non-baseball fans, Fenway Park is an experience everyone should enjoy at least once in their lifetime.” – Jimmie Santee

PS MAGAZINE

David Benzel’s P R O F E S S I O N A L S K AT E R S A S S O C I AT I O N

Entry Level Coaching Course

45 Minute Sessions by David Benzel,**

With eight hours of intensive instruction, you will graduate with an introductory strategy to successfully navigate the world of coaching. Explore these topics: • educational theory applied to skating • skill breakdowns • how skaters develop • skating equipment basics • the education of parents • the what & why of coaching ethics • basic business practices to grow your small business ... and more! Enjoy these benefits: • A PSA Coaches Manual (a $25 value!) • On & off-ice instruction from master-rated coaches • Curriculum specifically designed to optimize your teaching potential • Educational handouts • A peer learning experience in a nurturing Check environment calend our ar for • PSA Membership fu tur locati e ons & dates

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If you have been coaching for seven years or less, this course is for you! Contact Barb Yackel at the PSA office: byackel@skatepsa.com or by phone 507-281-5122

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

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Are you ready for a breakthrough in coaching that will set you apart from every coach who is still using command and control tactics? Today’s athletes and their parents are increasingly hesitant to give coaches respect and loyalty before it is earned. For this reason, coaches must offer more than sport knowledge. Transform your coaching effectiveness by learning to use positive coaching techniques, having principle-centered motives, and improving self-belief in young athletes for their life journey, not just their athletic journey. The following webinars will help you master the right-brain skills that earn this kind of credibility.

1. “Why You Can’t Motivate an Athlete

to Excellence” But You Can Do Something That Works Even Better • Watch a recorded replay of this webinar! Available in the PSA online store.

2. “Not All Praise is Created Equal”

Why Your Praise Might Be Holding Back Your Athletes • Available February 1, 2012

3. “How to Turn Parents into Partners” Receive the Support You Need • Available March 7, 2012

4. “Three Silver-Bullet Coaching Techniques” How to Increase Athletic Performance & Player Loyalty • Available April 4, 2012

**Presenter at 2012 PSA International Conference and Tradeshow. David Benzel is a speaker, author, and expert in the principles of influence and coaching. His ten years as a commentator for ESPN and fifteen years as a professional water ski coach provide him with vivid insights about the challenges of sport. IN COOPERATION WITH THE PSA

ng a i s i a R

wareness, one pe rforma nce at a

time

Skaters from the Center Ice and Blades FSC performed a number to raise awareness for breast cancer research on Saturday, November 12, as part of Center Ice Arena’s annual “Shop ‘n’ Skate Ice Show Exhibition” in Delmont, Pennsylvania. The pink shirts were purchased in collaboration with the PSA to support the Pennies in Action Foundation. The number was beautifully choreographed by Coach Barbara Gahagen to the music “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” by Martina McBride. The song is a story about a 38 year old woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer. The end of the number brought the crowd to its feet, and a roaring applause from the audience in a truly emotional moment for everyone in attendance.

Pennies in Action was founded by Uschi Keszler, Olympic skater and coach, and two-time cancer survivor. The Pennies in FELD ENTERTAINMENT Action Foundation is currently working to create awareness and raise funds for cancer AU0403806 Description: vaccine research and clinical trials at the x 5” of Pennsylvania. ity: CORPORATE (2004 Skater Recr. Ad) Ad Size: 4.875” University Section: 5”ENTERTAINMENT s): Get yours at the PSA online store. All proceeds donated to cancer research!

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PS MAGAZINE

“I want to do with skates what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing. No one has ever done it in the movies, and I want to.” “Wintertime” In “Wintertime,” her ninth and last film for Fox, Sonja’s skating was still strong. However, over the years the scripts began to deteriorate, and this film was no exception.

Sonja Henie

Photo courtesy of Ken Shelley

ONE IN A MILLION By Patricia Shelley Bushman

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the emergence of the first skating movie star. In January 1937, the first movie musical with a skating theme opened nationwide, and the figure skating film was born. The film was One in a Million starring Sonja Henie, and the dream of this three-time Olympic champion became a reality. “If you didn’t see Sonja Henie in One in a Million, you missed the most exciting event that has happened in motion pictures since Shirley Temple.”

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A New York Times film critic said it was hard “to cloak in adequate language an occasion of such historical importance as the screen debut of Miss Sonja Henie.” He went so far as to suggest Henie’s superiority over movie legends Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich who appeared to be “painted, earthbound mortals” while to see Henie on the silver screen “. . . is to experience one of the few thrills of unconditional beauty which this crass, commercial age affords.” Critics

across the country were enthusiastic, and audiences flocked to the theaters to see Sonja perform fantastic skating feats on the screen. Whatever doubts Twentieth Century-Fox may have had as to the public interest of skating and the financial worth of this unique star, they were quickly dispelled once the box office numbers came in. Fox was lucky to have a star who had vision and no qualms about making her position known: “I had no desire to

play supporting roles in films that would be carried by my skating... I was looking beyond tomorrow. [I knew] my first film would be decisive both for the company and for me.” Besides perfecting elaborate skating numbers, she worked on her acting skills and took it upon herself to oversee every aspect of the filmmaking process, making sure her films would be ones that all audiences would enjoy. The strength of her films did not rest solely on the success of her particular skating numbers. The costumes, sets, music, and actors were on par with any Fox, Warner Brothers or MGM picture of the day.

Z Sonja Henie, born in Oslo, Norway, in 1912, started ice skating lessons when she was eight years old. Four years later, she was the Norwegian champion. Although twelve-year-old Sonja placed last at the 1924 Olympic Winter Games in Chamoix, France, she won the next three Olympics in a row: in St. Moritz, Switzerland, 1928, in Lake Placid, 1932, and in GarmischPartenkirchen, Germany, 1936. After her fourth Olympic Games, the ten-time World Champion headed to the United States to build on her fame and grow her fortune. She began her own touring ice show, “Hollywood Ice Revue,” but she felt that the limited number of performances in select cities did not allow for the majority of Americans to develop a love for skating. Sonja was also an avid movie fan, and she felt confident that her talents could translate easily to the screen. “After I signed my contract to turn professional on arrival in the United States, I wanted to make my way to Hollywood, to see what could be done about bringing figure skating before all sorts of people everywhere.” Although Sonja was well-known in the sports world, Hollywood at first didn’t seem interested. So she rented the Polar Palace ice rink in Hollywood for a three-day stint: a Sonja Henie ice extravaganza. The first night, she invited the sportswriters, and the next two evenings her target audience appeared in the standing-room-only

Sonja Henie became one of TwentiethCentury Fox’s major stars, along with Shirley Temple and Alice Faye Courtesy of Ken Shelley

crowd. “In the audience were seven men, the most important producers in pictures. They didn’t know it, but the whole show was staged for them.” Paramount and MGM quickly offered her a specialty skating number in one of their films, but she refused. Sonja zeroed in on one Hollywood producer—Daryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century-Fox. He was wellknown for introducing new personalities to the screen and building them into stars. He initially offered her $15,000 for a supporting role, and she counteroffered with $300,000 for a starring role. They settled on $75,000 for her first starring role, and the gamble paid

off. One in a Million made $2,000,000, which was unprecedented for the film debut of a budding star. Today we take for granted the opportunity to see skating on television or the Internet, but in the late 1930s there were virtually no opportunities to see world-class skating. Imagine the impact the first skating film had on American audiences. When One in a Million was released across the country in 1937, just nine months after her third Olympic win, filmgoers packed the theatres to see her skate. Henie’s skating was definitely the highlight of the movie, which was

PS MAGAZINE

LEFT: Sun Valley Serenade – Hit songs, including “It Happened in Sun Valley” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” and the talents of the Glenn Miller Orchestra made Sonja’s seventh film one of her best. Photo courtesy of Patricia Bushman

RIGHT: Sonja Henie (with third husband, Niels Onstad, directly behind her), retired in 1960 and died of leukemia on October 12, 1969, at age fifty-seven. Photo courtesy of Patricia Bushman

ABOVE:

Sonja’s last feature film, The Countess of Monte Cristo, co-starred skater Michael Kirby and ice clown Freddie Trenkler. Photo courtesy of Patricia Bushman

slightly biographical: she plays an ice skater who becomes an Olympic champion and then turns professional. Her performances were set on an Alpine pond, at the St. Moritz Ice Palace, at Madison Square Garden, and the finale was actual newsreel footage of Henie’s winning performance at GarmischPartenkirchen. “Breath-taking” was the frequent description used by columnists to describe Henie’s skating. They had never seen anything like her before in film, and they felt her presence added prestige to the cinema. With her youthful personality and healthy looks, she made the perfect ingénue. Her blonde curls, brown eyes, round face, and dazzling smile fit in well among Fox’s other female stars. “Young persons of almost any age find a model on the screen… Sonja Henie has excited both young and old moviegoers to enthusiasm for skating.” The overwhelming success of One in a Million cemented the acceptance of the figure skating film. The factors for the film’s response are varied, but the primary explanation is that it gave American audiences the opportunity to see first-class figure skating. Additionally, Fox did not let Sonja carry the film by herself. In her first film venture she was surrounded by Fox stars Don Ameche and Adolphe

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

Menjou, and in later films she received similar treatment—lavish sets and costumes, the musical talents of Irving Berlin and Harry Warren, the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Sammy Kaye, and leading men such as Tyrone Power, John Payne, Cesar Romero, and Ray Milland all helped to ensure the success of Henie’s skating films. Sonja was in the box-office big ten her first three years in film, and in 1938 she was ranked third, behind Shirley Temple and Clark Gable, in box-office popularity. The screen success of Sonja Henie motivated some other studios to join the bandwagon and enjoy the profits of the successful skating film. RKO-Radio featured young skater Irene Dare in two films (Breaking the Ice, Everything’s On Ice), while MGM unsuccessfully featured Joan Crawford and Jimmy Stewart in the Ice Follies of 1939. Two smaller studios, Republic and Monogram, fared much better with their skating films starring Czech skating champion Vera Hruba Ralston (Ice- Capades, Ice-Capades Review, Lake Placid Serenade, Murder in the Music Hall) and British champion Gladys “Belita” Jepson-Turner (Silver Skates, Lady Let’s Dance, Suspense). Their skating saved the films and brought sizable profits for their studios. Over a twelve-year time span Sonja made nine films for Fox—One in a Million (1936), Thin Ice (1937), Happy Landing (1938), My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939), Everything Happens at Night (1939), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Iceland (1942), Wintertime (1943)—and for two other studios she made It’s a

Pleasure (1945) and The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948). Henie altered the image of sports figures in Hollywood. Sports champions had long been regarded by producers as a jinx; their films promoting sports figures had never made money until One in a Million. Henie, the highest paid woman athlete of her era, paved the way for other skaters and would-be sports movie personalities, such as swimmer Esther Williams. I was lucky enough to be an eyewitness to this unique movie star. In 1966 I was invited, along with other local Southern California skaters, to be on NBC’s Andy Williams Christmas show and skate with Peggy Fleming. The first day of rehearsals at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank started late because we had to wait for 54-year-old Sonja Henie to finish skating. As she left the rink, wearing a gorgeous fur coat, leading two huge dogs, and escorted by four men to her gold Rolls Royce outside the rink, the reasons behind her film popularity became more apparent. She was a queen performing one of the most beautiful of sports, and audiences wanted to participate vicariously through movies in the beauty and glamour of skating. Sonja Henie was definitely “one in a million.” PATRICIA SHELLEY BUSHMAN master’s thesis is titled “The Figure Skating Film: Its History and Contribution to the Motion Picture Industry.” She is the author of Indelible Tracings: The Story of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team; and the coffee table picture book Indelible Images: An Illustrated History of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team.

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2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Preview | By Jo Ann Schneider Farris

PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH

Adam Rippon

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir

Agnes Zawadzki

PHOTO BY VICKI LUY

Championship Ladies Alissa Czisny is the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating Champion and the 2011 Skate America Figure Skating Champion. She may be the favorite to win the 2012 U.S. Ladies crown. Some others to watch include 2010 Olympians: Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating Champion, and Rachael Flatt, the 2010 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating Champion; however, Flatt did not skate well at Skate Canada 2011, and some say she may be out of the picture. Some others to pay attention to might include: • Agnes Zawadzki • Ashley Wagner • Caroline Zhang • Joelle Forte • Kiri Baga • Vanessa Lam

Championship Men Ryan Bradley, who won the men’s title in 2011 has retired, so eyes are on 2011 Men’s Silver Medalist, Richard Dornbush. It was announced that 2010 Olympic Figure Skating Champion, Evan Lysacek, will compete at the 2012 Championships. He did withdraw from Skate America, so there was some discussion if he would really follow through on

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH

The 2012 United States Figure Skating Championships will take place from January 22 to January 29, 2012 in San Jose, California. This nationals may be a competition full of surprises. The field is wide open; new champions could be crowned in all championship events.

those plans. Just before Thanksgiving 2011 he sent a text message to Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune that stated that he definitely would not participate. On October 26, 2011, 2009 US Men’s Silver Medalist, Brandon Mroz, became the first man in figure skating history to land a quadruple Lutz jump. In November 2011, he landed the jump again at the NHK Trophy in Japan. Rumor has it that he’s successfully landing other quadruple jumps in practice. Will he land a quad at this upcoming nationals? Some other men to watch include: • Ross Miner • Jeremy Abbott • Max Aaron • Adam Rippon • Joshua Farris • Jason Brown • Armin Mahbahnoozadeh • Stephen Carriere Championship Dance The obvious and clear favorites to win the US title in ice dancing are 2011 World Ice Dance Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White. 2011 World Ice Dance Bronze Medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani, are the favorites for the silver. Both teams train under ice dance masters Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband in Michigan. The excitement and question on every ice dance fan’s mind is who will win the bronze? Which dance team will represent the United States at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships? 2010 Olympians Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates have split up and will compete with new partners. Ice dance teams to watch for that 3rd place spot include: • Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt

• • • • •

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue Emily Samuelson and Todd Gilles Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely Madison Chock and Evan Bates Isabella Cannuscio and Ian Lorello

Championship Pairs Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin won the 2011 U.S. Pair skating title and placed 6th at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships. They surprised figure skating fans a little over a month later with the news that their partnership had ended. Shortly afterwards, John Coughlin paired up with 2010 Olympian and 2010 U.S. Pair Champion Caydee Denney. The Denney-Coughlin team easily won the senior pairs event at INDY Challenge 2011 and earned a spot on the Grand Prix circuit. At Skate America, they placed 2nd after the short program and 4th overall. They may be the clear favorites to win the 2012 U.S. Pair Skating title, but many observers say they lost their “sparkle” at the NHK Trophy in Japan. Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, the 2010 and 2011 US Pair Skating silver medalists and 2010 Olympians, could also possibly win gold. Many of the pairs that competed at the senior level at the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships are no longer together, but other pairs who will be competing and are still together include: • Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker • Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir • Tiffany Vise and Don Baldwin • Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff • Lindsay Davis and Themistocles Leftheris • Chloe Katz and Joseph Lynch • Andrea Poapst and Chris Knierim

PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH

Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker

• Barbie Long • Mariah Bell Junior pair skaters Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer qualified for the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating final. Another junior pair that has been noticed is Jessica Noelle Calalang and Zack Sidhu. The top two teams that placed in novice dance at the 2011 Championships, siblings Rachel and Michael Parsons, and Jessica Mancini and Tyler Brooks, may be the only age eligible skaters to compete in the upcoming 2012 Junior Olympics, but there are returning junior dancers who may end up on the national podium. They include Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton, Lori Bonnacorsi and Travis Mager, Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter, Madeline Heritage and Nathaniel Fast, and Danielle and Alex Gamelin. For the junior men’s title, all eyes may be on two-time US national men’s novice champion Nathan Chen. Some others to take note of include Harrison Choate and Philip Warren. Will 2012 influence the 2014 Olympic year? It’s hard enough to make predictions on who will win or medal at the 2012 US Figure Skating Championships; in fact, everything could change by 2014. Will Meryl Davis and Charlie White stay around? Will Evan Lysacek be in good enough form for 2014? Could Alissa Czisny possibly reign as the queen of U.S. ice for four years? Will the Caydee Denney and John Coughlin pair team also reign? Only time will tell. This nationals may help answer these questions.

Ross Miner

PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH

Juniors At the junior level, the field is also somewhat open. Although the days when predictions could be made are over, some skaters do stand out. Some junior ladies to watch include: • Gracie Gold • Hannah Miller

PS MAGAZINE

Ice Stage

Archives By Kent McDill

There is a photo studio in Minneapolis, the Keri Pickett Photography studio, where free-standing draperies hang along the walls to serve as backdrop for the various shots that need to be taken. Behind the drapes, however, attached to the walls of the studio, are posters, part of a collection of advertising campaigns to promote ice skating events from around the world throughout history. Keri Pickett’s uncle is Roy Blakey, a former ice show skater and lifelong collector of all things hundreds of thousands of things - having to do with the spectacle of ice show skating. “Theatrical skating,” which celebrates a century of activity this year, is in many ways an under-appreciated portion of the history of ice skating. Just as the posters in the photo studio sit behind the drapes, so too does theatrical skating sit behind completive skating in the world view of the difficult and beautiful act of ice skating. Blakey, 81, has created the Ice Stage Archive (www. icestagearchive.com), his nearly lifelong attempt to

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

preserve the memory of the artistry that occurred on stages all around the world. With items from posters to tickets to postcards to pins to skates to costumes, Blakey has created a collection that has no equal. It also has no home. But that’s a story for later. THE BEGINNING Roy Blakey’s ice skating story starts as so many ice skating stories do —in the dust belt of Oklahoma. Blakey enjoyed going to the movies as a kid, and back in the 1940s, movies often were great spectacles. The classic Busby Berkeley extravaganzas or the Esther Williams films that somehow worked swimming into the story every time were part of Blakey’s youth. But it was when he first saw Sonja Henie ice skating on the big screen in the movie Sun Valley Serenade, that his life changed. Blakey decided he was going to be a theatrical ice skater, although he knew he had to leave Enid, Oklahoma to do so.

Blakey had little opportunity to ice skate until he joined the Army and was sent to Germany, where he found out the U.S. Army performed ice skating shows for the locals. He joined and through that participation he found out about a professional ice show that was performed in Germany on a regular basis. Right before he was to be shipped home at the end of his active duty, Blakey was invited to join the night club skating act, and he stayed in Germany to skate with that group for 18 months. As part of his Army participation, he was offered educational benefits that required him to return to the States, but through his skating group in Germany, he hooked up with a program in Chicago that put on professional skating shows at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. He stayed in Chicago for five years, performing seven days a week, two shows a night, and received free room at the hotel and was able to go to school to learn photography during the day. Eventually, he signed on to perform with Holiday on Ice, a traveling ice show that went throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. For 15 years, Blakey was a professional show ice skater. “I lived my dream of being in show business and going to places I never would have been able to go,’’ Blakey said. Blakey eventually settled in New York to pursue a career in photography, but kept up his skating by serving as a coach of sorts (“more like a babysitter,’’ according to Blakey) for visitors to town who wanted to have their children skate the ice facility at Rockefeller Center. Although his plan was to go to New York just to visit friends from the Army, he ended up staying in New York for 25 years, eventually moving to Minneapolis in 1993. The move was not easy, because Blakey had a lot of material to ship from New York to Minnesota. THE COLLECTION In his youth, after seeing Sonja Henie on the big screen, Blakey began collecting news and magazine articles about theatrical ice shows. At the time, ice shows were scattered throughout the East Coast and in Europe. Hotels would have dinner shows that included both stage and ice performances, and they advertised the shows on posters. Blakey began collecting those posters.

“There were theatres where they would show movies, and in between or after movies they would have live stage shows, with full orchestras,’’ Blakey said. “In the late ‘40s, they added ice shows to the program.” The theatres, huge ones, would have a stage in front of a movie screen, and behind the screen would be an ice surface. Spectators could take in a live stage act (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were one of the more famous acts to perform in these settings), a movie and then an ice show. “Hotels and night clubs were hosting ice shows, and I started writing away to the hotels like the St. Regis or the Roxy in New York and ask ‘Do you have any souvenirs or programs?’,’’ Blakey said. “The Roxy put me on their mailing list and when a new program came out I would get one.” Collecting was hard for him when he was a traveling performer, because he was living out of a suitcase. “I could just kill myself for what I didn’t save,’’ Blakey said. “When I was in South America, why didn’t I get a poster? But you are not thinking ‘I want to carry a load of stuff or find a way to ship it home’. I just didn’t take a lot of sizable things.” Once he settled in New York, he also began a strenuous pursuit of the most attractive and splashy collectible that came out of ice shows - the show poster. “I have really concentrated on the posters,’’ he said. “I probably have the world’s finest collection of skating posters. Some of them are seven or eight feel tall and five feet wide, the ones that were made for billboards. I have some that are just the 11 by 14 posters.” Blakey’s collection includes pins and hats and T-shirts and jackets from the shows, but he also has a small number of ice skating dolls with special significance. “They were miniature Ice Capade dolls wearing replicas of the costumes that were going to be worn in the shows,’’ Blakey said. “The Ice Capades would send people ahead of the show into towns where they were coming, and take these dolls around to TV shows or to press interviews to show what the skaters were going to be wearing when they came to town.” Blakey has five such dolls. “They are extremely rare,”’ he said.

“When I was in South America, why didn’t I get a poster? But you are not thinking ‘I want to carry a load of stuff or find a way to ship it home’.”

continued on page 32 PS MAGAZINE

»»

«« continued from page 31

Blakey also has a unique item: the 1960s Gottlieb “Ice Revue’’ pinball game. He found it on eBay from a collector of pinball machines. For most collectors of anything, there is an item that exceeds the grasp. For Blakey, it’s a ice show program that he almost managed to acquire. “It’s for the very first program of the Ice Follies in Tulsa back in November of 1936,’’ Blakey said. “I have been told there were probably more people on the ice than in the audience. One program showed up on eBay, and I bid $212 and somebody beat me out. Getting that program is one of my goals.” Blakey has another goal as well. But that’s a story for later, too. THE MOVE While living in New York, Blakey had a photo studio on the second and third floors of a building at 6th Avenue and 24th Street, where he housed his collection of ice show materials as well as a collection of Southeast Asian antiques, which he came to appreciate during his skating life in Asia. In 1993, when he was prepared to move to Minneapolis, he not only had to find a moving service to get his stuff out of town, he had to find someone to help him move it from the upstairs studio down to the street for the movers. He actually had to trust New Yorkers to leave his stuff alone as he and a buddy hustled up and down the steps to get the items to the street. Eventually all of the items were moved to Minneapolis, where he and his niece Keri Pickett own a building that houses the photo studio and the collections. The items are not on permanent display. “It’s not open to the public, but when people contact me, I’m thrilled to have them come and see the collection,’’ Blakey said. BLAKEY’S DREAM FOR THE FUTURE There is a PBS television program called Antiques RoadShow. One of the appraisers for the show is a woman named Leila Dunbar, and she was with the show when it came to Minneapolis for an appraisal event. Blakey showed up at the event with an amazing item, and Dunbar was stunned. “It’s a hula costume worn by Sonja Henie in one of her shows,’’ Blakey said. “She said it was worth $3,500 and should be insured for $5,000.” After the show, Dunbar tracked Blakey down and asked him about his entire collection. They agreed to have her return to Minneapolis in the spring of 2012 to do a show on the entire collection, but she required Blakey to come up with some idea of just how many items of each kind he had. With the help of a young man working with him three days a week, Blakey is cataloging his collection, which has well over 100,000 items dating back to the what is considered to be the first ice show in 1912, the Eis Ballett from Berlin. Blakey has 11 hand-painted postcards from those shows. Antiques RoadShow is set to air its initial program on Blakey in early 2012, and he is hoping it may help him with his ultimate wish, his goal to find a permanent

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

home for his collection. “My hope is that it will end up in a university or museum,’’ Blakey said. “It needs to be in a place where it will be displayed as something significant to skating.” Blakey has had several meetings with museum curators, including a lengthy visit with officials from the Smithsonian (“He was very visibly impressed,” Blakey said) but he cannot find any group that wants the entire collection. Even the Smithsonian was interested only in the American parts of his material, and Blakey knows it would not be on a permanent display there anyway. “I’d give anything for it to go to the Lincoln Center (in New York),’’ he said. Blakey’s niece Keri has been hard at work for four years on a documentary telling Blakey’s story as well. All of this publicity can only help Blakey achieve his goal. “I’m happy to donate it all to the proper organization,’’ Blakey said. A N ACC I D E N TA L H I S TO R I A N What started as a child’s indulgence turned into a career, then a lifelong passion. Blakey is sitting on a treasure, and he is actually really mad that no one fully appreciates its significance from an ice skating standpoint. “This is an enormous pleasure for me,’’ Blakey said. “I love this stuff. I get the biggest thrills if I find a little program from an obscure show that I have heard about and nobody knows about. Nobody has those and I have them. “But it angers me that the sport of figure skating has been documented within an inch of its life and has a museum and has all those records, and none of that is of interest to me,’’ he said. “I feel the side of figure skating that I am crazy about, the other half, has been totally ignored.” Blakey is suffering the pangs of an accidental historian. “This hangs on my shoulders, that I want to find a place where theatrical skating can be researched and these items displayed and people can learn about it,’’ Blakey said. “The world has gone on to other things. It bothers me that I am standing here saying, “What happened?”

“My hope is that it will end up in a university or museum,’’ Blakey said. “It needs to be in a place where it will be displayed as something significant to skating.”

GREAT TIPS FROM AMERICA'S TOP COACHES TIPS FROM PAST CONFERENCE PRESENTERS

Optimizing Performance Through Nutrition 2011 PSA Dallas Conference by Dr. Dan Benardot

ome people say, “Your weight is going up; you better eat less.” Be careful because if you eat less at the wrong times, and you put yourself in a severe energy deficit, your body will react in a way that will be the exact opposite of what you want to have happen. Dr. Dan Benardot I’m going to take this to an extreme; if you look at autopsy reports of young girls who have died from anorexia nervosa, they have very high body fat levels, and very low lean muscle mass and organ mass from not eating, but their body fat, as a percent of total weight, is very high. That’s not what you want with your skaters; you want them to be lean, mean machines, right? You want them to have a low amount of fat and a relatively high amount of muscle so that they can move their weight effortlessly, and so that they can do the difficult skills that you’re asking them to do without any problem. You want to have a very high strength to weight ratio. If you get them to not eat, you will do just the opposite. You will get them to increase their body fat and lower their muscle mass, which is very counter-productive. When you look at athletes, it doesn’t matter what the survey is, they tend not to eat enough, relative to their needs. I also work with U.S. marathon runners and the first conversation I have with them is, what is your day like? “Well, I get up, I put my running clothes and shoes on, I go out for a 10 or 15 mile pre-breakfast run, I come back, shower and have breakfast.” I tell them okay, you’re not going to do that anymore. You’re going to eat something before your morning run and they look at me like I’ve been dropped in from Mars. “No, you don’t understand, I’m a distance runner and this is what we do.” I let them know that I understand but this is not the best way for them to survive what they wish to do. I ask them to start out small, have half a glass of apple juice the second they wake

up before they put their running clothes on, and then slowly work their way up to a whole glass and then add a piece of toast. This will give them enough liver glycogen to keep blood sugar steady for that ten mile run. Invariably they come back to see me two months later and they say, “You know what? I didn’t know I could feel this way, running.” All of a sudden they’re getting personal bests and doing better with just that one change. If we look at this in real time over the course of a day we start to understand that “If we look at this in real time there are many periods in a day where people not over the course of a day we only don’t eat enough, but they tend to eat and drink start to understand that there after they need it. You are many periods in a day have to have the energy ready in real time or the where people not only don’t eat body’s reaction to an inadequate caloric intake enough, but they tend to eat is to lower the tissue that and drink after they need it.” needs calories. A lot of this has to do with energy balance. We’ve got back-up systems so if we provide too little, your system may tweak you in one way, while if we provide too much, your system tweaks you in a different way. About the only thing we can control is meal size, meal frequency, and to some extent, depending on availability, diet quality. Sometimes diet quality is out of our hands, it has to do with what is available at a given place at a given time. What we can control is what we decide to eat and how often we decide to eat. I had a graduate student who did a beautiful thesis on meal frequency and he found that if you have higher meal frequency, it increases the amount of energy necessary to get calories out of the food you eat. If you eat more often continued on page 36 PS MAGAZINE

2011

SURVEY What region do you teach in?

25% 20%

It would be nice if it were possible to search the member-

10%

ship directory and look up educational credits online.

es lP a cif or th ic At l a So nt ut ic h Pa N ew cific En gl a So nd ut hw So es Up uth At t pe r G lan ti re at c La ke s O th er

lak

tra

re G

rn te

Ea s

Pa c

ifi

Every second year the PSA sends out a survey via email regarding trends in the industry and ways that we can improve in providing the best possible service to our members. In total, 745 people responded to the survey. Here are some of the results from the 2011 PSA General Membership Survey. We really appreciated all of the wonderful comments, ideas, and concerns submitted through the survey. Here are a few of those comments, as well as our responses to them.

15%

What is your hourly rate for private lessons? Do not teach private lessons

Response: PSA members are now able to do both of these things through our website at www.skatepsa.com. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how: 1. Login using your e-mail address and password. 2. Click the link to Individual Directory on the left side of the page. 3. To find your educational credits, search your name under Individual Directory. Design an educational pamphlet for clubs to explain coaching credentials. Response: This is a great idea, and we will look into making it happen!

Which of the following do you charge for competitions?

Flat fee Missed lessons Hourly fee Travel Hotel Do not attend competitions Other

A big tha you t o eve nk ryone who time took the to tak surve e our y!

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

How many years have you been coaching?

What is your hourly rate for group lessons? Do not teach group lessons

Over 40

Under $15

31–40

Less than 10

Over $35 $15–20

21–30

$31–35 10–20

$26–30

I get too many e-mails from the PSA. Response: We are currently working on consolidating our e-mails to members by creating an e-zine starting in February 2012.

Do you pay commission on your earnings?

I would like more educational opportunities in my area. Response: Although we would like to have many more educational events in each area, it is not within our budget at this time. However, we are working hard to offer more online educational opportunities for coaches. Another option is to host a State Workshop in your area. For more information check out page 16. Is there a way we could get the PS magazine sent to us electronically? Response: Yes! We have recently made all of the 2011 issues of PS magazine available to view online through our website once you have logged in.

Yes No

The rate of commission varied largely among respondents. There were ranges from 1.75% –50%, and $20– $350 per month with most responses falling between 10% –20%.

Do you use a smartphone while coaching?

List ratings and rankings online for non-members, such as parents, to view. Response: Good idea! We will look into doing this.

$21-25

Yes No

How many hours per week do you usually coach?

256 respondents answered yes to this question. Most of these respondents stated using their Smartphone to take videos of their students for immediate playback in order to show errors or corrections.

30% 25%

Are you a rated professional with the PSA?

20% 15% 10%

45.8%

0–5

6–10

11–15

Yes 54.2%

More than 15 PS MAGAZINE

More information on nutrition by Dr. Dan:

Continued from page 30

you actually are burning more calories, even for the same caloric intake. It’s a very complex system, you can’t just look at somebody and say, “Don’t eat so much because you need to lower your weight.” That’s so amazingly counterproductive for what you wish to achieve. The logic that a lot of people have about weight loss is, for example, a 25% reduction in energy intake (energy meaning calories), will equal a 25% reduction in weight so if I need 2,000 calories to keep my weight the same, and I have a 25% reduction in caloric intake, I should get a proportionate reduction in weight, isn’t that the theory? Isn’t that the whole idea behind dieting? The reality is a little bit different. The result is, you get a temporary weight loss but then you get a rebound weight which is typically at or higher than your original pre-diet weight but now with more fat and less muscle. We had gymnasts on the national team that I was collecting data on in ’93, ’94, ’95, leading into the ’96 Olympics. Some of those gymnasts went to the University of Georgia to be on their collegiate team and one of my colleagues assessed their diets while they were there. When they were on the Olympic team they were consuming somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,800 to 3,200 calories. By the time they finished their experience at the University of Georgia they were eating 800 calories and were unrecognizable. They were fatter, had less muscle and couldn’t do the skills as well; do you understand the problem here? You have to be very careful!

1.) Look for the (R.D.) after the author’s name. The R.D. (Registered Dietitian) means that the person went through a vigorous education, internship, and certification process that finishes with a national examination. 2.) Beware of authors who write about nutrition but who are certified in other areas, such as certified athletic trainer or certified aerobic dance instructor, etc. 3.) Beware of athletes who are prescribing nutritional cures because it, theoretically, worked for them. These testimonials can be very misleading. 4.) I can be reached at the following email address: drbenardot@gmail.com ; to assure a response, please put “figure skating” on the subject line. 5.) My latest book “Advanced Sports Nutrition-2nd Edition” (Human Kinetics Publisher: Champaign IL © 2012; 411 pages) is coming out this December, and has a lot of information in it that is relevant for figure skaters. The book will be available through all major book outlets, including amazon. com. 6.) Robin Benardot, RD, LD, CLT can be contacted at robin@benardotnutrition.com. She works one-onone with skaters, and is available for consultation. Her website is www.benardotnutrition.com

Champion Cords help “out of the box” thinkers most skating coaches think of how best to use their Champion Cords, they typically use the tools When to create better alignment and awareness of positions with their students, but Sheila Thelen, the Sheila Thelen Champion Cords – Alignment PRESIDENT – Champion Cords EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR –

Grassroots To Champions

Audrey Weisiger Olympic & World Coach, PRESIDENT – G2C FOUNDER – Young Artists Showcase (YAS)

creator of these fantastic products suggested we use them to develop artistry. The 2011 season of the Young Artists Showcase (YAS2), an online contest for aspiring choreographers, included a challenge that required the contestants to use Champion Cords plus any other prop they wanted to incorporate into their choreography. The prop had to be something they could carry and the cords had to remain attached to the skaters at all times in some fashion. The pieces could be a duet, trio or quartet. The contestants were urged to use their imaginations to create interesting shapes and forms utilizing the elastic quality as well as the visual quality of the cords. Brian Wright, an award winning choreographer, in whose memory this event was conceived, was an “out of the box thinker”, especially when it came to his skating programs. I once watched him choreographing a fantastic piece for an ice dancing team, the geometry and shapes he molded their bodies into was unlike any other dance I had seen before, so I asked him what his inspiration was and he replied, “lampshades” which, after hearing that, made the visuals so powerful that I could actually “see the shades” as they moved. At the time of this writing, the contest had not yet started, but I know the combination of creative thinkers and Champion Cords made for some fantastically fascinating pieces. The date of this particular challenge was November 4, and the judging was on the 6th. This Is What Inspiration Looks Like! To view YAS2 go to www.YouTube.com/users/G2CYAS Champion Cords can be purchased online at the PSA Store (www.skatepsa.com) Champion Cords are Endorsed by the PSA

Meet your AREA REPRESENTATIVE Interviewed and written by Kathy Goeke

Kent Johnson Miami, Florida

Area 7 Representative, two years Years Coaching: Approximately 30 Ratings / Rankings: MFS, MG, CM, Ranking Level V Kent Johnson may live in sunny Florida, but a large part of his heart is in Europe with his daughter, 2011 Danish Senior Ladies Champion Karina Johnson. “My most treasured memory is coaching my daughter and being with her when she made ﬁnal rounds at the 2011 European Championships,” Johnson said. After his ice show career, Johnson coached in Copenhagen, and raised his family in the sport. He, wife Jane, and Karina are all dedicated to skating – sometimes, Johnson admits, to the exclusion of a balanced life. “My entire family is consumed with the sport,” Johnson said. “My wife is a coach and arena administrative manager, my daughter skates on the international circuit, and I’m the program director for Kendall Ice Arena. There is no balance at all,” he laughed.

Not surprisingly, Johnson ﬁnds time to give back to the sport that has given his family so much. He said being a PSA representative is rewarding and he enjoys keeping coaches informed. He advises new coaches to avail themselves of the PSA’s educational tools. And, there’s one other tool he hopes coaches will use: “I’ve developed the new Sk8 Sports iPhone app,” he said. “The app has many diﬀerent features including downloadable video clips of all the LTS skills, spins, and jumps up to double Axel. The app also has a really useful sports analysis tool, and you can send video clips by e-mail, facebook, or Youtube.” Perhaps Johnson has created his own app for life’s balance, as well.

Lee Cabell

Montclair, New Jersey Area: 3 Representative, three years Years Coaching: 30+ Ratings / Rankings: MFF Skaters often hear that judges are looking for the “whole package.” According to Lee Cabell, their chances of success are improved when coaches use a holistic approach to training. “I believe and practice the ‘whole package’ approach to figure skating,” Cabell said. “Each athlete needs to be prepared physically and mentally before he or she can be successful.” Cabell brings a vast knowledge of training beyond the ice to his students. As an associate professor of biomechanics at Seton Hall University, his research focuses on 3-D dynamic analysis of sports performances, and causes and prevention of common sports injuries. He is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, American College of Sports Medicine, and International Society of Biomechanics. Cabell said coaching is more technical and demanding now

than in years past. Team teaching is necessary these days, he said, and specialization in coaching is important. In addition to the scientific approach, Cabell incorporates mental and spiritual components in training skaters. “I believe in a body-mind-spirit method,” he said. “The human body and its movements are based on physiological levers connected together and transferred to blades on ice. The mind makes this machine work, but the mind must be in the moment all the time, especially while skating.” To help him achieve a body-mind-spirit connection, Cabell has practiced and taught Tibetan meditation focused on mindfulness and awareness for the past 15 years. He is also passionate about Brazilian Zouk dancing, which he practices in Manhattan. “I love it!” Cabell said.

PS MAGAZINE

Legal Ease DAVID SHULMAN

Trust—like the soul— once lost does not return I

t was many years ago. I was handling a multi-party, multi-million dollar series of claims involving a construction firm and some claimed errors allegedly made by the professional engineer used by the firm. After many hours of investigation, then trial and reams of discovery depositions, credibility was the issue. Whom to believe? Who can be trusted? At the end of a long day of testimony, the professional engineer made a very insightful remark. As we traveled back to the office, he muttered, “I should have seen this coming. Trust—like the soul—once lost does not return.” Do you suppose that is what is going on at Penn State? There are lessons to be learned, to be sure, HOWEVER, there is also an old pilot saying “when you don’t know what you don’t know, people can get hurt.” Reading the headlines describing the mess involving the Penn State coaching staff you have to wonder who really “fumbled” the ball. In a report made to a head coach, an employee gives a description of events clearly describing a member of the coaching staff, involved in inappropriate behavior…no, stronger than “inappropriate”…it was disgusting and criminal. The head coach tells this information to his person next up the chain, either the athletic director or the president of Penn State. So now what? Nothing was done. The coaching staff member supposedly went on with more criminal acts with at least six more victims. Was any of the continuing activity reported? Was it known, until the story finally broke five or six years after the first pedophile attack? What a terrible result and another complete loss of trust in the system. But to whom do you report if not to your “boss”…or director or management? There are rules, even if nobody was totally aware. Recall the “what you don’t know …etc”? What we DO know is that report of the activity as described to the head coach should have gone to BOTH law enforcement and child protection services. This is required in almost every state. Telling only the boss about the actions of a sexual predator won’t (and clearly did not in the case of Penn State) do

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

the job. But wait, there is more. Did the head coach have personal knowledge? Or was this a report he received second hand? Was there any follow-up to confirm the facts? Were there more reports which were ignored? Every state has enacted laws designating persons who form a group labeled as mandatory reporters requiring reports to law enforcement of any child maltreatment. Skating coaches have duties which fit them in the category of those persons having frequent contact with children. Such individuals may include: • Social workers • Counselors • Teachers and other school personnel • Physicians and health care providers • Child care • Law enforcement • Youth sport activity coaches Most states have provisions in law requiring a report when the person suspects or has reason to believe that a child has been abused. Some states allow the person making the report to remain anonymous. All states make it a crime to file a report that is false. A majority of states make it a crime to not file a report when one should have been filed. All states have toll-free numbers to use in filing a report. Using Google and searching State Child Abuse Reporting Numbers will provide toll-free numbers for specific agencies designated to receive and investigate reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Suspected child abuse must be reported. This can protect a child. It can save a child’s life.

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BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT Congratulations to Brittney and David Bottoms (Marietta, GA) on the birth of their son, Andrew (Drew) Thomas Bottoms, born on October 27, 2011 at 1:47 pm. Drew weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well.

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(required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) TITLE OF PUBLICATION: The Professional Skater—PS Magazine DATE OF FILING: Setember 20, 2011 FREQUENCY OF ISSUE: Bi-monthly, 6 issues annually, $19.95 annual subscription rate OFFICE OF PUBLICATION AND GENERAL BUSINESS OF THE PUBLISHER: 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902 PUBLISHER: The Professional Skaters Association, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902 EDITOR: Jimmie Santee OWNER: The Professional Skaters Association, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902

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Figure Skating Coach Wanted: The Figure Skating Club of Omaha is looking for a Professional Coach to teach all levels of competitive and recreational skating. FSCO is a well established, year-round program offering over 35 hours of private lesson coaching ice plus group classes and bridge program. Be part of a welcoming and supportive team coaching environment. Must be a PSA Member, ratings a plus. Send resume to Skating Director - Andrea Williamson at twocoach@cox.net Skating Coach Wanted: Space City Ice Station, located

in southeast suburbs of Houston, Texas, close to NASA and Kemah Boardwalk. Beaches of Galveston Island are close by! Amenities include a 200’x85’ ice surface, pro shop, restaurant, fitness center, dance studio, and figure skating club. Send resume to: andrew@spacecityice.com

Executive Director Wanted: “The Skating Club at

Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, is seeking an Executive Director beginning late summer 2012. Responsibilities: coach pre - freestyle, promote, and grow our membership; organize skating shows and competitions; and provide private lessons. This position has the potential to be combined with that of Head Coach of the Dartmouth College Figure Skating Club, a separate organization of the Dartmouth College Department of Athletics & Recreation. Please contact Mark Ashton, Co-President and Treasurer at the Skating Club at Dartmouth. mgashtonpro@gmail.com.” Job Placement Ads which advertise a job opportunity are $25 per 50 word insertion, $.25 for each additional word over 50. An additional $25 is required to place your job posting on the PSA web site. Copy should be sent to the PSA office at Lee Green’s attention one month prior to the publication of the intended issue.

DID YOU KNOW? TR 5.02 Coaching Skaters may receive coaching or instruction from the sidelines while on the ice during warm-up periods and may also leave the ice surface for that purpose, provided such coaching or instruction does not interfere with the judging of another skater. However, coaching or instruction is not permitted during the actual performance of the candidate before the judges, nor may the coach be on the ice with the skater in the warm-up area. The judging panel may bar from the rink anyone who disregards this rule and may disqualify any candidate who receives coaching or instruction in violation of this rule. For the purpose of this rule, coaching will be considered any communication between the candidate and an instructor, parent or any other person. For example, a skater may briefly speak with their coach between elements of a moves in the field test, but not while changing directions or feet of an element. Similarly, a skater may briefly speak with their coach between the partnered portion of a dance test and the solo portion. PS MAGAZINE

CALENDAR

EVENTS

FEBRUARY Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadline: Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadline:

February 27-29 Area 16 Pickwick Gardens, 1001 Riverside Dr., Burbank, CA 91506 Rating Zone 5: Oral Rating Site PSA Office 507-281-5122 or byackel@skatepsa.com Register online at www.skatepsa.com Oral Rating Exams December 30, 2011 February 29 - March 2 Area 16 Pickwick Gardens, 1001 Riverside Dr., Burbank, CA 91506 PACE/CA PSA Office 507-281-5122 or byackel@skatepsa.com Register online at www.skatepsa.com February 3, 2012

MARCH Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadline: Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadline:

March 24 Area 11 Centerpoint Community Ice, 19100 East Valley View Parkway, Independence, MO 64055 Rating Zone 4: Oral Rating Site PSA Office 507-281-5122 or byackel@skatepsa.com Register online at www.skatepsa.com Oral Rating Exams January 23, 2012 March 25 Area 11 Centerpoint Community Ice, 19100 East Valley View Parkway, Independence, MO 64055 Entry Level Coaching Course (ELCC) [8 am - 5 pm] PSA Office at 507-281-5122 or byackel@skatepsa.com Register online at www.skatepsa.com February 24, 2012

M AY Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadlines:

May 21-23 Area 2 Boston Park Plaza & Towers, 50 Park Plaza at Arlington St, Boston, MA Zone 1: Oral Rating site at 2012 PSA Conference PSA Office at ratings@skatepsa.com or 507-281-5122 Oral Rating Exams: March 19, 2012 Written Exams: April 23, 2012

Date: Location: Event: Contact: Deadline:

May 25-28 Area 2 Boston Park Plaza & Towers, Boston, MA 2012 PSA Conferences & Trade Show PSA Office at office@skatepsa.com or 507-281-5122 Early Bird Deadline: January 9, 2012

Please visit www.skatepsa.com for the complete Calendar of Events 42

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

DARTFISH

Introducing PSA/Dartfish TV The newly compiled Singles Skills Collection is now available! This collection contains clips of jumps, spins, and steps at various athlete levels from the 2010 season. From beginner to senior, some of the videos feature key teaching positions and observational descriptions of crucial aspects of the skills. The skills can be searched by multiple criterions via a menu. Simply check the level, discipline, or skill etc.

to find exactly what you are looking for. The first skill archive of its kind in skating, we hope you will find it a valuable and fun interactive study tool! Content will be continually updated and added throughout the season, so check back regularly for more great interactive study tools! Future collections will include skills for pairs and synchro as well!

Access Dartfish TV through the PSA website www.skatepsa.com

PS MAGAZINE

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