Reflections and a Farewell | President's Message

Reflections and a Farewell

Alex Chang, MFS, RM

Times change, needs change, and organizations change.

As I step down from my role as PSA President, I am filled with pride as I reflect on the great work and important changes during my tenure.

In the fall of 2019, during my first term, we (PSA leadership and staff) began discussing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as part of our infrastructure and best practices while looking at our industry and sport as a whole. Little did we know, a global pandemic followed by civil unrest were just around the corner. In March 2020, the world began shutting its doors, rinks went dark, and coaches, skaters, and parents had to stay away from the one activity that brought us all together...skating.

PSA quickly responded with our COVID-19 Resources webpage on March 19, 2020, as well as our Safe at Home COVID-19 Webinar Series, which launched on March 20, 2020. These efforts helped reassure members we were working hard to hear them, support them, and help them find their path in difficult times.

As the pandemic progressed, we realized we were going to have to pivot all programs and services…and so we did! 2020 marked a major shift as PSA went virtual with all educational programming, ratings exams, mentorship/partnerships, exam preparation, live/virtual events, continuing education resources, etc. Everything was made accessible from home to keep our members safe while eliminating travel costs and risk of exposure to attendees.

Beginning with the 2020 virtual Summit, we delivered our first virtual event with 36 pre-recorded segments combined with live-streaming events, making this one of our highest turn outs ever. The Delta and Omicron variants in 2021 and 2022 kept us on our toes however we were prepared and hosted our second virtual Summit in May 2021. The success of these two virtual Summits forever changed our approach as we continue to offer both live and virtual/livestream options. This May, we will host the 2022 PSA Summit in Schaumburg, IL with in-person, livestream, and on-demand options. It will be our first in-person Summit event since before the pandemic began and we could not be more thrilled to “see” everyone either in person or virtually.

We didn’t stop with Summit and webinars, we had to dig deeper and tackle not just educational events, but the ratings process as well. Through great diligence, mock trials, reflection, and refinement, the PSA launched its first ever Virtual Ratings Exam in July 2020. Since then, over 280 rating exams have been delivered to coaches from the safety of their own homes. Virtual rating exams are still offered nearly every month and continue to be in great demand.

In February 2021, PSA transformed one of our strongest programs, Ratings Prep, into the Virtual Ratings Prep (VRP). The program was so successful that we ran as second VRP in February 2022 with record turnout. Additionally, the PSA re-imagined one of our landmark programs, the Foundations of Coaching Course, from a 2-day live event into a four-month fully immersive virtual course, which ran Oct 2020 to Feb 2021.

In addition to transitioning content to virtual formats, PSA has also diversified and expanded its audience by creating and delivering Level 1, consulting on Level 2, and soon delivering Level 3 content for the ISU Global Coach Education Qualification Framework program. Our partnership with the ISU brings growth and educational opportunities to coaches of ISU member federations around the globe. PSA has gone from a global brand to a global business.

One of the most important factors that came to the forefront during the pandemic was Asset Management and Financial Sustainability. In order to sustain our future, the PSA leadership had to take a realistic look at all assets and expenses in order to make strategic and timely financial decisions. After much research and planning, the PSA Board of Governors concluded that the headquarters building was too great of an expense to carry and not necessary to fulfill our mission and objectives. On August 1, 2021, the PSA successfully sold the building and reinvested these assets into our growth-oriented investment portfolio. Since then, the building sale has significantly reduced expenses while providing stability and additional capital to expand programs and services for PSA membership as a whole.

Part of this includes the PSA Membership Refresh, designed to better-meet needs of coaches of all levels. Launching this 2022-2023 season, we are offering four membership categories: Basic, Community, Professional and Premier. The Basic Membership is re-crafted with specific courses for the group-lesson coach at a reduced Basic Membership price of $25 (previously $40 annually). Additionally, we bundled annual membership, CERs, PSA TV, webinars, discounts and other benefits into the Premier Membership, designed for coaches who were committed to investing more to get more. This membership transformation has been a major focus during my tenure as President and I could not be more thrilled with seeing this project come to life!

I started this Presidential message with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion because I believe DEI will be seen in retrospect as an important shift in awareness, focus, and purpose for our association, our sport, and our beloved skating community. These past few years has been a broad awakening for many, and PSA also felt the impact and importance of this opportunity to do good and make change.

As previously mentioned, PSA’s leadership began DEI discussions in Fall 2019, formed our first DEI task force in June 2020, and approved the DEI Committee at the 2020 Fall Board Meeting. With Nathan Truesdell as Chair, the DEI committee has done great work in hosting webinars, seminar segments, recurring DEI engagement events, and collaborating with other affinity groups and organizations. This season, in collaboration with U.S. Figure Skating’s DEI Director Kadari Taylor-Watson, we launched our first-ever DEI CER course, which is currently offered in all 2022-23 CER modules. There is more work that will continue to challenge and improve our sport and I look forward to the great achievements ahead.

It is hard to believe that this will be my last message to you as your President as it has truly been an honor serving these past three years. I hope my words, but more importantly my intentions, resonated and made a difference for each of you, my fellow coaches. With that, I want to conclude by declaring how much I honor each of you for what you do, who you are, and the change you bring forth in others.

Yours in skating,