SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2019
PSA COACH OF THE YEAR Laura Lipetsky
A Community that Cares The Professional Skaters Foundation was founded to expand the educational opportunities of PSA members through a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable foundation. The Trustees of the PSF have developed several scholarship programs for its members through a selection process based on established guidelines and criteria.
www.skatepsa.com
SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2019
P H OTO CO U R T E S Y O F U.S. F IGUR E S K ATING
COLUMNS 2
Over the Edge
4
President’s Message
6
Ratings
8
SafeSport
| Jimmie Santee | Alex Chang
| Cheryl Faust | U.S. Figure Skating
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Sport Science
16
Education
26
Best Business Practices
FEATURES 18
Can You Take A Peek?
20
Heather Paige of the Starlights
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2019 PSA Coach of the Year: Laura Lipetsky
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2019 U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championship Photos | By Brant Thornton
| Kent McDill | Terri Milner Tarquini | Terri Milner Tarquini
| Heidi Thibert
| Carol Rossignol
DEPARTMENTS 6 11 28 30 32
Professional Development Recognition Board Profile Professional Skaters Foundation New Members PSA Calendar of Events
Coaches, good luck with the 2019-2020 competition season!
Elizabeth Thornton | Editor/Advertising Carol Rossignol | Contributing Editor Amanda Taylor | Art Director
Find, Friend, Follow
Issue No 5 |
» COVER: Laura Lipetsky accepts her bronze at the 2019 PSA EDI Awards Dinner in Palm Springs, CA.
WWW.SKATEPSA.COM
PS MAGAZINE
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OVER THE EDGE Jimmie Santee, MPD, MG PSA OFFICERS President First Vice President Second Vice President Third Vice President Treasurer Past President
Nurturing Performers
PSA BOARD OF GOVERNORS West Mid-West East
J
uan Perón once said, “The masses don’t think, the masses feel and they have more or less intuitive and organized reactions. Who produces those reactions? Their leader.” I heard this quote and it immediately struck me that this is what I felt when I was a performer. An audience, for the most part, has no pre-conceived impressions of what they are about to watch. They didn’t know what kind of day I had or if I was any good or not. It was my job to get their attention and entertain them. For most of my career with Disney, my solo was within the first few minutes of the show. Parents would still be walking in with uncooperative kids in tow, the crowd would be restless; total distraction. As difficult a position as I was in, I loved it! I used to tell anyone that would listen that I lived for that moment. In my mind, I was there to wake them up. It was my job to set the tone for the entire show and I found it both an extremely powerful and equally terrifying feeling. The art of performing is a gift, and one that many people believe you are born with. It is in most instances an extension of our own personality and challenging to teach. But understanding truly how to teach it is another story. It’s the real difference between competitors and performers, and few are both. Great performers and performances all have one common thread; they create an emotional connection with the audience. The same goes with truly disastrous performances. Whether empathy or ecstasy, our brains remember emotionally charged events better than ones that put us to sleep. Interestingly the latest research concludes it is not the personal significance of an event that makes it easier to remember, it is the emotion. As coaches we have all witnessed the difference between skaters landing their first waltz jump in comparison to their first Axel. I vividly remember where I landed my first Axel; Oakton Ice Arena, Park Ridge, Illinois, on the southeast side of the rink on the hockey circle. I don’t really remember the Axel but I remember the joy and sense of accomplishment. As a coach some 30 years later, that spot was the “lucky” spot. When one of my students was close to their first Axel, I would tell the story of my “lucky” spot. Many of my students, including my son, Ryan, and daughter, Sarah, landed their Axel on that spot. It always made me smile when I would
“Great performers
and performances...
create an emotional connection with the audience.” 2
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Members at Large
Committee on Professional Standards Ratings Chair Seminar/ Webinar Chair ISI Rep to PSA U.S. Figure Skating Rep to PSA PSA Rep to U.S. Figure Skating Conference Chairs Executive Director COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards Coaches Hall of Fame Education Apprentice Program Area Representatives Hockey Skating Sport Science Endorsements Executive Executive Nominating Finance Nominating Professional Standards PSA Rep to ISI Ratings Adaptive Skating FCC
Alex Chang Rebecca Stump Tim Covington Denise Williamson Carol Murphy Christine Fowler-Binder Phillip Mills Michelle Lauerman Andrea Kunz-Williamson Patrick O'Neil Cheryl Faust Janet Tremer Derrick Delmore Tom Zakrajsek Phillip DiGuglielmo Kelley Morris Adair Cheryl Faust Patrick O'Neil Scott McCoy Kirsten Miller Zisholz Kelley Morris Adair Rebecca Stump Tim Covington Jimmie Santee
Teri Hooper Christine Fowler-Binder Rebecca Stump Janet Tremer Angela Roesch-Davis Jordan Mann Heidi Thibert Jamie Lynn Santee Alex Chang Christine Fowler-Binder Carol Murphy Christine Fowler-Binder Kelley Morris Adair Gerry Lane Cheryl Faust Mary Johanson Janet Tremer
PSA AREA REPRESENTATIVES Area Area Area Area Area Area Area Area Area
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Martha Harding Kimberlie Wheeland Andrea Kunz-Williamson Tim Covington Angela Roesch-Davis Kevin Curtis Robyn Petroskey Melanie Bolhuis Lisa Bardonaro-Reibly
Area Area Area Area Area Area Area Area
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Angela Roesch-Davis Charmin Savoy Sharon Brilliantine Liz Egetoe Lisa Mizonick Don Corbiell Josselyn Baumgartner Karen Preston
DISCLAIMER: Written by Guest Contributor | PSA regularly receives articles from guest contributors. The opinions and views expressed by these contributors are not necessarily those of PSA. By publishing these articles, PSA does not make any endorsements or statements of support of the author or their contribution, either explicit or implicit. 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 (USPS 574770) Issue 5, 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. Tel 507.281.5122, Fax 507.281.5491, Email: office@skatepsa.com © 2017 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. Second-class Postage Paid at Rochester, MN 55901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to The Professional Skater, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902. Printed in the USA.
see skaters sneak over to that spot when they needed a little “help.” Emotions drive us. As a father, there was no greater joy than watching my children land their first Axel. There was nothing that would keep me from wanting to relive that again. Coaches are in the business of making memories for skaters, parents, judges, and fans of the sport. A coach’s goal is to train our skaters and choreograph their programs to create those opportunities and moments. Do you think the majority of coaches and choreographers understand how to do that? The great performers understand how to read a crowd; how to pause at the right moment or to speed up when the audience is restless. The great choreographers understand that too. A great painter will manipulate the observer as to where to look first, drawing in their attention as they guide them through the painting with their brushstrokes. As coaches, we tend to dwell on the technical points with more difficult jumps, higher levels, and so on. The best coaches not only push technical excellence but quality of movement, higher grades of execution, and performances. Most athletes skate a program to not make mistakes, totally focused on themselves. I would tell my youngest skaters, “You’ll land the jumps or not. Regardless, ‘skate the program.’” To get better performances from our skaters we need to focus on more than jumps and spins: Teach them to see Teach them to listen Teach them to feel Teach them to care When the execution of the technical skills mesh with the performance skills, we get memories that will last forever.
If you want to thrive with unrivaled skating opportunities in every discipline imaginable, then we’d love to welcome you to our community of elite athletes.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Alex Chang, MFS, RM
Identity and Intersectionality… I
n every coach’s career, one inevitably asks the question: “What kind of coach am I?” I remember thinking, “Well… I like the creative part and teaching self-expression, but there are so many amazing choreographers in our business already…I also like the technical part of teaching, but there are so many technical gurus with amazing skaters out there already. I also enjoy helping develop mental skills, focus, and mindfulness, but who am I compared to the championmakers who do such an amazing job?” This kind of self-talk sounded reasonable, but would keep me from being who I needed to be. Fast forward: I was recently listening to a presentation on Generation Z, and this brilliant concept called ‘intersectionality’ hit me like a lightning bolt of clarity. The idea is that ‘kids’ these days (Generation Z runs from ages 2-20) don’t necessarily use paradigms from the past like ‘labels.’ They often identify themselves with an entirely different construct, what they termed intersectionality. The idea is this: I can choose a label, but I can also identify with many labels, in many different ways, in many different circumstances and environments, all simultaneously… WHAT?! Come again? Basically… Generation Z often identify themselves as an intersection where many labels cross over simultaneously, in a moment, in a person, and are not just one label. So, instead of saying, “I’m a nerd, I’m a jock, I’m short, I’m tall, I’m light-hearted, I’m serious, I’m artistic, I’m technical,” etc, you can actually be many things all at once, at different times, in different environments and always relative to someone else’s idea of that term who ‘labeled’ you in the first place. So how does this apply to coaching and the world of skating? There are always opportunities to grow our knowledge, our skill, our athleticism, our grace, and simply grow ourselves through camps, seminars, webinars, exam sites, mentorships, special events, etc. Yet, we often overlook these because we don’t think they are meant for us. We have already decided our own label of who we are and who we are not, what level we are good at, and what seems beyond our scope. We often limit ourselves into our own personal corner saying, “Oh, I’m not good at that,” or “I will leave that to the technical brain over there” or “I don’t have a creative thread in my body.” Well, I want to simply raise the possibility that perhaps we are all technical at times, creative at
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times, empathetic at times, firm and motivating at times; we are all those things because we are coaches and we get the job done. The one thing I discovered through coaching is that there is no one approach that works for everyone. We have to shift and adapt to what is needed. We have sometimes let go of what we think we know and be open to what we can learn in the moment about ourselves and our “...I want to simply skater that day. So… as we post the raise the possibility many fall offerings that perhaps we are from PSA, simply dance with the idea all technical at times, that maybe this is something you’d creative at times, like to try, to see if it empathetic at times, sparks something in you personally and firm and motivating at professionally. Our Events Committee and time; we are all those National Education things because we are Committee work tirelessly to develop coaches and we get quality programming. This year, we have the job done.” four seminars planned across the country, addressing IJS, choreography, off ice training, and many different facets of our business. Working alongside U.S. Figure Skating Coaches Committee, PSA is committed to developing webinar and seminar topics that are relevant and timely for our members and hope you will check them out as well as PSA TV, an on-demand coaching companion. Thank you for your time and trust. Good luck throughout your season!
Trade your boots for slippers. Watch and learn at your own convenience! PSA TV is an on-demand video library of past conferences and seminars presented by the Professional Skaters Association as well as tips from master rated coaches, webinars, and podcasts. We proudly offer a selection of free content, videos for purchase, or subscribe for only $4.99/month for on-demand access to the full catalog.
www.skatepsa.com
RATINGS Cheryl Faust MFS, MM
NEW RATING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL DISCIPLINES At the Spring 2019 meeting of the Board of Governors the following requirements were passed for all rating disciplines: • Registered Rating candidates must have completed concussion training. • Certified Rating candidate must hold a valid First Aid certificate. • Senior and Master Rating candidates must hold a valid First Aid certificate and CPR certificate. Rationale: As an organization PSA needs to protect the safety and health of all skaters and participants in the sport. Effective May 1st, 2020
Ratings Chair Transfer BY TIM COVINGTON MFS, MM, RC
I
’ve been the Ratings Chair long enough that none of us can remember when I first began. First Vice President Becky Stump even said she thought it was prior to our free skates having a short program! I have loved being the Ratings Chair. It has been a job that I feel great passion for in this organization. The Ratings Chair position has been an incredibly fulfilling job and not a day has gone by since I started that I wasn’t doing something with ratings. During my term we instituted the Free Skate and Group Exam rewrites, we added new videos to the free skate exams using iPads, and we are currently working on adding video to the Moves in the Field exams. We have also added the written portion to many of the rating exams. We also changed the number of examiners on registered exams to two examiners instead of three, making things much more friendly at the entry level. We are also working to make the ratings process easier and more efficient with these changes being rolled out this fall at our master rating site. But I’m not going away completely. I’m remaining as the Vice Chair of Ratings but putting my efforts more into my 2nd VP duties on the Executive Committee. Ratings
Chair is a big job and needs a lot of attention…which brings me to introduce our new Ratings Chair: Cheryl Faust. Cheryl Faust has been actively involved in our Ratings Committee specifically as the Free Skate Chair. Cheryl was part of the Free Skate rewrite team, which completed a monumental task to change the exam to emphasize technique. Cheryl has been diligently working behind the scenes with me on most of the ratings efforts. For those of you who know Cheryl, she is basically a speeding bulldozer of ideas and if you blink while talking to her you might miss 20 new initiatives that came out in one breath. It’s going to be an exciting year for Ratings so please give Cheryl your full support. Thank you!
Ratings Palm Springs, CA | May 20-21, 2019
Gary Kemp RFS
P ROFES S ION A L DEV ELOPM E NT
Emeritus Rating Diana Ronayne Emeritus 19: MFF-84
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Vanessa Mascia RFS
Mariana Martinez CFS
Sarah Hollister Nicole Keeley Alexander Klimkin Katherine Kreyling Inna Kuznetsova Naomi Lang Hope Noelle Lassiter Vitali Lysenka Lucas Marquardt
Brianne McKain Aleksey Morkovkin Aimee Ricca Adrian Schultheiss Alexis Slack Kara Taylor Heather Van Hulle
Basic Accreditation (BA) E-learning Academy
Jodi Barnes Ellen Bennett Alexa Brooks Rebecca Cacioppo Katherine Demko Michael Farrell Scarlett Granger Naomi Greelis Becki Hendren
GUIDE FOR COACHES
Electronic Communication and Social Media T
he recent focus of U.S. Figure Skating’s SafeSport education and outreach efforts has been key policies and how they impact all of our members. The policies and information below have been what U.S. Figure Skating has received the most questions on and they can be found in the U.S. Figure Skating SafeSport Handbook. When updates are made to these policies, U.S. Figure Skating will notify all members by email and post a note within the “Recent Site Updates” at usfigureskating.org.
Two-Deep Leadership Mandatory policy requiring at least one other person (preferably an adult) to be present at all times when interaction between the Covered Individual and Minor Athlete is not within a public viewing area where interactions can be easily observed and interrupted by another adult.
One-On-One Interactions Federal law requires reasonable procedures to limit one-on-one interactions at U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned events and activities between a Minor Athlete and an Adult who is not the Minor's parent/legal guardian (except under emergencey situations). This applies to interactions that are not observable and interruptible by another adult.
*Policies such as these help to protect the reputation of a coach. For example, there are times where an interaction or conversation can be taken out of context. having an extra person there ensures the intended message is the one received and can help to validate a coach's story should any questions be raised.
Local Travel It is the responsibility of the parent/ permanent legal guardian of the Minor Athlete to ensure the person transporting the Minor Athlete maintains all safety requirements, legal requirements and compliance with all laws and the U.S. Center for SafeSport's required policies.
Team Overnight Travel If a Covered Individual will be transporting Athletes, that covered individual shall abide by Two-DeepLeadership requirements, have a valid driver's license, proper insurance, a well-maintained vehicle and shall comply with all state laws and the policies set forth in U.S. Figure Skating's SafeSport Policy Handbook.
Touching an Athlete During Instruction Physical contact is inherent in skating instruction and training. Such physical touches that are for the purpose of ensuring an athlete's safety are permitted so long as: 1.) The physical contact takes place in public with clear lines of sight 2.) They physical contact is for the benefit of the athlete, not to meet an emotional or other need of the adult coach (i.e. a male coach practicing lifes with a female athlete) *Best practice is to always ask permission at the beginning of a coach/ athlete relationship and continue in clear view of others. By allowing an athlete to openly communicate their personal boundaries, a foundation for a healthy and respectful coach-athlete relationship can be built. Individual Overnight Travel Under circumstances where a Minor Athlete's parent/guardian is responsible for making all travel arrangements, U.S. Figure Skating encourages limiting one-on-one interaction between a Covered Individual and a Minor Athlete by 1.) meeting two-deep leadership requirements, 2.) inviting parents/guardians to travel with the Minor Athlete.
*Coaches will not transport minor athletes alone as it's a violation of the SafeSport policy. Should a situation arise where a coach is asked to do something that may violate this policy, best practice is to determine what othe roptions there are for ensuring that athlete makes it to their destination: i.e. family member transports them, car pool with other athletes, the Coach transports the Minor Athlete but practices two-deep-leadership, etc.
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“Limiting one-on-one interactions and practicing two-deep leadership applies to meetings, individual training sessions, transporting athletes, or any other situation where it’s possible for the Coach and Minor Athlete to be left alone.�
A GUIDE FOR COACHES
Electronic Communication and Social Media All electronic communications between a Covered Individual and a Minor Athlete must be professional in nature and for the purpose of communicating information about skating activities. When communicating electronically to a Minor Athlete, a Covered Individual shall meet Two-Deep-Leadership requirements by including another adult on the communication (i.e. parent, guardian, another Adult Covered Individual, an Adult Athlete, team leader). It is recommended that the communication have the Minor Athlete's parent/permanent legal guardian copied for transparency. Covered individuals are prohibited from having Minor Athletes join a personal social media page. Covered Individuals and Minor Athletes are not permitted to "private message" the other privately. Member Clubs may utilize social media to communicate to its members and promote their program by creating their own club page. The content of all electronic communication with a Minor Athlete must be saved by the Covered Individual for a period of three years and be readily available to share upon request with the Minor Athlete's family or representative of the Member Club or U.S. Figure Skating. Electronic Communication: Includes email, text messages, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and all other social media and messaging platforms.
Are you looking for additional PSA credits? Do you have an idea for a seminar or education event in your area? Good news! The PSA offers the opportunity to broaden our outreach for educational credits and coaching seminars and is looking for educational partners and events that we can put a stamp of approval on and endorse. If you have an idea for an event or are interested in an endorsement, please contact office@skatepsa. com or visit skatepsa.com for more information.
Any questions regarding this information should be directed to SafeSport@usfigureskating.org.
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Happening Now
[ BOARD PROFILE ]
Carol Murphy After more than 25 years as a skating coach, Carol Murphy had to step down from coaching in 2006 when she moved overseas to Germany part-time with her husband. But since 2007, Murphy has been the Treasurer for the Professional Skaters Association thanks to her professional experience and education in bookkeeping, accounting, and finance. She was also the skating director at the Atlanta Ice Forum for two years through 2006. She recently stepped down as President of the Professional Skaters Foundation (PSF) and remains the vice-president of the organization. “Being the treasurer of the PSA allows me to stay involved with the sport, which is so dear to my heart,” Murphy said. “I am so happy that I am able to volunteer with the PSA and PSF to keep me connected to the skating world.” Maybe because of her background as a Certified Public Accountant and her degree in Business Administration, Murphy’s concentration on the future of the PSA aims at the financial standing of the organization.
our revenue streams,” Murphy said. “I think the board has expanded our revenue streams (webinars for example), which is great. We have also improved our communication with the U.S. Figure Skating. We have also improved communication within the Executive Committee, BOG, and with staff members at headquarters.”
Clinics Seminars Super Sites Find an event near you at www.skatepsa.com Presented by
From a technical standpoint, Murphy points to PSA TV as an area in which the PSA has taken steps forward and needs to improve its offerings in that media mode. Murphy currently lives in Texas with her husband, where they gladly accept visits from their two grown sons, but she and her husband have purchased property in Scottsdale with an intention to move there in a few years for the pleasures of retirement. That will serve her well as she and her husband are both avid golfers.
EX C EL LE NCE O N IC E Does your club or rink meet these two requirements?
all coaches are PSA members
“I would like the board to concentrate on growing our membership and increasing and/or expanding
Above: Carol with husband Maurice at the 2016 PSA conference in Las Vegas, NV. Left: Past PSA Executive Director Carole Shulman and past PSA President and Legal Counsel David Shulman proudly presented Carol with her Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
all coaches carry liability insurance
Register now and be recognized as a progressive training facility dedicated to excellence in coaching both on and off-ice. As a registered facility you will receive an EOI shield for display and international recognition in PS Magazine—all at no cost!
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SPORT SCIENCE Heidi Thibert, MFS, MM, MC
GETTING BETTER AT GETTING BETTER:
Coaches Ensuring the Success of Their Athletes—and Their Sport—Through a Commitment to Continuous Improvement B Y WA Y N E G O L D S M I T H
R E P R I N T E D W I T H P E R M I S S I O N F R O M O LY M P I C C O A C H M A G A Z I N E V O L U M E 2 9 , I S S U E 1
W
hat is coaching? In a word, coaching is change. People visit a financial coach to change their saving and spending habits, i.e., to make their financial situation better. People book an appointment with a business coach to help change their business behaviours and practices, i.e., to make their business better. People spend time with a life coach to change something about their life, i.e., to make their life better. Athletes go to a swimming coach to change something about their swimming—to change a physical, mental, technical or strategic aspect of their planning, preparation or performance—i.e., to make their swimming better. Players register to play basketball with a local club so that the coach can change something about their game, i.e., so they can play better. It therefore follows, that coaches—and by extension coach educators—must be masters of change. Understanding change and how to inspire, encourage, grow and evolve change is at the very cornerstone of what coaching and coach education is all about. Coaching is an art. It is the art of inspiring change through emotional connection. It is the capacity of a coach to connect with athletes—to understand them and their motivation for training and competing—that opens the door for the coach to be able to inspire meaningful change. In this article, I will explore the concepts of “coaching” and “change” and how they are directly and intimately connected. In addition, I will discuss how coaches must develop a deep understanding of change through a commitment to continuous improvement, honest personal reflection and daily learning, which has the potential to inspire their athletes to achieve remarkable things.
Everyone Wants to Get Better Competitive athletes want to get better. That is it. Period. Competitive athletes have a drive, an instinct, a passion, a burning desire to be the best they can be. They are motivated to learn more, train harder, improve sooner and win often.
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Coaches understand this competitive desire—this winning motivation—and understandably want to do all they can to help their athletes achieve success through the implementation of effective change. There are countless books available on all aspects of change, change management and the change process. However, in spite of the best efforts of change management professionals to educate people on the importance of change, change still frightens people. It challenges people. It scares people and, as a result, people will often resist and reject change. Yet everyone wants to get better. No one will resist or reject improvement. No one refuses an opportunity to become more than they are. Athletes want to get better; and coaches are the agents of change to help athletes get better. Understanding this, it is essential that coaches master the art of change—and to be able to inspire change in their athletes through a commitment to learning, continuous improvement and performance enhancement.
The Art and Science of Coaching: Two Sides of the Same Coin Coaching—as is the case in many professions—is both an art and a science. A person may learn the notes and understand how to play a piano, i.e., they’ve learned the science of playing a musical instrument called a piano. But a true pianist— someone who doesn’t just play the piano, but who “feels” the rhythm and “hears” the melody—is demonstrating the art form of music. You can learn how to paint a landscape by attending art courses or by studying art online, i.e., you can learn the science of mixing colours and of brush stroke techniques and how to use shades and shadows in painting. That is the science of painting landscapes. An artist, however, sees and feels the landscape. They try to place themselves into the image and become part of the landscape itself to gain a deeper understanding of its true nature. In all professions, there’s a blend of science—the “what”
Change a life…become a coach. Change the nation…coach the coaches. of the profession—and art - the “how.” In coaching, the science of sport—the sets, repeats, workout design, periodization, training load measurement, drills and skill development sessions— the “what” of coaching—is relatively easy to learn. The science of sport can be seen, can be measured and, most importantly, can be readily taught to coaches through a range of traditional coach education and coach development activities such as courses, conferences, workshops and accreditation programs. The art of coaching however—the subtle, intangible, difficult to see and hard to measure qualities of effective coaches and the very core of quality coaching—is far more challenging to teach, instruct and impart to coaches. Yet it is the art of coaching which by and large underpins and drives the effectiveness of the science of sport. It is the coach’s understanding of the “how” and the “why”—knowing when and how to apply the science of sport—that makes all the difference. And this is the challenge for all coaches and indeed for coach developers. If the art of coaching—which encompasses the aspects of coaching which are the most difficult to see, to hear and to feel—is so critically important, how do you master it?
Getting Better Never Stops: A Commitment to Continuous Improvement Human beings are wired to learn. From our first breaths and our earliest steps, we are a learning species. It is our capacity to experience the world and to learn quickly and effectively from those experiences that enhances our capacity to survive and thrive on the planet. It is also in our nature, once we have learned anything, to make it “our” thing. Once we learn something, we tend to seek to own it as the way that “we do it.” It becomes that thing that we do—that we always do—and over time our resistance to changing “our” thing becomes greater and greater. Coaches search tirelessly and continuously for “the” secret. They’re all looking for “the” way that they can help all athletes and all teams in all situations be successful. They attend courses, conferences and conventions always looking for that advantage, that edge, that new technique, that revolutionary technology that will transform their coaching, their program and their athletes. And once they’ve found it—or once they believe they’ve found it—and it becomes “their” thing, then they become resistant to notions of change, improvement, enhancement and betterment. Yet over the course of human history, we have learned time and time again that success is moving target, that
looking backwards only slows down progress and that resisting change only holds back the endless possibilities that lie ahead.
Why Getting Better at Getting Better is More Important Now than Ever In the past, getting better was not all that important in coaching. You came up with a winning advantage: a new idea, a few tricks, a secret practice routine, an innovative new tactic or a smarter play. You won a few games—maybe achieved success for a season or two—and your way became “the” way to do it. Times have changed. Now, the proliferation of the internet and smart technology means that every coach can get anything, anytime, anywhere and usually for free in the palm of their hand. Everyone knows what you know. There are no more secrets. No more miracle plays. No more magical practice routines. Everyone knows what you know. The one reason above all others that coaches must get better at getting better is that unless you are moving forward—unless you are learning and accelerating your rate of learning and improvement faster than your opposition— you and your athletes will be left behind. It is pointless searching for “the” one and only answer— it doesn’t exist. There is no end point to improvement. There’s no finality in learning. Getting better never stops. Not now. Coaching successfully demands an understanding of how to think, to learn, to create, to innovate and to change faster and more effectively than ever before. Where coaches once may have considered continuous improvement as possessing a casual or occasional interest in attending courses and reading biographies, it is now essential that coaches make a deliberate, purposeful decision to include learning in their daily routine.
Ten Ways Coaches Can Embrace Continuous Improvement 1. Apply the same standards and commitment to continuous improvement as you expect from your athletes. Read something new every day. Listen to a podcast. Watch a short video. Be committed to learning one new thing every day. You expect your athletes to improve every day—apply that same standard of learning and improvement to yourself. 2. Reflect constantly. The first and most important learning commitment all coaches must make is to have honest, sincere daily reflection. After each training session and following every workout ask yourself: Did I coach at my
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best today? What did I learn today that will make me a better coach tomorrow? Did I make a difference to my athletes today? 3. Expand your learning horizons—look further. You learn from three places: Within your specific sport; Within the sports industry but outside your specific sport and; Outside the sports industry. By far the greatest scope for learning, growth and development is to be found outside the sports industry. If you are looking to improve your understanding of creativity, learn from coaches and other professionals in the arts. If you need to master leadership, schedule some time to learn from people in the military, in business and in politics. Broaden your learning experiences. 4. Be the change you want to see. If you want to see your athletes learn faster, grow sooner and improve more rapidly, apply those same standards to your own coaching and development. Dare to be different! Try new ideas in your program. Experiment. Take a few safe and ethical calculated risks and find new and better ways of doing things. Let your athletes see that you are tireless in your search for ways to help them achieve their goals. 5. Forget best-practices—be better practice. Stop searching the Internet for best-practices. Become the best-practice in your sport, then seek daily to make your best –practice an even better practice. Live a lifestyle of continuous improvement. Best practices are only the starting point. It is the place where great coaches start their learning journey with a commitment to making best practices even better. 6. Forget benchmarking—copying kills. Coaches learn and copy. Great coaches create and innovate. Try new ideas. Think different things and think differently. The only people who leave “benchmarks” are those who sit on their butts doing nothing! Leaders learn—and learning is leading! 7. Treat winning and losing in the same manner. If your team loses, learn from it, get out of bed the next morning and try harder than ever to be an exceptional coach. If your team wins, learn from it, get out of bed the next morning and try harder than ever to be an exceptional coach. To a learning coach, there’s no difference between winning and losing—there’s only learning, improvement and change. 8. Become a visionary. The great coaches “see” things. They see a future of limitless possibilities and opportunities. They see it with such clarity, certainty and detail that it feels as if it has already happened. Being a visionary gives coaches the power to lead their athletes—and their sport—towards an exciting and successful future. 9. There is always, always, another way. Great coaches do not talk in absolutes. There is no “never.” There is no
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“must.” There is only the endless and continuous search for new ways of learning, improving and getting better. That old saying “if it ain’t broke—don’t fix it” should be changed to read “if it ain’t broke—and you want to be an outstanding coach—pull it apart and do it even better.” 10. Avoid people who hold tradition above progress. When innovative coaches try new ideas and experiment with new ways of doing things, there is always a group of coaches who will resist and reject this “newness” and do all they can to stand in the way of “what could be” in order to maintain the “what was” and “what is.” Getting better means changing. Changing means daring to be different. Daring to be different means running into people who cannot see what you see, and who will never be what you are: exceptional.
Conclusion • Everyone wants to and wishes they could be better. • However, getting better, by necessity, means change. And change can be challenging– even terrifying—for most people. Yet change is critical for success and is at the very heart of excellence and achievement. • Coaching is change, and great coaches are masters of the art of change. It is the art of the effective coach to lead athletes through the change process and inspire them to see the unknown, to achieve the impossible and to reach for the seemingly unattainable. • It is the coach’s ability to see a clear vision for the future—and their ability to lead athletes towards that vision—that creates success and delivers greatness. • For a coach with an unrelenting commitment to learning, a passion for discovery and an unquenchable thirst for improvement, their future success—and that of their athletes—is assured. REFERENCES Cote J and Gilbert W, An integrative definition of coaching effectiveness and expertise, International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, Volume 4, Number 3 (2009). Ermeling, B A, Improving Teaching through Continuous Learning: The Inquiry Process John Wooden Used to Become Coach of the Century, Quest, 64:197–208, (2012) Ferguson, Sir Alex and Moritz, Michael. Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United. Hachette Books. (2016) Holley, Michael. Belichick and Brady: Two Men, the Patriots, and How They Revolutionized Football. Hachette Books, CITY (2017). Jackson, Phil: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Penguin Books, (2014) Mallett C, Quality coaching, learning and coach development, Japanese Journal of Sport Education Studies, Volume 30, Number 2 (2011). Myers N, Beauchamp M and Chase M, Coaching competency and satisfaction with the coach: a multi-level structural equation model, Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume 29, Number 4 (2011). Van Mullem P & Dahlin S, Five Perspectives on Pursuing Mastery in Coaching, International Sport Coaching Journal, Volume 4 Number 2 (2017). Wayne Goldsmith has been an influential figure in coach education for the past 25 years. To Contact Wayne or to read and watch more of his work: Phone: +61 414 712 074; Email: wayne@ moregold.com.au; newsportfuture.com; wgcoaching.com ; www.facebook.com/wayne.goldsmithsports ; youtube.com/wgcoaching
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EDUCATION Carol Rossignol, MD, MS, MG, MPD, MFF
MUSTS FOR SKATERS (AND DANCERS!)
Ankle Strength, Alignment, and Learning How to Correctly Point the Feet B Y A N N E T T E T. T H O M A S
T
his article on the subject, combines with her previous article on feet and ankles It continues with understanding how the foot and ankle alignment affect all the muscle, tendons and ligaments of the entire leg, and how to better understand the biomechanics of pointing your foot correctly in a skating boot. Some content has been revised to reflect more current issues, but all material is from her book "Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters".
Feet and Ankles: articulation, strength and correct alignment Following from her last article, let's now talk about ankle strength and proper alignment which are a must for dancers and skaters as whole body alignment, balance and internal stability, particularly in jumps and spins, are reliant upon them. Your feet and ankles carry your entire body - so even if your "core" is strong—if your feet are unresponsive and your ankles are weak it really won’t help as much as one might think. You may notice during any Summer Olympics that a number of gymnasts and divers turn their feet inward (known as “sickling” in ballet) during an exercise which requires pointed feet. Tendons from both the inside (medial) and outside (lateral) of the lower leg form a sling under the foot so that when there is an imbalance of strength vs. stretch between the two sides, this “sickling” often occurs. When a skater or dancer’s foot is sickled it not only looks "unaesthetic", it is a potential injury waiting to happen. You also see this in many high level skaters, where the leg line is lovely and then, rather anticlimactically, the foot droops down to the ice. What one wants is a continuous strong line from the hip to the tip of the boot which exudes dynamic energy.
The problem of “sickling” Weak ankles in general and weak peroneus muscles in specific can cause the foot to “sickle” or curve in. Sickling
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(inversion and plantar flexion) is a natural tendency for many. Below is an example of a sickled (or pronated) foot. Photo A — sickled foot in skating boot, a correctly pointed foot is a plantar flexion with a slight "eversion" - engaging the peroneus muscle on the outside of the lower leg, and a correctly pointed foot in a skate. Notice how the line from lower leg to the toe does not break but has a continuous energy to it. Many skaters either sickle or crunch their toes and both of these actions *impossible* to correct with skates on. To work on correct ankle alignment and pointing the feet, I have my skating students practice getting the accurate look and feel by first sitting on the floor in bare feet and working on specific resistance band exercises, then continuing on the floor with the Vaganova Level "0" foot exercises, then standing practicing tendus, degagés, and relevés (facing the barre). And lastly by practicing plies, relevés and degagés with the skates and guards on.
How to point your feet correctly In ballet, the command to "point your toes" is really inaccurate. The accurate command is to "point the foot" or extend the ankle joint straight downward (plantar flexion) and then further extend the toes (not "crunch") in order to feel that you are stretching and lengthening the entire foot. Below is an excerpt from my Fundamentals book showing exercises you can do to increase awareness of foot articulation and alignment during "pointing"....
Fig. A. Example of correct ankle & toe extension.
Fig. 3.51a Extend the foot from the ankle (plantar flexion) as far as you can but keep the toes relaxed. Pay particular attention to the calf muscle and the tibialis anterior. Pulse the ankle extension several times in
order to really feel the muscle action.
Fig. B. Example of “crunched” toes
Fig. C. When the toes are “crunched” the calf muscle shortens pulling the femur towards it. Extending and pointing the foot correctly allows the knee to straighten with ease. Crunched toes in a boot can cause foot and lower leg cramps and greatly increase the MARY GAINER ILLUSTRATION ©2006. USED WITH PERMISSION. risk of injury. Crunched toes will also make it very difficult to straighten your knee as the calf muscle will be contracted. It is difficult enough to feel a pointed foot inside a skating boot, so I tell the skaters to push the ball of the foot and toes down into the floor of the skate until the heel begins to rise off the floor of the skate. In the illustration below, you can see that when the toes are "crunched" (figure C.), the calf muscle shortens pulling the femur towards it. Extending and pointing the foot correctly (left illustration) allows the knee to straighten with ease. Fig. 3.50d When helping your skaters to feel a pointed foot, have them start by sitting on the floor in a slight straddle. Ask them to extend the ankle forward and then put the palm of your hand under the ball of their foot. As you give resistance by pushing your hand gently upward tell them, “Keep your toes long and stretched and push down on my hand as hard as you can.”
Fig. 3.51b Keep the foot strongly extended and flex the toes back (if you were standing on the balls of your feet this would be called “half” or “demi-pointe”) and hold. Fig. 3.51c Then strongly stretch and extend the toes forward to point the entire foot.
Analyze • Did you feel the action of the muscles as you pulsed the extension? This is what is occurring in your lower leg during a jump takeoff. • As you strongly “pointed” the entire foot, including the toes, did you feel the greater contraction of the calf muscle as well as greater extension in the tibialis anterior? As we saw earlier, this fine motor action is a very important factor in being able to straighten the knee. It is also vital in obtaining full power in jump takeoffs and in cushioning the impact to the entire leg on jump landings. In conclusion: It does all begins with your feet—awareness, education, working with your body and not forcing it will all help you to become the best dancer/athlete you can be for the longest time possible, without injury. This material may not be copied or distributed without the prior consent of Annette T. Thomas. (c) 2019 Annette T. Thomas and Prime Radiant Press LLC. No portion of this article may be reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission of the author. This includes all copyrighted photos within said article which are taken from the author's book “Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters” “Annette T. Thomas is the Education Director of American Ice Theatre and author of Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters”, “Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater” and instructional video “Lessons in Ballet for Figure Skaters Level -1”. She currently teaches on-line certification courses in conjunction with American Ice Theatre, and The Ohio Conservatory of Ballet, and conducts workshops world wide in her exclusive “Ballet for Figure Skaters”. Floor-Barre, and Russian Method Classical ballet.”
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Can You Take A Peek? By Kent McDill
| PHOTOS COURTESY OF U.S. FIGURE SKATING
C
harlene Durham believes all skating rinks and coaches should have a professional relationship with a physical therapist just so there is someone nearby who can “take a peek’’ when an athlete expresses a pain or discomfort. Of course she is going to say that; she is a physical therapist. But her motivation is to prevent pains from happening in the first place and addressing those pains early before they become anguishes. Durham is a physical therapist and figure skating coach working at the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston, S.C. She has a master’s degree in physical therapy from The Medical University of South Carolina, and after years of specializing in pediatric physical therapy, she is now converting her knowledge to teaching. But Durham is also working as an athlete assessor for the U.S. Figure Skating athlete testing programs S.T.A.R.S and the Athlete Movement Screening program. A former competiitve figure skater who grew up in Canada, she has combined her athletic experience with her educational experience to serve dual
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purposes for her athletes. Her desire to teach comes from her experience working with figure skating coaches who must deal with the aches and pains of children athletes. She understands the limitations some coaches have in knowing how to address all injuries, and that’s why she promotes the idea that rinks can connect coaches with an affiliated local professional for that “peek”. “Figure out who your go-to specialist is,” Durham said. “Some training centers might have an athlete trainer, but coaches need to be aware if there is a complaint that persists, they have that person they can go to and say, ‘can you take a peek’?” A physical therapist can also educate the athlete and the athlete’s parents, especially when treatment runs counter to the goals of the athlete. This is especially true when the treatment required includes rest. Telling a figure skater to stay off the ice is like telling them to stop breathing. “You have to be able to explain to the kids why they are doing what they are doing and how it is going to benefit them,” she said. “You tell
them if you don’t take the next five days off, this is what is going to happen to you. “The communication is also needed with parents and coaches so that they are on board, so that the PT is not saying one thing and the coaches are saying ‘they are fine, just go skate’.” Durham’s work as a pediatric physical therapist addresses the pains which child athletes experience, but her work with the S.T.A.R.S program created by U.S. Figure Skating is an effort to prevent injuries from happening. The Athlete Movement Screening program provides athletes with a diagnosis of their physical framework in order to provide direction that will prevent the injuries which plague child figure skaters. “The whole point is you want to participate injury-free,” Durham said. “We look at movement, we look at strengths and weakness, so we can identify the one particular area that is a weakness and address it now before it becomes a problem. It is a great program to prevent injury.” In pursuing her doctorate in pediatric physical therapy, Durham
“If you have a child that is specializing, and they are doing it year-round, the key is to include other modalities that will help them work the other muscle groups they would be working out when participating in other sports.”
is researching knee pain in young female skaters, and has discovered in her coaching that the pre-adolescent and adolescent female skaters have constant complaints of anterior knee pain, which is pain on the front of the knee, just below the kneecap. The research she has found shows that such pain is generated from poor development of the muscle groups tied to the hips and the glutes. That research indicates that skaters need to develop muscles that support the legs and knees, and indicates that physical training needs to go beyond what might seem standard operating procedure for skaters, meaning the development of musculature throughout the body. “We see a lot of knees pushing inward,” she said. “That is going back to the hip muscles and having proper upper body mechanisms. We see muscle tightness, not enough flexibility and poor biomechanics. If you are not strong in the core and hips, the knee won’t support the movement you need to skate.” Those findings are why Durham points to one exercise demonstrated in the S.T.A.R.S program as a vital one for young skaters to be
able to perform. “The one test that I see in the research that addresses knee pain is the single leg squat,” Durham said. “It is a series of knee bends while standing on one leg, hands on your hips. We watch the tracking and the alignment and find that a majority of young girls cannot bend their knee and squat with the knee aligned straight. Everyone has their knee pointing inward, and we need to figure that out because as they move forward in their training, they are going to experience pain if they can’t keep that knee straight.” The importance of developing the musculature of the entire body is one of the primary arguments in favor of child athletes participating in more than one sport. Such talk is anathema to some figure skating coaches who believe that attention solely to figure skating is the only way to be successful, and Durham admits it is an argument she has with herself in considering the necessary physical development of young athletes. “Child athletes are a very specific population, and sports specialization at younger ages is
becoming more prevalent,” Durham said. “There is a lot of research that says kids should not specialize so early, that they should have varied physical activities, which is very true. But in figure skating, athletes do need to specialize early in order to excel. It is a short time frame they have in that sport. “It is a complicated topic, and there are pros and cons to both,” she said. “It is a hard situation for a sport like figure skating. If you have a child that is specializing, and they are doing it year-round, the key is to include other modalities that will help them work the other muscle groups they would be working out when participating in other sports. It is having the right person to work with off-ice. I don’t think sports specialization is a terrible thing; you just have to approach it in a different way.” Such as having a physical therapist to turn to.
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Coach
Heather Paige
Starlights By Terri Milner Tarquini
T
he place: March 1 at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Michigan. The scene: The junior Starlights free skate to Cinematic Pop’s version of the Coldplay song “Fix You.” The action: The audience held completely captive and brimming with feelings – then total pandemonium amidst deafening cheers. “We ran behind the stands to get to the girls, so we didn’t even know they were getting a standing ovation,” said head coach and choreographer Heather Paige of the sprint with her assistant coach, Jenna Halm. “I’m not usually what would be described as an emotional person, but I saw a picture of me where I was leaning on the barrier of the kiss and cry because I literally couldn’t stand up from the bigness of the moment.” Paige’s show of feelings was two-pronged. First, there was the program itself, loaded with moving themes of four “angels” (in white dresses) helping “humans” (in blush-colored dresses), seemingly floating to lyrics such as, “when the tears come streaming down your face, ’cause you lose something you can’t replace” and “lights will guide you home and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.” “I knew I wanted to do a program about angels,” Paige said. “How angels come into your life can be
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happy or sad, but there’s always an emotional connection and anyone watching can pull something out of the story. It speaks to everyone.” For Paige’s vision to come to sentimental fruition, her team of 14- to 18-year-olds would need to not just act out true depth of emotion, but to embody it totally. “When it became apparent that even high schoolers were connecting to the story, we knew it was powerful,” she said. “We really pushed them to not just show the emotion in their faces, but with their entire bodies. I have had so many people tell me they were crying after watching the program and they didn’t even realize it.” Here’s the second thing: Paige’s emotion actually mostly stemmed from the behind-the-scenes chaos that almost resulted in the program not being close to the caliber of what it turned out to be. “There was a lot going on that most people have no idea about,” Paige said. “We had two falls in the short program—both happened to girls who would be skating in the white dresses for the free skate. So two of the four girls who are
highlighted in the long program were potentially injured.” One of the skaters who fell had been suffering from a chronic knee injury since January and the other tried to save herself from her fall, torqueing her shoulder in the process. The next morning’s official practice ice the morning of the free skate did nothing to calm nerves or doubts. “The girl with the shoulder injury was crying so hard that she could barely get through the 15 minutes,” Paige said. “She really was not sure she could get her body into the Beillmann position. We basically had to just take some deep breaths and try to get our head wrapped around the fact that it was going to be what it was going to be.” What it was, as it turned out, was magical—and struck some deep chords. “Once they got through the moves section that had the Beillmann (spiral), it was like they just started floating through the rest,” Paige said. “People were coming up to me afterward sobbing, telling me how much it touched them. It was crazy. I was blown away
LEFT TO RIGHT: Team selfie after winning the bronze medal at the Leon Lurje Trophy in Gothenburg, Sweden; Coaches Heather Paige and Jenna Halm; Kiss and Cry following the free program performance at the World Championships in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
that it made that big of an impact.” The program earned the team a U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships junior silver medal, another highlight in a season that included a bronze at the Leon Lurje Trophy in Sweden, a silver at the Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy in Croatia, and the first trip to the World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships, capturing 7th place. “At Nationals, we didn’t have the short program skate we wanted so we really worked on that going into Worlds – and the short program we did there really made us,” Paige said. “We were in the top five after the short program. The girls put a lot of pressure on themselves to recreate the Nationals long program at Worlds and some little mistakes happened that caused us to not finish as high as we would have liked. But to go out and nail the short program on a stage as big as Worlds and for the first time there to be in the final group for the free skate? That showed what kind of a team they are.” Synchronized skating has come a long way from its 1956 origins as an intermission show at hockey games, made up of kick lines and drill teamtype routines. Now with around 600 teams in the United States, it’s an evolution that Paige has been involved with for the last 30 years.
What started when she was an eager eight-year-old in the Chicago area, kept growing and, throughout high school, Paige cross-skated on what was then the Starlets junior and senior teams. For four years she skated with Miami University’s powerhouse varsity team, three of those as captain. Graduating with a degree in mass communications, she took the job as head coach of the collegiate team and assistant to the other teams, coaching the senior team to the silver medal at the 2007 World Synchronized Skating Championships. In 2008, the opportunity for her to come back to her Chicago roots opened up and Paige took it. That first year she returned, there were three Starlight teams, with nine teams in 2019. “I’ve been a synchro skater my entire life,” said Paige, who is also Director of Synchronized Skating for the Starlights Skating Teams, “and I’ve never stopped.” Paige knew, for something different, she wanted to play with four skaters in very different dresses from the rest of the team, which presented some hurdles from a choreography standpoint. “My process is to challenge myself and to not lock myself in to anything we’ve done before,” she said. “I knew where I wanted the angels
in white to finish, so we started with the moves element, which is the last big technical push at the end of the program and then we worked everything back to the beginning. It was totally insane and I had no idea what it was going to be while it was going on, but once it was finished, we knew it was right; it just clicked.” The fact that there are 32 blades swooping around in close proximity adds to the excitement of the discipline itself—a factor that’s totally unique to synchronized skating. “I call it ‘synchro sense,’” Paige said. “You have to be able to stay focused with 15 people flying around you. It takes extreme spatial awareness to understand how tight you can be to someone else, put your body in a totally awkward position and still get your job done and execute the element in a way that looks good.” In the decade-and-a-half since synchronized skating switched to the IJS judging system, the winds of change have blown hard for figure skating’s fifth discipline. “I enjoy stepping up to the challenge of how I can still be creative within these parameters,” Paige said. “It’s not just about crossovers getting into a shape—all of these skaters, especially at the junior and senior levels, need to be very dedicated and extremely well-rounded skaters. The
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requirements are adding to the development of the sport and, those added technical parameters, are making it more respected as a discipline. They are holding the skaters to higher standards, which can only be good for the sport.” The continued IJS rule changes very well might be an exercise in keeping the eye on the ultimate prize. “The Olympics have been a dream since I was skating,” she said. “Project 2000 was when we first made a real push, but here we are 20 years later and we’re still pushing. The amount of growth and earnestness in the last 10 years has been even more significant than the 10 years prior to that. There is the support there from the ISU and, you can tell from the rule changes, that they are doing the right things to
help us be better prepared and better received. I have always been hopeful and I will remain hopeful.” With Olympic bids being denied in 2018 and for 2020, the real challenge, however, might just lie in getting the thrill of blades a-flying and configurations a-changing to translate to television. “It’s going to take capturing the programs on video the same way as it’s experienced in the arena and we haven’t mastered that yet,” Paige said. “The problem is that, when a camera zooms in on one face to see the emotion, then they miss the shapes of the technical elements and transitions. Ceiling cameras could show the shapes from a higher perspective and then working with production would let the cameramen know when
it’s a good time to zoom in. These programs are huge live audience pleasers so there’s a way to do it, but it will take more work with TV and more production for that to translate.” For now, Paige is already planning for the upcoming season with the Starlights and how to follow up a hugely successful season with another. “It’s always a crazy challenge after a program is so well-received to do something that is appreciated but not compared with the season before,” she said. “Our goal is to make the World team again, but my personal goal is to not lose that creativity that really sets us apart. It’s part of what makes this team and our whole organization special.”
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Skate to a brighter future. Skate to great. Figure skating teaches you the agility and focus to handle every twist and turn of life. Get started today, visit LearnToSkateUSA.com
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Laura Lipetsky
2019 PSA COACH of the
YEAR By Terri Milner Tarquini
2019 PSA Coach of the Year Laura Lipetsky came this-close to missing her own induction ceremony. “In my mind, the biggest thing, always, is working with my students and being there for them, so I hadn’t planned on going,” Lipetsky said. “I miss family events; I rarely take vacation. Really, I work 24/7, but I know what a huge honor it is.” Lipetsky joins the ranks of some of figure skating’s most influential coaches, including Patrice Lauzon (2018), Tammy Gambill (2017), Rafael Arutyunyan (2016, 2015), Marina Zoueva (2014, 2011), Tom Zakrajsek (2009), Audrey Weisiger (1999), Carol Heiss Jenkins (1996) and three-time inductee Frank Carroll (2001, 2000, 1997). “So many amazing coaches have won this honor,”
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Lipetsky said. “Frank Carroll is someone I really look up to. He has coached so many champions; he’s a legend. I saw him at the conference after I won, and he congratulated me. He is such an amazing coach, but it’s his character that makes him such a great role model.” Lipetsky’s deep-in-the-trenches mentality has led to big things for dynamo Alysa Liu and, quite possibly, the future of U.S. ladies figure skating. “We still need to work just as hard, if not harder,” said Lipetsky, who has coached the 13-year-old Liu since she was five and in Lipetsky’s beginning skating class. “She won the national title, but we’re looking toward even bigger things in the future.” Liu’s two record-breaking programs—loaded with eight triples in the free skate alone—put her in the record books twice: as the youngest skater in the history of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to land the triple
“To be a great coach, you can never stop learning, so I like to look at other legendary coaches as well... As I hope to one day become a legendary coach, I will never forget those that helped me.” Axel (to be clear: that was three triple Axels over the two programs) and the youngest U.S. national champion. “We have to aim higher and higher and never stand still,” Lipetsky said. “Everyone is going to work harder to try to beat her and we just have to keep working for greater heights.” While Lipetsky wasn’t surprised by Liu’s performances at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships— “She always steps up to a challenge and what she did is what she does in practice every day”—she was wowed by the recognition coming her way. “It never occurred to me that I would be named Coach of the Year,” said Lipetsky, who had been nominated in 2018 for Developmental Coach of the Year. “I never thought of the reward for me. All I think about is digging in and helping this girl to be the best in the world. And now it’s going to take a lot more of what we’ve been doing for her to get even better.” Talk about a sentiment fit for a Coach of the Year. “My drive comes from trying to get all of my students to be the best they can be,” Lipetsky said. “Whether it’s learning a waltz jump or the triple Axel or even basic skating skills, all of it takes a lot of work.” While Lipetsky is a regular at U.S. Figure Skating’s Athlete Acceleration Summit and Jump On It! camps, she was a first timer at the PSA Conference. “I really enjoyed the discussion on coach development that explained different coaching styles and brings awareness to evaluating yourself and how you coach,”
she said. “The best thing at the PSA conference was getting to hear Frank Carroll and Mr. Nick’s interview by Mitch Moyer. They are both legends in this sport and I enjoy hearing about their experiences as a coach. I was privileged to take from Frank Carroll and other great coaches. I am thankful to have Frank as a great mentor.” Lipetsky draws inspiration from many sources, citing basketball coach John Wooden: “Never forget those who helped you on your way up” and “Make each day your masterpiece.” “To be a great coach, you can never stop learning, so I like to look at other legendary coaches as well,” she said. “As I hope to one day become a legendary coach, I will never forget those that helped me. Also the skaters I coach, I hope to make an impact in their lives.” And when there’s continual learning to be done—and World and Olympic medals out there for the taking— Lipetsky has zero time for resting on her laurels. “Alysa is going into the Junior Grand Prix this season,” Lipetsky said. “There are a lot of eyes on us. It’s time to set the standard and stay ahead of everyone else out there. There are a lot more titles to be won.”
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BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES
Scott Riewald | PSA Conference
Parent Management B Y T E R R I M I L N E R TA R Q U I N I
I
t’s no secret that when a coach, athlete and parents have a symbiotic relationship, great things can happen. The challenge is in striking that peaceful and supportive balance. “It’s a three-way relationship,” said Scott Riewald, senior director of high performance for the USOC, “and all three of those pieces have to work together.” Currently, it’s a closeness that parents are even more insistent on. “In the current sports landscape, parents have more of a desire than ever to know what’s going on with their child’s development; the ‘holding them at arm’s length’ philosophy isn’t going to cut it,” Riewald said. “Parents want to know more, not less—and that is not an unrealistic expectation.” It can be a concept that sometimes strikes loathing in the hearts of coaches. “Yes, some parents can be difficult and challenging, but, at the end of the day, parents want to help—they just don’t know how to contribute,” Riewald said. “The person who has the most information and knowledge about what is trying to be accomplished and how to get there is the coach. That means you have a unique opportunity to invest some time to build a parent’s understanding and set a foundation that can be productive as the relationship moves forward.” Riewald presented to coaches with regards to performance management and parent engagement at the PSA conference in May.
1. Have a Coaching Philosophy—and be able to articulate it “What am I doing and why am I doing it?” Riewald said. “This philosophy serves as the foundation of your program. These are the non-negotiables that your program and coaching approach are based on. Being able to articulate what the cornerstones of your coaching are—and, by extension, what their child will experience—will help parents to understand the how’s and why’s.” These expectations travel on a two-way street, however. “It goes a long way with a parent if you lay out your
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accountability, too—those things they can count on you to deliver,” Riewald said. “You are not above reproach and it speaks to parents when they don’t feel like it’s just ‘my way or the highway.’ It reinforces you have some skin in the game if your approach discusses what you will hold them accountable for, as well as what they can expect from you.”
2. Establish Communication with Parents—and continue to touch base “In the absence of information, people will fill in the blanks with what they believe to be true—don’t allow that to happen,” Riewald said. “In the initial sit-down, talk about your philosophy and discuss the upcoming season and lay out the goals. Be clear about what your expectations are for tests and competitions and how you evaluate performance and progress and why you take the approach you do. It shows that you have thought out the next year and are not just shooting from the hip.” It also provides reasons as to how you are approaching things vs. how another coach might be. “There’s a much bigger push now, in all sports, to develop long-term athletes,” Riewald said. “Sometimes a focus on long-term athlete development means sacrificing showy, short-term gain for the greater long-haul good. You might get a parent who is saying that their child isn’t progressing as quickly as an athlete who has a different coach. Having your points clearly thought out and being able to go back and reference how this aligns with your coaching philosophy can help.” After the initial sit-down, periodically meeting with parents to revisit objectives, progress and specifics about how their son or daughter is developing can keep everyone on the same page. “It doesn’t have to take hours of time, but quick touchpoints throughout the season to reassess and providing time for parents to ask questions can diffuse potential problems,” Riewald said. “If you can communicate the larger plan, it gives everyone a better idea of the road map.”
3. Having Information at the Ready—educating yourself as well as parents “It is so important for a coach to be armed with information – things that they have learned and are also able to share to further a parent’s knowledge,” Riewald said. “As a coach, you can explain it to them, but, often, having information that comes from someone else, such as an outside expert, can be valuable.” Presenting information with the goal of coming to a common understanding can expand a parent’s understanding of why you are doing something the way you are and how they can fit into that more smoothly. “A coach can point to a specific article or piece of information and say, ‘This is what helped shape my philosophy,’” Riewald said. “That way, the parent can read the chapter or website and possibly see a different way to approach things. It’s important after you have passed on the information, however, to set up a time to talk about it and come to a common place. Also, be open to reading something they might have for you. Information can come from a lot of angles.”
4. Respect and Engagement—find ways in which the parents can engage with your program “If a parent wants to be involved with their child’s sport, maybe there is a way they can be of use at the facility, within the program or to you personally,” Riewald said. “For example, if you have a parent who is in the stands all of the time watching practice, maybe they could do video for you to use with your students.” Most well-intentioned parents just want to feel like they are being helpful in their own right.
“It’s certainly not going to remedy every situation, but sometimes, if you can stand back and look at things from a little different perspective, you might find an opportunity where they can help and they will feel useful,” he said “That can be a win-win.” Ultimately, coaches and parents usually want the same things for the athlete: goal achievement and positive growth lessons, both on and off the ice. And, interestingly, if successfully executed, a coach’s role and a parent’s role both evolve in similar ways. “I always say, ‘A good coach ultimately works herself or himself out of a job by empowering the athletes to take more control of their training and time in figure skating,’” Riewald said. “Now, in reality, that is not entirely true, as a coach always has a job, but the point is, over time, that job changes – the same as it does for parents.” There are a number of models one could use to discuss talent development, but one cited by Riewald, Bloom’s model, is a three-stage diagram that describes the foremost characteristics of athletes, coaches and parents during the talent development process and how those roles morph through the years. “A coach starts out constantly monitoring and being very responsible for all of the athlete’s skills, but part of them growing up is becoming more accountable for their own development,” Riewald said. “The same goes for parents: They started in a place that was very hands-on with their children and they were a critical part of that development, but eventually that development helps them be able to take the reins more and more. That is all healthy evolution.” Parents are a key part of the athlete-development puzzle and the true takeaway of Riewald’s message comes down to one central point that can cover a lot of ground: regular and open communication. “Coaches can run into problems when they aren’t able or willing to talk,” he said. “Get your philosophy clear, be able to discuss it and answer questions and be able to reference outside sources when needed. It’s always better to not get behind the eight-ball; communication can help you stay in front of it.”
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P ROF ESSIONAL S K ATE R S F O U NDATIO N
Roslyn Ferguson:
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A Generous PSF Donor
In April 2018, the estate of Roslyn Ferguson Heath generously donated $191,000 to the Skaters Fund! This amazing gift will allow us to assist more coaches facing financial hardship due to sickness, disability or age. Roslyn Sara Heath “Rone”, who was a member of the Professional Skaters Association since 1988, passed away in 2017 in Pueblo, Colorado. Rone started skating in Great Falls, Montana as a child and she graduated from high school in 1951. Her father was very active in the local skating club operations and she skated in many ice shows produced by the club in Great Falls. She later moved to Colorado. Rone devoted over 65 years to the art of figure skating and was involved with the Pueblo Plaza Ice Arena serving the rink for 35 years as a coach, skating director and pro shop manager. On behalf of the Foundation and the Professional Skaters Association, I would personally like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Rone and her family for this generous gift. Rone dedicated her life to skating, and we will use her gift to continue to assist the skating community. The Foundation has always relied on the continued support of its members and public to provide these resources for our skating community. If you are interested in contributing to the Foundation, or like Rone, would like to name the Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate, please contact Jimmie Santee. The Foundation is a tax exempt foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We are happy to work with your financial and legal advisors regarding any donations.
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CALENDAR of E V E N T S
SEPTEMBER
Date: September 11, 2019 Event: Webinar Topic: SafeSport Review Presenter: Shelbi Meyer Credits: 1 PSA credit Register: www.skatepsa.com
Dates: March 2-4, 2020 Event: PSA Ratings Prep Location: City National Arena, Las Vegas, NV Credits: TBD Deadline: January 27, 2020
Date: September 26, 2019 Event: Webinar Topic: Keeping Up with Choreography Presenter: Paula Wagener Credits: 1 PSA credit Register: www.skatepsa.com
Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
May 18-19, 2020 PSA Ratings – Registered thru Master Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Chicago, IL 1PSA credit per exam taken March 15, 2020
Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
May 20-23, 2020 PSA Summit and Tradeshow Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Chicago, IL 26-28 PSA credits April 15, 2020
Date: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
September 29, 2019 Foundations of Coaching Hertz Arena, Estero, FL 12 PSA credits September 1, 2019
Date: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
September 29, 2019 PSA Seminar Skating Club of Boston, Boston, MA 12 PSA credits September 6, 2019
MAY
Please visit www.skatepsa.com for the complete Calendar of Events
OCTOBER Date: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
October 6, 2019 PSA Seminar Bloomington Ice Gardens, Bloomington, MN 12 PSA credits September 20, 2019
NOVEMBER Date: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
MARCH Date: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:
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November 10, 2019 PSA Seminar Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH 12 PSA credits October 18, 2019
March 1-2, 2020 PSA Ratings – Registered thru Senior City National Arena, Las Vegas, NV 1PSA credit per exam taken January 3, 2020
SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2019
October 6th
National Coaches Day! Have fun celebrating with your skaters and don't forget to send us a photo – we will include them on our National Coaches Day Pinterest Board. Send a photo to jlsantee@skatepsa.com
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"Firebird" is the latest bronze by Meghan & Douglas Taylor-Gebler to join the PSA collection. It was unveiled at the 2019 PSA Conference in Palm Springs.
