2020 Coaches of the Year

2020 Coaches of the Year: Jenni Meno-Sand, Todd Sand & Christine Fowler-Binder

By Terri Milner Tarquini

It helps in life and career to have a goal.

The 2020 PSA Coach(es) of the Year are clear on what theirs is: Return the United States to the pairs podium at the World level.

The coaching team of Jenni Meno-Sand, Todd Sand and Christine Fowler-Binder pack a one-two punch of loads of pairs experience, as well as a huge new facility, Great Park Ice & Fivepoint Arena in Southern California, that is set-up specifically to train pairs teams from beginning levels to elite.

“Todd, Jenni, and I have been teaching together for over 12 years,” said Fowler-Binder, a World, International and National coach and choreographer; past PSA president, and last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner. “When I moved here from the East Coast in 2007, Todd and Jenni had just started coaching. We had similar coaching styles and trusted each other right from the beginning.”

It has been an immensely successful partnership producing multiple National medalists: Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker (World team members 2012), Jessica Calalang and Zack Sidhu (Junior World Competitors, 2nd in Junior Pairs), Chelsea Lui and Brian Johnson (Junior World Competitors, 2nd in Junior pairs, Novice Pair Champions), and Ai Setoyama and David Botero (Novice National Champions).

“I think many years of collaboration, mutual respect and trust allowed us to break through in senior this year,” Fowler-Binder said.

“I consider myself very lucky to teach alongside them every day. They are the leaders of the team and I am there to support them. Jenni is excellent at managing all of us and motivating our skaters with run-throughs and training. Todd (an ISU technical specialist) has a great eye for detail and amazing technical knowledge. And I help with skating skills, footwork levels, and overall performance. We also have choreographers and off-ice trainers that help our skaters, too. It’s a great team approach.”

Team coaching can be tricky, and it is a unique relationship that needs to be defined and nurtured.

“Mutual respect and trust are big, but I also think that having the same coaching philosophy makes team teaching work,” Fowler-Binder said. “Making the right decisions for the well-being of your athletes, operating every day with morals and ethics, and being role models for your skaters is something we all strive for every day. And motivating our skaters to be the best they can be is how we try to approach every lesson.”

At Christine’s home when the coaching team found out they won the 2020 Coach of the Year Award

The trio’s teams started out the year with a bang at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, with Alexa and Chris Knierim staking claim to their third title in six years and the second-year team of Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson nabbing the silver medal.

“I think the best thing about the 2020 U.S. Championships was that both of our teams had memorable moments during the week – Alexa and Chris in the short program and Jessica and Brian in the free skate,” Meno-Sand said. “It was a very special week… there was a calmness and confidence within our group from the first practice. The teams had done everything they could to prepare and, to watch them both compete that way we knew they could, made the results even more special.”

The Sands, partners since 1992 and married in 1995, have a storied pairs history: two-time Olympians, 1998 World silver medalists, two-time World bronze medalists and three-time National champions.

“My favorite moment of the 2020 U.S. Championships was watching the four of our skaters meet each other backstage when the competition was over,” Meno-Sand said. “It was really special to see how truly happy they all were for each other. They had been training every day with each other – through good days and challenging days – and they knew the work they had all put in. It was a moment we’ll never forget.”

2016 Edi Awards Dinner when Todd and Jenni won Developmental Coaches of the Year Award

But, following a disappointing short program and withdrawl from the free skate at the ISU Four Continents Championships in February, Chris decided to quit skating, Alexa decided to continue on with a new partner, and Calalang and Johnson readied themselves to replace the Knierims at the World Figure Skating Championships in March.

And then, well, COVID.

“In March, our rink shut down just as Alexa and Brandon (Frazier, now Alexa’s partner) were doing their tryout and Jessica and Brian were about to depart for Worlds,” Meno-Sand said. “Our philosophy has always been, ‘You can only control what you can control.” So, from that point forward, we did what we could do with off-ice with our singles skaters and teams and focused on keeping everyone positive and healthy.”

The team continued to coach through the closures initially with Zoom lessons, then off-ice lessons before eventually returning to the ice.

“It was strange at first – social distancing, only 10 skaters and four coaches on the ice at one time – but at least we were on the ice and training, even if it was a fraction of their normal schedule,” Fowler-Binder said. “Jenni really pushed for our teams to get choreography done so that, if and when competitions begin, our teams are ready to go. Todd really focuses on the elements and attention to detail. I honestly think our teams have done a great job through this crazy time and are on track to compete in the near future.”

Unfortunately, the question of when travel and in-person events can resume is currently unanswerable, but it is a distinct possibility that these unsure times will result in a figure skating future that looks different.

The third annual Peggy Fleming Trophy went virtual when the event where it was scheduled to take place, the Broadmoor Open figure skating competition, was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Instead, the skaters recorded their programs at their home rink, submitted the videos, and were judged remotely by a panel of National, International, and Olympic judges.

2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with Chris Knierim, Alexa Scimeca Knierim, Jessica Calalang, and Brian Johnson

“These new, unique opportunities are exciting for the skaters,” Meno-Sand said. “I know U.S. Figure Skating has many ideas and we look forward to the challenge that this season will bring for all of us. These challenges will only make our athletes stronger mentally to have to adapt to different types of events. We plan to make the best of the opportunities that present themselves. As a coaching team, we’ve discussed ideas and plans for keeping it interesting for our teams as we navigate this unchartered season.”

At some time, however, logic would say that international competitions will have to resume and the last time a pairs team from the United States medaled at the World Figure Skating Championship was when the Sands did it in 1998.

It’s a draught they have their eye on ending.

“I would love to see U.S. pairs back on the World podium,” Meno-Sand said, “and I believe we are on our way.”