Damon Allen
Freestyle/MIF/Choreography
PSA Rating: Certified (Free Skating)
PSA Ranking: Level VIII
damonenrique@mac.com
Cell: 719-332-0674
Renowned for his expertise in developing athletes from a grassroots level up to a world level, Damon has choreographed for Junior National medalists, junior and senior US medalists, as well as International and World Junior medalists. During his competitive years, Damon was the 1991 US Junior Champion, a 2-time World University Silver Medalist, a World Junior Bronze Medalist and the 1995 US Pewter Medalist. He is a USFS triple Gold Medalist in Figures, Freestyle and Moves in the Field. In addition to his teaching and competitive career, Damon has performed, directed and choreographed for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, under the direction of Bietak Productions, aboard the ships Voyager and Explorer of the Seas. He also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with The Next Ice Age alongside Dorothy Hamill. Damon has demonstrated and presented at the Professional Skaters Association's National and World conferences. He was nominated for Developmental Coach of the Year in 2011 and won Developmental Coach of the Year in 2019. Damon currently holds a Level VIII ranking with the Professional Skaters Association and has coached multiple world competitors.
Becky Bradley
Freestyle/MIF/Spins
PSA Rating: Registered
pinksk8coach@comcast.net
Cell: 719-200-7489
Before starting her coaching career, Becky was a competitive skater training with Tom Zakrajsek from the Intermediate through Senior level, during which time she earned her Gold Medal in both Moves in the Field and Freestyle. Becky, who specialized in spins, began coaching in 1999 at the Colorado Springs World Arena with the Broadmoor Skating Club under the tutelage of Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin. She has assisted taking skaters to Junior Nationals, North American Challenge competitions, Junior Grand Prix Finals, Senior Grand Prix events, US Nationals, and the World Championships. She most recently coached her brother, 2011 US National Senior Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley at the 2011 US Championships and World Championships. In 2004, Becky received a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Janet Champion
Freestyle/MIF/Spins
PSA Rating: Master (Free Skating/Figures/MIF)
PSA Ranking: Level V
born.champion@me.com
www.janetchampion.com
Cell: 719-331-6713
Janet's passion for figure skating has not wavered since her first steps on ice at the age of 5. Janet’s skating career was truly unique, performing before thousands of people as a child star with the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies, and as an adult with Holiday on Ice. Along with figure skating, Janet was trained in classical Ballet, Acrobatics and Jazz dancing. Janet’s career as an ice show star transferred invaluably to her coaching career. She has trained skaters from Learn-to-Skate classes to medalists at US National, International and Junior World competitions. In addition, Janet’s work with spins has garnered her a reputation as a top Spin teacher, as she has been spin coach to several World and Olympic competitors.
Janet was elected to the PSA Board of governors four times and received the PSA Honorary Member and Lifetime Achievement award. She was highly instrumental in the PSA development of the Moves in the Field test structure as well as the recent revisions to Moves. Janet has Master PSA ratings in Figures, Free Skating, Moves in the Field and Group Instruction. She has taught seminars with John Nicks, Carlo Fassi, Kathy Casey and Frank Carroll and as a result of Janet’s early coaching success in California, she was invited to be a member of Carlo Fassi’s coaching team at the Broadmoor World Arena in 1987. Janet’s own career as a skating star along with her passion for figure skating and dedication to excellence has made her an asset to aspiring athletes of all levels. For her outstanding career in the sport, Janet was inducted into the PSA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012.
Elena Dostatni
Ice Dancing/Choreography/Skating Skills/Stretching/Posture/Ballet
elena@dostatni.com
Cell: 208-760-0129
Before starting her coaching career in Russia, Elena had a successful competitive Ice Dancing career during which she was a Russian National Team Member from 1999-2002. She was the Russian Junior National Champion in 2002, while capturing the Silver Medal in 2001 and Bronze Medal in 2000. She competed at the World Junior Championships three times, and was Ice Dancing Silver Medalist in 2002 and Bronze Medalist in 2001. Elena was a Gold Medalist at an impressive six Junior Grand Prix events, including the 2001 Junior Grand Prix Final. She also took home the Silver Medal at the 2000 Junior Grand Prix Final.
Before her coaching career began, Elena performed internationally with such shows as Nutcracker on Ice and Sensation on Ice in England, New Zealand and Australia. After coaching in Russia, Elena moved to the United States and worked with programs in Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan and Idaho before coming to the World Arena in 2011 to lead the facility’s Ice Dancing program. Elena is a U.S. National coach, and brings 15 years of experience teaching Ice Dancing, Moves in the Field, Skating Skills, Choreography, Ballet, Modern Dance and off-ice training.
Tammy Gambill
Freestyle
PSA Rating: Master
Tammyg92373@yahoo.com
Cell: 909-557-4785
Tammy has over 30 years coaching experience.
She was named the 2017 USFSA/PSA Coach of the Year. She was also named the USFSA/PSA Developmental Coach of the Year in 2005, 2012, and 2013. In addition Tammy won the United States Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year in 2005.
She has taught numerous Regional, Sectional, National and International Champions including Karen Chen, Vincent Zhou, Richard Dornbush, Yaro Paniot, Christy Leung, Brendan Kerry, Shotaro Omori and Dennis Phan.
Tammy has had national champions at every level in Ladies and Men.
She has taught quadruple jumps to many athletes including Vincent Zhou, Richard Dornbush, Brendan Kerry, Yaro Paniot, Shotaro Omori, Dennis Phan, Daisuke Murakami, and Philip Warren. Vincent was the first male to land the quadruple lutz at junior worlds, winning the title in 2017. He became the first and youngest male to land the quadruple lutz at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Korea.
Her World team and Jr. World team members include Karen Chen, Vincent Zhou, Richard Dornbush, Yaro Paniot, Brendan Kerry, Shotaro Omori, Dennis Phan, Christy Leung, Tammy Sutan, Tyler Pierce, Maisy Ma, and Amy Lin.
She has taught Skaters from beginner level to Olympic level.
Tammy is Master-Rated with the PSA in freestyle. She has served on the Board of Directors for U.S. Figure Skating and the Professional Skaters Association.
Logan Giulietti-Schmitt
Ice Dancing/Skating Skills/MIF/Choreography
Cell: 630-750-2950
Logan Giulietti-Schmitt, a Chicago-area native, began skating at age 3 and ice dancing at 12. He's a quadruple gold medalist in moves in the field, singles, free dance and pattern dance. With his longtime ice dance partner Lynn Kriengkrairut, Giulietti-Schmitt is the 2007 U.S. junior bronze medalist and 2012 U.S. pewter medalist. They were 8-time Team USA members, Junior World competitors and two-time international gold medalists. Giulietti-Schmitt finished his competitive career as a 2014 Four Continents team member and Olympic alternate. He trained under national, world and Olympic coaches James Santee, Pierre Panayi, Yaraslava Nacheava, Yuri Chesnichenko and Igor Shpilband.
As a skating coach, Giulietti-Schmitt has over 15 years experience in basic skills, moves in the field, ice dance, freestyle, hockey skills and more. Prior to relocating to Colorado in 2014, Giulietti-Schmitt lived and trained in Ann Arbor Michigan where he was the director of the Ann Arbor FSC Learn to Skate program for six years. He taught at several Colorado Springs area rinks for more than two years before moving to Dallas in 2017. In addition to working with more than 30 skaters in the DFW Metroplex and having several national competitors, Giulietti-Schmitt traveled around the country to consult clubs and serve as an ice dance partner for skaters taking tests of all levels. Now back in Colorado, Giulietti-Schmitt hopes to have a long and established career working at the Broadmoor World Arena.
Rich Griffin
Ice Dancing/MIF
PSA Rating: Master (Free Dance/Dance)
Richardgriffin277@gmail.com
Home: 719-634-0938
Cell: 719-339-7255
Rich has 33 years of coaching experience and is a PSA Master Rated Coach in Dance and Free Dance. Specializing in coaching Dance, Moves in the Field, and Stroking, he has coached US National, Sectional, and Regional medalists.
In his competitive career, Rich was a USFS Double Gold Medalist in Dance and Free Dance as well as a US National Junior Dance Silver Medalist, and Pacific Coast Sectional and Regional Junior Dance Champion. Rich has a BS degree in Public Administration and owns and operates Colorado Skate Tech, Inc., where he has more than 35 years experience sharpening skates for numerous past and current World and National champions.
Ryan Jahnke
Freestyle/MIF/Choreography
PSA Rating: Master (Free Skating/MIF)
jahnker@toast.net
Cell: 719-210-5517
Ryan's mission as a coach is to instill greatness and search for excellence every day in every skater. He seeks to maximize each skater's God-given abilities with whatever resources are available in this pursuit. He wants the skaters he works with to be champions in sport and in life.
Ryan began coaching during his successful competitive skating career where he spent 10 years on the U.S. Figure Skating Team and placed at the U.S. National Championships 7 times. He now holds a Professional Skaters Association Master Rating in both Freestyle and Moves in the Field. Besides those two specialties, Ryan also works extensively to choreograph programs and develop skating skills. He has had students medal at Junior Nationals as well as compete at the U.S. National Championships.
Natalya Khazova
Freestyle/MIF/Choreography/Ballet/Stretch
styleskating@gmail.com
Cell: 719-641-8420
Natalya is a US National and International coach and choreographer as well as a former Russian National and International competitor. Her background includes working with the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet Company for 5 years and performing the principle roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker (among other productions) during world tours.
She earned her Master’s degree in Coaching Figure Skating at the Russian State University of Physical Education and Sport in Moscow, from which she graduated with Honors in 1990. Her qualifications and background coupled with her 35 years of coaching experience in all disciplines of figure skating have enhanced many National, World and Olympic competitors’ training programs. Natalya offers a complete package for off the ice and on the ice training to achieve best results in championship skating. She is a PSA and US Figure Skating member, and has been coaching at the World Arena for the past 25 years.
Stephanie Kuban
Freestyle/Pairs/MITF/Spins/Technical Specialist
PSA Rating: Basic Accreditation
PSA Ranking: Level VI
stephaniekuban@gmail.com
Cell: 719-659-7309
Stephanie began her skating career in Austin, TX at the age of 8. After winning medals at Regionals in the non-qualifying levels, she moved to Colorado Springs to train under Tom Zakrajsek, Becky Calvin and Becky Bradley. Soon after, she began skating pairs under Dalilah Sappenfield. During her competitive career, Stephanie was a 5-time National competitor in both singles and pairs. After her competitive career, Stephanie skated professionally with Willy Bietak Productions and Jeb Rand Productions for 5 years. As a principal skater in each show, she has skated in shows all over the United States, as well as in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Japan. In her young teaching career, she has assisted in taking skaters to Sectionals and U.S. Nationals and has a national medal as a coach.
Stephanie’s coaching philosophy is that skating is about having fun, learning who you are, gaining self-confidence, figuring out how to push yourself not only physically, but mentally as well... and discovering the skater’s real potential.
Catarina Lindgren
Choreography / Skating Skills / Compulsory Figures / MIF / Spins
iskatt2000@gmail.com
Cell: 719-201-9379
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8_A6VYT95Nslf42a87mfsA
Catarina has choreographed for National, International, World and Olympic competitors. She was a four-time Swedish Champion, and a World and Olympic competitor during her amateur skating career. She was a starring performer in Ice Capades for 8 years before becoming a a principal skater with the Torvill & Dean World Tour, also performing in TV-specials, stage shows and various shows across the world.
After a 10 year professional career, Catarina turned to choreography. She choreographed the Disney On Ice Princess Classics show with Tom Dickson, and most recently choreographed the skating scenes for the motion picture about the legendary Sonja Henie, Sonja: The White Swan. Shown at the Sundance Film Festival 2019. Presently available to view on Amazon Prime.
When working with competitive skaters, she uses her background and vast experience as a performer and choreographer, to inspire a love for skating and aims to create beauty and theater on the ice, with the goal to move an audience. Having competed 10 years of compulsory figures, which are what all turns and edges required in step sequences are based on, she is uniquely qualified to teach skaters correct technique and flow on the blade to master control of the beautiful art of figure skating.
Drew Meekins
On & Off-Ice Movement/Skating Skills/Choreography/Freestyle/Pairs/MIF
World Junior Champion
National and International Champion
Professional Dancer
meekins.drew@gmail.com
Cell: 617-699-7283
Drew Meekins is a figure skating coach and choreographer at the Broadmoor World Arena Ice Hall, a US Olympic Training Site. He has worked with skaters at the national, international and world level.
Meekins specializes in teaching on and off-ice movement technique, choreography, skating skills and also has extensive experience in training jump technique, pair skating technique and training athletes for competitive performance. It is his mission to help develop and refine the multitude of life skills a skater can learn through hard work, discipline and goal setting, which can be applied to achieve success and happiness in one's career and personal life.
During his competitive career, Meekins was a member of Team USA for 5 years and is the 2006 World Junior Pairs Champion, 2004 National Novice Pairs Champion, and Senior Grand Prix competitor. Meekins is also a US Figure Skating triple-gold medalist in freestyle, pairs and moves in the field.
Meekins has always studied dance closely and following his competitive career studied modern dance, dance composition and dance history academically, as well as with several dance companies in Colorado. He has performed as a professional dancer in multiple shows, including most recently with the Interweave Dance Theatre as part of the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop in Boulder, Colorado.
Meekins has the unique combination of being a world class figure skater and professional dancer, which has led him to the root of his passion in teaching—bridging the gap between dance and skating and truly translating off-ice movement to on-ice artistry and improvements in program component scores.
Natalia Mishkutionok
Singles/Pairs/MIF/Skating Skills/Off-Ice
Cell: 817-528-8400
Natalia is an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, as well as two time World & European Champion representing the former USSR, Unified Team, and Russia. She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Natalia's structural training was developed under Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin's coaching technique. She holds a Masters degree in Physical Education from the Lesgaft University of Physical Education, Sport and Health in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Natalia has been coaching in the United States since 1996. After 25 years of coaching experience, Natalia strongly believes that a healthy mental relationship between a young athlete and a coach is the key to unlocking an athlete’s full potential. As a head coach, she developed individual complex training programs for athletes that help achieve results. She is a National and World coah and has been coaching pairs and single skaters to win medals at National and International competitions.
Eddie Shipstad
Freestyle/MIF/Pole Harness
PSA Rating: Master (Free Skating)
PSA Ranking: Level V
ProSk8rEd@aol.com
eddie@shipstadentertainment.com
Cell: 303-947-6113
Eddie trained at the Broadmoor World Arena and competed for the Broadmoor Skating Club for most of his career under world renowned coaches Christy Krall, Barbara Roles, Diane Miller, Rubin Huron, Carlo Fassi, and Christy Fassi. He was a five-time US National Competitor and US Nationals Novice Silver Medalist. He also won the United States Collegiate Championships as a Senior competitor. Eddie is a US Figure Skating double Gold Medalist in Figures and Freestyle, as well as a PSA Master Rated coach and a former board member of the Professional Skaters Association. He has taught at the World Championships, Junior World Championships, US National Championships, and many Senior and Junior Grand Prix Events. Eddie also specializes in the portable jumping harness and has has worked with skaters from 13 countries including multiple US National Champions, Olympians, and World competitors including the current World Champion Patrick Chan. Eddie also has his Level V ranking with the Professional Skaters’ Association.
After Eddie’s competitive career, he toured as a principal skater with Disney’s World on Ice in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. He was the Director of Figure Skating at the University of Denver from 1999-2004 where he directed the number one youth training skating camp in the country for four years as well as directing many successful shows featuring world champions Todd Eldredge and Kurt Browning.
Eddie’s grandfather started the first-ever traveling ice show, the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies in 1936. Eddie is continuing his family’s tradition of ice show production by owning Shipstad Entertainment, an ice show company that specializes in corporate events, holiday shows, and stationary productions that have performed in the United States and Mexico including recently at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.
Sandy Straub
Freestyle/Video Analyst/Jump coach/Hockey Power skating/MIF
U.S. National Champion (Jr. Ladies)
Straub.sandy@gmail.com
Cell: 714-402-6260
Before starting her coaching career Sandy was a 2005 National Junior Champion as well as a National and International competitor for 9 years. After her competitive career she toured as a principle skater for Disney on Ice. She is a USFS Double Gold Medalist and a DartFish Analyst for figure skaters as well as hockey players. Sandy provides video analysis for jump specific technique for all ages and levels of figure skating. She also provides stride, transitions, and explosive skating technique for the hockey community. The combination of her visual training tools and athletic experiences will enhance the athletes training to be most productive.
Tom Zakrajsek
Freestyle/Off-Ice Jump Training
PSA Rating: Master (Free Skating); Certified (Pairs)
PSA Ranking: Level VII
tomzak1@msn.com
Cell: 719-491-9050
http://coachtomz.com/
Tom Zakrajsek (pronounced Za cry sheck) has been coaching figure skating in the United States since 1990. He has coached many regional, sectional, national and international champions, including US Champions Max Aaron-2013, Rachael Flatt-2010 (for 11 years), Ryan Bradley-2011 (for 22 years) and Jeremy Abbott-2009 (for 10 years). In all, his 20 national champions have won 24 titles. Most recently, his skaters include 2018 Olympians Mirai Nagasu and Vincent Zhou and 2019 Korean Ladies Champion, Young You.
He has developed Abbott, Bradley and Flatt from the beginning levels of skating all the way to their National titles and the World Team; and with Flatt, the Olympic Games. Tom has taught triple axels and quadruple jumps to more different male skaters than any other coach in the world. In 2018, Nagasu became the first woman from the United States to land a triple axel at the Olympic Games as well as the first woman to land eight clean triples in a free skating program. Zhou became the first man in the world to land a quadruple lutz and quadruple flip in a short program at the Olympic Games.
His primary emphasis in coaching is jump technique and training his athletes for competition performance. He takes a great deal of pride in having developed skaters from the learn-to-skate to the national and international level. His coaching philosophy emphasizes goal setting, hard work, discipline and the acquisition of life skills. In 2018 in conjunction with the other coaches and management of the Broadmoor World Arena, Tom created the World Arena Skating Academy. He currently serves as its President.
Tom graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in Journalism and English. In 2001, he received his master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Colorado-CS. In 1999, Tom was named United States Figure Skating Developmental Coach of the Year. In 2009, Tom was named PSA Coach of the Year. In 2018, Tom was awarded the Order of Ikkos from the United States Olympic Committee for his coaching excellence with Mirai Nagasu at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. Tom has published four e-workbooks: Basic Training 101: Periodization Principles for Figure Skaters, Go For The Goal!, Come Skate With Us: How To Practice Figure Skating and Perfect Your Process: How To Practice Figure Skating Vol. 2 and are available on his website CoachTomZ.com.