By: Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz
At the Bog Skating Club in Kingston, Massachusetts, figure skating is more than a sport — it's a family tradition. Not one, not two, but three families currently have three generations lacing up their skates and sharing the ice.
Grandparents, parents and children are spinning, jumping and carving fresh edges, and together they are proving that a love for skating doesn't just endure, it's passed down one generation at a time.
Sally Marrano of Pembroke, Massachusetts, actually began skating on a real bog when she was 2. She loved the sport so much that her parents signed her up for lessons.
"I was one of the youngest in the U.S. to pass my preliminary figures," Marrano said. "I competed in regionals, sectionals and did numerous ice shows. My career highlight was becoming the 1985 New England intermediate ladies championship bronze medalist."
Today, Marrano coaches at the Bog Skating Club. She introduced her daughter, Eden Hale, to skating when Eden was 5.
"Being her coach and her mom was so special. We had so many magical memories," Marrano said.
Today, Hale is skating with her three young girls, Gia, Lilliana and Ava — Marrano's granddaughters— and working to complete her own skating tests.
"Skating alongside all of my daughters, and watching them skate with my mom, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to share these moments together," Hale said. "Skating at the Bog Club has been a truly amazing experience for our family. Everyone is so supportive and kind to my girls. It really feels like a second home and one big family."
Michele Kelley is also a Bog Club coach.
Michele Kelley's family (l-r) Cori Small, Jocelyn Small, Michele Kelley
"My skating career began when I took a group lesson with Maribel Vincent Owen at the age of 9 in 1959," Kelley said. "I fell in love with her and the sport immediately."
Kelley's daughter, Cori Small, knew she wanted to take to the ice after attending a skating competition with her mom.
"I watched her put her students on the ice, and I knew I wanted to do that, too," Small said.
Small skated for a while at the Pilgrim Arena and the International Skating Center of Connecticut while attending the University of Hartford.
"After returning home, I taught classes for my mom back at Pilgrim. I took a few years off teaching to start a family, and when I returned, I started growing my private lessons roster as well as teaching tot classes," Small said. Fifteen years later, I still teach skating, but now I'm at the Bog in Kingston, teaching alongside my mom while my daughter Jocelyn skates."
Small also coaches Overture of Boston, an adaptive Theatre on Ice team at The Skating Club of Boston. Her daughter Jocelyn is a mentor on the team.
"Last year the team went to TOI for the first time and won the national title," Small said. "They were asked to showcase at the Nations Cup this coming April in Michigan, and we will travel together to watch them skate."
The Sally Marrano family (top row, l-r) Eden Hale, Sally Marrano; bottom row (l-r) Hale's daughters, Gia, Lilliana and Ava.
For Jocelyn Small, this family time is special.
"I love skating with my Mom and Nana," Jocelyn said. "Being a busy teenager, I always knew I would have time every day with my Mom and Nana, because we would be at the Bog together."
Margot Marino began skating at 10 at the North Shore Skating Club, north of Boston. After a successful competitive career, she founded the Metropolitan Skating School in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with Sidney Arnold, for 45 years, and later began the Pilgrim Skating Club with two fellow coaches. Today, Marino still proudly teaches skating at the Bourne Skating Club and teaches her granddaughters, Kayley and Addison, when they skate at Bog.
"Passing skating down to my children and grandchildren has been the joy of my life," Marino said. "I have loved teaching the group skaters and those who really want to learn, like my own children and grandchildren."
Marino's family is definitely a skating family, which includes daughter Caitlin Lang, Lang's twin daughters, Kayley and Addison; Caitlin's sister, Jena Hanlon; and Jena's two daughters, Lilli and Michaela.
Marino's son, Larry, and grandson, Kellan, are involved in hockey.
Lang coaches at the Bourne Skating Club and also at the Bog Skating Club.
"As the mom of twins, I wanted to pass down this sport to them because I saw how much joy it brought to my mom and me," Lang said. "I saw the bond it instilled in me, and my mom and I wanted the same for my daughters."
For Kayley Lang, the family support is everything.
"Ever since day one on the ice, I have always had guidance, love, laughter and so much support from everyone. I love getting to share this special sport with the people I love," Kayley said.
And in the end, it's all about creating special skating memories.
"Skating together makes my heart full," Kayley said. "I love how we get to see each other all the time and stay so closely connected with one another through this sport. Most families don't get this special bond as we do. I will always cherish it."
