Andrea Mohns-Brillaud - Boston University Figure Skating Club and Phillips Academy Skating School
Hometown: North Andover, Massachusetts
What club do you currently coach for?
The Boston University Figure Skating Club and Phillips Academy Skating School.
How long have you been coaching?
I have been coaching for over 35 years.
How did you start coaching?
My coaches at the Skating Club of Boston asked me to help with some of their skaters and I discovered how much I loved to share what I had been taught.
What from your coaching career are you most proud of?
The thing I am most proud of is being part of a skater's journey. I love watching them grow into happy, healthy and successful adults because of the confidence that skating gives them.
What drives/inspires you as a coach?
My own coaches were my mentors and part of my support system growing up. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I had to work with each and every one of them. I hope to be that person for my skaters.
What advice would you give to new or developing coaches?
One of my coaches once said to me " Don't ever think that you are too good to teach someone. Every person deserves the chance to learn." That has stuck with me, my whole career.
Carey Tinkelenberg – Northfield Skating School
Hometown: Originally, Harvard, Massachusetts. Currently, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
What club do you currently coach for?
I'm the founding director and head coach of the Northfield Skating School, and I coach with Shattuck-St. Mary's Figure Skating Center of Excellence, SQSA Parade and various hockey associations in Minnesota. I'm also an International Coach Developer with the ISU.
How long have you been coaching?
23 years
How did you start coaching?
I began co-teaching and subbing for my coaches at my childhood home club, Colonial FSC, before coaching Learn to Skate throughout college and starting Northfield Skating School when I graduated.
What from your coaching career are you most proud of?
There are a few things. Creating our school and cultivating an ongoing positive and professional culture. Challenging my athletes to achieve their potential and find the rewards they want to find through skating. The high proportion of my students who become coaches.
On a personal level, being awarded the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative's Making a Difference Award for positive impact on local youth and the PSA President's Award for the Upper Great Lakes region last year.
What drives/inspires you as a coach?
Simply put, it's our school's motto and mission: "Building Skills and Confidence for Skating and for Life." It's a calling, heavily influenced by the impact of my own coaches as an athlete.
What advice would you give to new or developing coaches?
Treat it as a profession, even if it's part-time for you. Use your resources and take ownership of your development. Seek out mentors and education opportunities. There's a part of it that will always be trial by fire and developing your best judgment — don't be afraid of that. Try what feels right and make it your own.
Debbie Stoery – Chicago Figure Skating Club
Hometown: Northbrook, Illinois
What club do you currently coach for?
Chicago Figure Skating Club
How long have you been coaching?
53 ½ years
How did you start coaching?
My choreographer for the Junior Miss Pageant talent show saw a video of a skating routine and asked me to join her staff since my scholarship award for 1st runner-up caused me to be considered professional by the standards of 1970 (when I was seventeen).
What from your coaching career are you most proud of?
Wonderful relationships with former students as they value that I cared for their health and safety, academic pursuits and overall wellbeing — although being credited for four new elements is quite special and I continue to be touched by the number of coaches who have appreciated my mentorship and personal leadership.
What drives/inspires you as a coach?
I believe that children and teenagers are the absolute finest people on the planet and I love sharing “space” (hopes and dreams, worries and complaints) with them, although I do cherish my adult students since they appreciate the tiniest successes. I love challenging myself to create success in five-minute increments and educating and empowering my students to create success in their own practice in ten-minute increments. That empowerment is my greatest reward, but I do love competitions!
What advice would you give to new or developing coaches?
Devote as much time as possible to understanding the biochemistry of human skill acquisition as well as biomechanics and stay current with developments in those fields.
Tiffany McNeil – Figure Skating Club of Park City
Hometown: Oakley, Utah
What club do you currently coach for?
Figure Skating Club of Park City
How long have you been coaching?
15 years
How did you start coaching?
I was coaching in college and interning at a physical therapy clinic, preparing to go to physical therapy school. One day the physical therapist that I was shadowing looked at me and said, "All you do is talk about skating and your love for it, why don't you make it your career."
What from your coaching career are you most proud of?
I have loved building skaters from swizzles to triples and then watching them continue to skate in college. I have a goal to instill a lifelong love for the sport in each athlete.
What drives/inspires you as a coach?
The athletes do. Seeing their motivation and perseverance toward reaching their goals only inspires me to help them achieve it every step of the way. I also have set goals for myself as a coach that continually keep me moving forward. One large goal is to help 100 athletes get their senior free skate test.
What advice would you give to new or developing coaches?
Never stop learning because life never stops teaching. There is always something you can learn from each student, each interaction and each experience. Find the opportunity to learn and immerse yourself in it.
