Katie Cousins
Figure Skating Instructor
Coaching levels: All - basic skills, MIF, singles
Home rink: Compton Family Ice Arena
Figure Skating Instructor
Coaching levels: All - basic skills, MIF, singles
Home rink: Compton Family Ice Arena
My philosophy as a coach is following the skater's path and providing guidance and my expertise to help skater's reach their long and short term goals. I believe in creating a well-rounded skater and building knowledge of the many aspects of the sport.
Skating is not a one track sport. There are recreational skaters who just want to learn the art of skating. There are competitive skaters who enjoy competition. There are skater's that want to do a little bit of both. I believe every skater is different and which ever path your skater chooses or evolves into I will do my best to support their journey and give them the tools they need to succeed and ultimately take ownership in their skating.
An area of skating that I am very passionate about are skating skills. Many skaters are drawn to the sport because of the big jumps and fast spins. While those aspects of skating are essential, I truly believe the best skaters have high quality skating skills.
Skating skills can be broken down to several categories: correct blade usage, 4 basic edges, implementation of power/edge quality/extension and quickness, body alignment, knee and ankle bend, body lean, flow. If you ever watch an elite figure skater step on the ice and just skate, watch their blade and how it moves across the ice. It looks as if it is increasing with speed and flow yet it looks effortless. That is a product of high quality skating skills. I believe having good skating skills has a direct effect on jumps and spins. If a skater has good control of their blade they can maneuver their edge to make a spin go faster or create a deeper edge to make a double jump get more height. I have found that the better the skating skills the easier it is to learn more complicated jumps and spins. The development of skating skills will benefit a skater in so many ways in the long run and to me it is what makes skating enjoyable.
As a coach I highly suggest going through US Figure Skating Moves in the Field tests. These tests are designed to create high quality skating skills.
I am based out of Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana. Please contact me for pricing and availability.