July 2014 An interview with Tom Zakrajsek. Tom competed in Men’s Singles and Pairs, then became a judge. But he’s made the biggest impact as a coach. Known for his technical coaching, he has groomed many elite skaters over the years including Ryan Bradley, Rachel Flatt, Jeremy Abbott, Max Aaron, Brandon Mroz, and Mirai Nagasu. He…
Read More
Author Christie Sausa has compiled a nice history of skating in Lake Placid, and all the forces that shaped the area that is now considered one of the best, if not most loved, skating centers in the United States. People go for the sheer beauty of the physical place alone, with its enviable location in…
Read More
June 2014An interview with Cecily Morrow. She’s a coach and former student of some of the best coaches out there (Carlo Fassi, Gustave Lussi, and Natalia Dubova). But her main and lasting contribution to the sport of figure skating has been her in-depth recordings of the teachings of Gustave Lussi and Natalia Dubova, through the video…
Read More
May 2014 An interview with Ryan Bradley, the 2011 US Figure Skating Champion, 3 time Collegiate Champion, coach and one of the favorites on the show circuit for his charisma on ice. Ryan talks about how he’s been able to develop that charisma and work with it, how he always wanted to be a “conversational skater,”…
Read More
April 2014 An interview with Sjoukje Dijkstra, the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies’ singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time European champion (1960–1964), and the six-time Dutch national champion (1959–1964). We talked about how she’s glad she became a figure skater rather than a speed skater, traveling and training in London as a youngster, and how much hairspray it…
Read More
March 2014 An interview with Silvia Fontana, 5-time Italian Champion, 2-time Winter Olympian (for the 2002 Salt Lake City games and the 2006 Torino Games), show skater, coach, reality TV star, and founder of Karisma Sportswear with her husband American pair skater John Zimmerman. She talked about working with Carlo Fassi, why her cats didn’t…
Read More
February 2014 An interview with the legendary Dick Button. What hasn’t he done? He’s practically the father of our sport (if Jackson Haines were Grandfather). The two-time Olympic Gold medalist invented many of the jumps and spins we see today, and he invented figure skating commentary. He’s a skater, producer, commentator, actor, truth-seeker, hall-of-famer, stirrer-upper,…
Read MoreI was asked to be a figure skating expert on John Letherby’s show on TSN 1050 Radio Toronto. Listen to my preview of the Olympic Pairs Free Skate.
Read More
January 2014 A compilation of short, live, off-the-cuff interviews with whomever I encountered at the 2014 United States Figure Skating Championships in Boston, MA. Interviews include choreographer and coach Doug Mattis, Peter Biver, Dick Button, Hayes Jenkins, David Jenkins and Carol Heiss, Jirina Ribbins, the mother/son team of Stan and Fran, some local fans and…
Read More
I was privileged to be able to attend all the Senior events last weekend in Boston. To see our Olympic team get chosen was a thrill, and the skaters for the most part delivered fantastic performances: there were very few splatfests or meltdowns. I got three full-length interviews, saw countless friends, watched amazing skating and…
Read More