WHERE ARE THEY NOW? POSITIVE


INFLUENCE Jahnke teaches students to be their best


by KAMA KORVELA


but more importantly his integrity and commit- ment to his faith and family. From the early years of his career to the present day, he has maintained his positive attitude. In 1999, Jahnke left Michigan to follow


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his longtime coach Diana Ronayne to Colorado Springs, Colo., to train at the World Arena. Te move came at a significant time in his skating ca- reer. He was known as an athlete who had the unique ability to interpret many different styles of music and wonderful edgework, but both he and Ronayne knew it was time to take his skating to a new level. Little did Jahnke know the move wouldn’t


just mean a change in his skating, but in his per- sonal life as well. “About a year after I came to Colorado


Springs, I met my future wife Tashiana,” he said. “She was working at the World Arena at the time.”


Always a person who followed his own dis-


tinct path, Jahnke did something few elite skaters did while still competing — he and Tashiana got married on June 1, 2002. Te season following his wedding proved to


be a pivotal one for him. At the 2003 U.S. Cham- pionships, Jahnke gave a stirring, crowd-pleasing free skate and earned a spot on the World Cham- pionships team, which were being held in Wash- ington, D.C. He performed beautifully in the preliminary


round of the World Championships, placing him among the top six skaters. Tough he eventually finished 13th, Jahnke remembers the event with fondness.


“Te 2003 World Championships were the highlight of my (amateur) career, without a doubt,” he said. “It really opened my eyes to what I could do in skating.” Diana Ronayne, who coached Jahnke his en-


tire amateur career, was particularly proud of her student that day. “Ryan put all of his capabilities together in


that moment,” she said. Upon retiring from competitive skating in 2006, Jahnke stayed in Colorado Springs and be-


10 JUNE/JULY 2012


yan Jahnke is living proof of the power of positive thinking. Many skating enthusiasts remember the joy he showed during his performances,


came a coach, as well as resuming his studies at the University of Colorado. He was eager to pass on the knowledge and the tools he had learned during his 20 years of competing.


“I want to teach my students to pursue ex-


cellence every day and take personal responsibil- ity,” he explained. “I want them to make the most of their God-given gifts and live a really fulfilled life.”


Singles skater Lydia Menscher has worked


with Jahnke since August 2010. His influence has undoubtedly helped to build her confidence in her skating ability. “Ryan is a very positive person — he always has something encouraging to say,” she said. “He teaches you to have the right mindset. Even if I say something negative about myself, Ryan will tell me about the importance of being positive and to focus on the present.” Menscher feels the support Jahnke gives her


is invaluable. “Even if our goal seems far away, he always makes me feel like I can do anything,” she said. Ronayne is equally impressed with her for-


mer pupil’s coaching skills. “Ryan is a very dedicated person as a coach and includes the whole development of the ath- lete and person in his coaching,” she said. One thing that differentiates Jahnke as a


coach is his weekly “Train Your Brain” classes. He wants his students to understand the importance of mental skills. “It is almost impossible to master the emo- tional side of the sport,” he said. “And sometimes the harder you try, the more your skating suffers. It is so tricky to find the right balance between ‘making it happen’ and ‘letting it happen’ in a performance.” Jahnke, who also serves on the Athletes Ad-


visory Committee for U.S. Figure Skating, not only requires excellence from his students but also himself. Tis quality is evident in his own skating. In recent years, he has taken up ice dance and has passed several of his tests. He frequently skates in shows as well. “He can still do a triple Axel, which I think


is pretty impressive,” Menscher said. Another way Jahnke stays connected to the


sport is through his website, MySkatingMall. com. Te site, which launched in March 2010,


allows skaters to buy and sell new and used skat- ing items, including dresses, costumes, skates and blades. A portion of every purchase — between 5 percent and 90 percent — raises money for registered skating clubs, teams and charities. One of the recipients is the U.S. Figure Skating Me- morial Fund. MySkatingMall.com has donated $1,926 to the fund so far. “I feel blessed from what I’ve received from


skating,” he said. “Tis is a way of giving back.” Te site provides many options for skaters


to purchase equipment and other items at a dis- counted rate. “It’s my desire that anyone who wants to


skate can,” Jahnke said. “For example, a costume might be worn six times during a season, and then it just sits in a closet somewhere. MySkat- ingMall.com provides a place to sell them and the cost is much lower to the buyer.” As for the site’s name, one of Jahnke’s men-


tors provided some valuable insight. “Paul Wylie (the 1992 Olympic silver med- alist) actually helped me to come up with the name,” he said. “I was kicking around some ideas and he encouraged me to think bigger.” Jahnke also reaches out to skaters with his


blog on MySkatingMall.com. It’s another way to pass along the wisdom he has learned throughout the years to the next generation of athletes, he said.


While his passion for young skaters is un- deniable, perhaps the person Jahnke most wants to influence is his newborn son, Zayin, who was born on November 15, 2011. A devout Chris- tian, his son’s unusual name has a special mean- ing, Jahnke says. “It comes from Psalms 119,” he said. “It


means ‘light returning to God.’” Te “light” Jahnke reflects in his own life is


the result of positive life choices. He hopes to en- courage others to live with integrity. “I want to help young people and lead them to be champions in sport and in life,” he said. “Tey need to know there are bigger lessons in life than being able to do an Axel.” For more information on Ryan Jahnke,


check out: www.MySkatingMall.com www.MySkatingMall.com/blog/ http://www.youtube.com/user/Myskating-


mall.


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