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THERAPEUTIC SKATING


cri-du-chat. Now a teenager, she started skating at age 8. Jiang’s mother has witnessed great improve- ment in her daughter’s skating, adding she’s be- come a star of sorts among teachers and friends at her school. “Alice competed in the Special Olympics and her classmates cheered her on and congratu- lated her on her skating,” her mother said. “Skat- ing has given Alice a tremendous confi dence boost, and she feels genuinely well-received by her peers.” In addition to improving their skills and en-


joying their time on the ice, STAR skaters also form a bond with their volunteer instructors, who are oftentimes around the same age as them. Both skaters and instructors reap the rewards of these relationships. “I just love hanging out with the kids, we’re like a big family,”said Anna Shepherd, a hockey player at Sugar Land who has been volunteering for about a year. “I heard about it and have al- ways thought it was such a great program. T en one day, they were short on instructors so I de- cided to step in and help out. I was hooked.” Many of the STAR skaters also attend the same schools as the volunteer instructors. “We’ve formed a bond that goes beyond the


rink,” volunteer and Sugar Land fi gure skater Katie Lebman said. “It makes them feel happier because they know they always have a friend to lean on.” T e youth instructors, Wylie said, have all matured and grown as sensitive and caring peo-


A volunteer instructor warms up and bonds with her eager student.


ple. Some have expressed the desire to pursue a professional career helping those less fortunate. T e SkateT erapy.org program currently has two locations, in Sugar Land, Texas, and in College Station, Texas. T eir brother branch, STAR Sled Hockey, is located at Memorial City, Houston. “We want to roll across the U.S.,” Wylie


said. “We are working on expanding SkateT era- py.org at other rinks. “It’s taken me a long time to realize what I was put on this earth for,” she added, “but now I have fi nally discovered it. It really is a passion.” For more information on starting a therapeutic


skating program in you area, contact Brenda Glide- well at bglidewell@usfi gureskating.org.


Do you remember your first skating lesson?


Who taught you an axel? Celebrating 75 Years of the Professional Skaters Association


A BOOK BY COACHES, ABOUT COACHES The Professional Skaters Association is celebrating its 75th


How did your coach change your skating and your life?


anniversary by creating a book about the history of coaching. The Joy of


Coaching is a 12” by 9” hardcover, a colorful chronicle of the people and events that shaped the PSA. The book, to be launched at the 2013 International Conference in Chicago in May, will tell the story of the PSA and how it grew from a small group of committed coaches into a 6,000-member education and certification organization. The Joy of Coaching is packed with photos, stories and memories from hundreds of coaches, young and old, grassroots and elite. Pre-order your book for $


25 today at www.skatepsa.com SKATING 39


Proceeds


from this book will go to the PSA Education Foundation


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