S.T.A.R.S.
Cain and Brown snap a selfi e with their Broadmoor Open trophies. The duo left for California a few hours later.
Jason Brown and Ashley Cain congratulate Sophia Kim for her success at the S.T.A.R.S. combine in Redwood City, Calif. Stars align
Brown, Cain share insight with Bay Area athletes Less than 24 hours after their wins at the
Story and photos by PETER ZAPALO Cain demonstrates a lightning quick hex jump while trainer Bart Lunsford records her time.
2014 Broadmoor Open in Colorado Springs, Colo., Olympic bronze medalist Jason Brown and 2014 Grand Prix Series competitor Ashley Cain jumped on a plane to San Francisco for the Bay Area S.T.A.R.S. combine. Brown and Cain, the top scoring male and
female S.T.A.R.S. athletes of the 2013 season, ar- rived to support the S.T.A.R.S. camp in Redwood City, Calif., which won a contest by generating the most individual registrations for the 2014 campaign. S.T.A.R.S. is U.S. Figure Skating’s off - ice testing program that evaluates developmental skaters through the most competitive levels in key areas of agility, balance, coordination, strength, power and fl exibility. Brown and Cain stayed busy on Twitter as
they boarded the plane in Denver, despite the few hours they had slept the previous night and their competition-fatigued bodies. Brown tweeted: “Off to #SanJose for the day with @icegirlash & Peter for STARS combine!! Can’t wait to meet all the testing athletes!” S.T.A.R.S. veteran professional and coor-
dinator Crystal Smith anchored the combine in Redwood City, with the assistance of many return- ing trainers and Team USA doctors. S.T.A.R.S., now in its fourth year, provides analysis showing not only how athletes compare with their peers, but how the athlete is improving in each of the 15 athletic tests. T is is a good indicator for athletes and coaches in terms of knowing where their ath- letic training focus should be and if they are stay- ing injury-resistant. When the athletes are able to
44 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014
track their progress year to year, it helps coaches and trainers make adjustments to optimize train- ing gains and correct any weaknesses that might be holding back skills development on the ice. Beginning in the 2013 S.T.A.R.S. season,
U.S. Figure Skating added an educational com- ponent to the testing combines. T e educational program this year is titled “Recovery Nutrition and Competition Day Fueling.” Brown and Cain addressed a large crowd of engaged athletes, par- ents and coaches on the topic and shared their in- sights on how performance nutrition has impact- ed their evolution as international competitors.
PHOTO BY DARLENE CAIN
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