O B I T UAR Y
Laws remembered as a ‘guiding force’
by BARB REICHERT After more than three decades and seven
Olympic Games as a broadcaster, Scott Hamilton chooses his words wisely. Tat’s what makes this sentiment so powerful: “Everything I am today is due to Don Laws,”
the 1984 Olympic champion said of his coach. “A husband, father, philanthropist. All of that is grounded in Don’s teaching. He took my work ethic, responsibility and drive for excellence and put my life in order. He poured everything he had in me.”
Laws, one of the sport’s most respected
coaches, died Dec. 2, 2014, in Sandy Spring, Maryland. He was 85. Hamilton visited his mentor in hospice
the day before he died. Tose close to Laws told Hamilton that the famed coach was “hanging on” to see him. “Being with him [in hospice] was a gift. To
know that I was able to impact his life …” Ham- ilton said as his voice trailed off. A two-time Olympic coach and member of
the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, Laws spent more than 60 years coaching such notable Amer- ican athletes as Hamilton and three-time U.S. champion Michael Weiss. He worked with the best in the business, including U.S. Hall of Fame choreographers Ricky Harris and Lori Nichol. “Don was one of my strongest guiding forces,
in ways I knew and in ways I had forgotten, long after the on-ice lessons were done,” Nichol said. “On the ice, he nurtured my creativity and devel- oped me as I was, not as I should have been for the times. He was such a visionary. He did so much for skaters, for skating, for people and peace.” Like all great coaches, Laws taught more than edges and jumps. In Hamilton, he had a de- termined and outgoing athlete whose confidence led him on a crusade to change the perception of the sport.
Laws decided to have his star pupil Scott Hamilton wear this sleek, form-fitting costume during his run to the 1984 Olympic title.
Don Laws is surrounded by close friends at his 85th birthday party, including 1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton and the family of Beverly Ann Menke, who helped pen Laws’ autobiography.
In 1983, Laws and Hamilton designed a
new competition outfit meant to accentuate the small-framed Hamilton’s athleticism. In sharp contrast to traditional skating costumes, the form-fitting one-piece resembled a speedskating uniform. Hamilton came to the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, as the two- time defending champ. It was the perfect place for coach and athlete to debut what they hoped would be a revolutionary outfit. “It feels like a million bucks,” Hamilton said
in a SKATING magazine article at the time. “I feel better when I put it on, automatically, I feel better about myself.” With Laws at the boards, Hamilton won
that year’s World title and famously won the 1984 Olympic title in Sarajevo wearing the one-piece outfit that is now on display at the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame. In all, Ham- ilton won four consecutive World and U.S. titles (1981–84) and under Laws did not lose a competi- tion from October 1980 to March 1984. “I look at everything I’ve accomplished and
experienced,” Hamilton said. “All of that is the foundation given to me by Don Laws. I wouldn’t have the credibility, name recognition or the plat- form for my dedication to ending cancer or mak- ing Haiti a better place. It really proves that the way we support others is a springboard, and it can start with just one person.” Laws’ skating career began at the Washing-
ton Figure Skating Club, where he and partner Mary Firth earned the 1948 U.S. junior ice dance crown. As a singles skater, Laws was 1950 U.S. ju- nior champion and a 1951 World Team member. After the 1951 World Championships
in Milan, Laws joined the U.S. Army Security Agency, which specialized in military intelligence during the Korean War. Upon returning to civilian life, Laws went into coaching, first in Canada, then in Wash- ington, D.C., and eventually accepting the head
38 JANUARY 2015
Laws skates on a pond in Korea during the war. This photo appears on the cover of Laws’ autobiography, titled Don Laws: The Life of an Olympic Skating Coach.
coaching position at the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, where he stayed for 21 years. He also coached in Denver, Atlanta, Maryland and Florida.
Laws was a member of the ISU Coaches
Commission, served on the ISU Singles and Pairs Committee, was president of the International Professional Skaters Union and was president of the Professional Skaters Association (1977–83). In 2005, the Michael Weiss Foundation cre-
ated the Donald E. Laws Distinguished Coach- ing Award and honored him for his lifetime of achievement. In 2012, Beverly Ann Menke helped Laws pen his autobiography, Don Laws: Te Life of an Olympic Skating Coach, which featured a forward by Hamilton. In the book, he recounts being in Philadelphia to send off the 1961 U.S. World Team, which then perished in a plane crash en route to Prague. Under great distress, Laws was part of the figure skating community that helped rebuild the U.S. program. Laws is survived by his brother, Willard
Laws; sister, Laura Keesling; and many nieces and nephews.
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