S.T.A.R.S.
Coach Calla Urbanski and her skaters enjoy the fi rst-ever S.T.A.R.S. combine to be held in their training state of Florida. Below, students of Ilona Mel- nichenko in Coral Springs couldn’t wait to test their skills at the combine.
COACHES COME TOGETHER TO BRING STARS TO SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida continues to be an exciting
and growing market when it comes to devel- opmental fi gure skating. U.S. Figure Skating has been interested in getting S.T.A.R.S. to South Florida athletes for several years, but the timing and logistics were a ongoing chal- lenge. At U.S. Figure Skating’s 2013 Program Components Camp, Olympian and veteran coach Calla Urbanski attended a seminar, that focused on recovery nutrition and com- petition fueling. It was there Urbanski saw the value of bringing the testing program and sports science education to her athletes and immediately began lobbying to bring S.T.A.R.S. to her part of the country. At long last, the fi rst Florida S.T.A.R.S.
combine came together on June 7, 2015, at West Palm Beach Ice Works. T e combine could not have happened without the support of Urbanski and other area coaches, including Ilona Melnichenko, who recently helped coach Andrew Torgashev to the U.S. junior title. “As a coach, I look back and think, ‘I wish they had this when I skated,’ ” Urbans- ki said. “T is is an opportunity to get a U.S. Figure Skating program where the staff from headquarters who are working with the inter- national competitors come to your area and share information and resources our top ath- letes are using. “I was proud of the fact that so many dif-
ferent coaches, clubs and rinks came together to participate and support the S.T.A.R.S. pro- gram. In the past I noticed myself and other coaches from Florida traveling to other states in order to participate — it was such an honor to have this in our city and we hope they will be back next year.” Melnichenko, who coaches in nearby
Coral Springs, has been bringing her athletes to S.T.A.R.S. for several years in other loca- tions. She brought a number of her develop- mental and elite students to the West Palm
Beach combine and refl ected on her reasons for continuing to participate each year. “As a coach, I like how you can test your
athletes and fi nd out where they are and what they need to work on,” Melnichenko said. “As far as their on-ice progress, if you want them to step up to the next level, they are going to need to support what you are doing in regard to their off -ice training and athletic skills de- velopment. “When you come to S.T.A.R.S. and test and see that the level of athleticism is not there, they want to go back home and work hard on their off -ice training. For me it’s been very helpful — my athletes have increased their off -ice training frequency appropri- ately, especially now in the summer when it is the right time for them to be working on this. I actually make detailed schedules for all of them to work on the ice and then to do their off -ice as a group. What I also like about S.T.A.R.S. is the friendship and camaraderie for them to test together, to have good sports- manship and watch each other and cheer for each other.” S.T.A.R.S. has limited locations remain- ing in the 2015 season. Go to
www.STAR-
Scombine.org today to register.
SKATING 33
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