Competitive Training

The Skating Club of Boston has a rich history of supporting its athletes in their pursuit of personal dreams and greatness. The Club’s state-of-the-art training facilities are open to every member with skating privileges, and are designed to enhance an athlete’s training in every discipline. In addition to comprehensive facilities and robust coaching, it takes the right attitude, approach and commitment to become a competitive athlete.

World-Class Coaching

The competitive coaching staff at The Skating Club of Boston have all experienced competitive success, and they are eager to share their skills with the next generation of competitive skaters. The team, comprised of Olympians, World Team Members and National Champions of every level, and specialists of every kind, connect Club skaters with the tools and techniques necessary to fulfill their dreams. We encourage every member to explore the biographies, backgrounds and training philosophies of all its coaches on the Coaches page of the Club website.

World-Class Seminars

The Club consistently brings a variety of the sports top names from across the world to the Club every season to present on-ice seminars and camps of every type to further enrich the training of the Club’s athletes. Recent seminars include those by Tom Zakrajsek, Randy Gardner, Peter Carruthers, Audrey Weisiger, Doug Webster and Brian Orser, covering topics from power skating, edge work, jumps and spins to choreography and perfecting a skater’s program presentation.

Off-ice seminars are also part of the Club’s enrichment curriculum, and include a wide variety of educational topics for athletes, parents and coaches. There are seminars on nutrition, sports psychology, injury prevention, parent education, understanding the IJS scoring system and how to plan skater programs for optimal IJS scoring. All these seminars are presented by authorities in their field, with an interest in athlete, parent and coach development.

Officials Support

The Club has over 30 U.S. Figure Skating officials within its membership. These officials include judges, technical specialists and others who officiate at test sessions and competitions around the world. Many of these individuals are available for skater consultations of individual tests, programs and performances. Members should consult with their coach and ask if such a specialized consultation would make sense for their skater. Most officials are always happy to help a skater. It is just a matter of scheduling and being asked.

Training Programs

Many of the Club’s competitive coaches develop and coordinate comprehensive training programs for the competitive athlete. These programs include on-ice coaching and training time, off-ice strength training with professional strength trainers, off-ice dance classes, and other specialty work including off-ice jump classes, and training in the on-ice harness and in the off-ice jump spinner. Many of the Club’s coaches also work in collaboration to offer supplemental training with each athlete’s specific needs and goals in mind. Sometimes a fresh take or perspective or way of communicating can be helpful. Sometimes specialty coaching on jumps, spins, choreography or performance is what is needed. Every coach approaches the training of their skaters differently. It is important to ask your coach what their competitive training regimen includes, and to seek the coach or coaching team that best fits the needs and wants of each individual skater.

Jump Spinner

Originally designed in Russia, the Club’s mechanical, off-ice jump spinner replicates high-speed rotations, helping skaters to perfect their balance and technique when practicing spins, and double, triple and quadruple jumps. Training on the spinner is limited to a select group of Club coaches trained in its specialized operation. Members interested in learning more about the spinner can add to a training regimen, should contact their coach or the Club office for a more detailed explanation. The use of the spinner is restricted to Club members.

High-Altitude Training Room

The Club’s new facility has the only dedicated, high-altitude training room in the region. By restricting the available oxygen to mimic a thin-atmosphere environment, athletes can achieve the benefits of high-altitude training without having to move to the mountains. Training at simulated high-altitude conditions the body to utilize oxygen more efficiently, increases stamina and adds endurance for performing today’s demanding short and free skate programs. Unless otherwise authorized by Club management, use of the high-altitude training room is available only to Club members, and must be arranged and scheduled through a Club coach.

Exhibitions

On Friday nights throughout the year, the Club hosts skating exhibitions for its competitive members. This is a great opportunity for skaters to showcase and perform their programs in front of an audience of Club members. In a simulated, competition environment, skaters are assigned their skating order according to a random draw. They are then given a 6-minute warm-up with other skaters before skating their choice of short or free-skate programs. Skaters use Club exhibitions to reduce performance nerves, test new costumes, train difficult elements or gain performance experience in advance of the rigors of testing or competition. The Club exhibitions are open to all members to watch, and to enjoy time as spectators and fans. They are equally valuable for the skaters to have fun and build camaraderie with their fellow Club members.

The Marilyn P. Kasputys Branch of The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention

The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention was founded by the Children’s Sports Medicine Foundation, under the leadership of world-renowned sports orthopedic specialist, Dr. Lyle Micheli. The Center’s goal is to take a proactive and preventative approach to sports medicine. Rather than treat injuries as they arise, the Center offers athletes personal evaluations and prescriptions for off-ice strength training customized for the individual and their chosen sport(s). Based on decades of data and the analysis of each individual athlete’s strength, flexibility, range of motion and movement patterns, the Micheli Center’s doctors and highly trained specialists offer prescriptive training to prevent injuries from ever occurring in the first place.

As the sport of figure skating evolves to require greater strength and athleticism, skaters need specialized assistance to train smarter, harder and more successfully. The Micheli Center employs a staff of multiple trainers from which Club members can choose, all certified strength and conditioning specialists with expertise in training children and young adults. Whether one-on-one or in group classes, all trainers on The Micheli Center’s staff are qualified to best support the most advanced strength training of the Club’s athletes, and to help them achieve their own personal peak performance.

With a donation by longtime Club member, Dr. Joseph Kasputys, the Micheli’s Center’s new Club location has been named after Dr. Kasputy’s late wife, Marilyn P. Kasputys. Dr. and Marilyn Kasputys were longtime participants and fans of the sport and skated together in pairs and dance at locations around the world. Their passion and dedication for figure skating was limitless, and will continue for years to come through the establishment of this new sports injury and strength training center at the Club.