Athletics has been in my life since I could walk. Being the daughter of an OHL hockey player and a professional figure skater, naturally, I was meant to be on the ice. Growing up in a small northern Ontario town, I spent more time in an arena then I did at home. Since my mother was a skating coach, as soon as I could walk, I was in skates. My baby sitting wasn’t done in front of a TV or games, it was done on the ice learning how to skate or in the area seats waiting for my mom to finish coaching. I started skating around the age of 3, and started competing at the age of 6. I was naturally gifted and put in about 2 hours a day, 5 days a week with the other days training in dance and gymnastics to supplement my skating.
I loved it, so I didn’t mind putting the work in. I wasn’t afraid of hard work as a kid. My summers were even spent living with another family in another city at skating training camps for 5 days a week, 8am-5pm, skating multiple sessions per day and training dance, weightlifting, track and field, etc. I lived in Ottawa, Barrie, Montreal, and Sudbury throughout multiple summers doing what I loved. Needless to say, I was talented. I was physically gifted in the sport of figure skating, but mentally, I couldn’t keep up. Coaches would say to me I had skills to skate at a national level, but when it came time to compete, my mind would play tricks on me. Imagine people telling a 13 year old you that you had the talent to go very far in your sport and be very successful. My 13 year old mind felt that pressure and would crack when the magic needed to happen. I even worked with a sports psychologist and optometrist to perfect my mental game and visual focus. But I couldn’t crack it. At 16 years old, I quick competing. It had sucked the fun out of the sport I had dedicated my life to.
I didn’t give on skating, I trained for the love I had for it. I still skated 5 days a week, but I did it for me. I taught myself cool tricks, spins in strange positions, and really honed in on the basics. Who knew it would land me a roll in Disney On Ice? After high school, I joined the company and toured for 4 years completing 2 USA, Mexico and Canadian tours. It was the experience of a lifetime, but one that you couldn’t do forever. Imagine living out of 2 suitcases, a different city every week, 9 months on, 2 weeks off? The novelty wears off after a while.
So, it was back to Toronto I came. I changed my skating career to coach mode and got my coaching certifications all while attending school for Dental Hygiene. Fast forward 10 years,
So, it was back to Toronto I came. I changed my skating career to coach mode and got my coaching certifications all while attending school for Dental Hygiene. Fast forward 10 years,
I am a certified NCCP Level 2 provincial Skate Canada Coach and a Registered Dental Hygienist.
Now where does CrossFit come into this?
I walked into my first CrossFit class about 7 years ago. I had a goal to run a Tough Mudder (which I never did because I have no interest in being electrocuted) and needed a training outlet. From day 1, I was hooked. Given my natural athleticism, I caught on pretty well. I even started obstacle course racing and would race through ‘mud’ (smelt questionable at times) for fun. The summer of 2017, I completed over 75km of OCR qualifying me for the World Championships where I finished 56th in the womens 30-34 age category.
CrossFit and OCR was my addiction until I found Olympic Weightlifting. I have now set CrossFit aside (for now), training solely in Oly at Six Lifts Weightlifting. CrossFit is still very near and dear to my heart, I am a L1 and have been coaching for about 4 and a half years. I live my CrossFit vicariously through the athletes that I teach but put my work in my Olympic lifts. Now that I am older, I am hoping to do mentally what I couldn’t as a 13 year old competitive me.
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As you can see, I’ve had a lifetime in sports. 10 plus years coaching skating, almost 5 coaching CrossFit, and I feel like I’ve hardly worked a day in my life.
I read once, ‘Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life’. This is what coaching is for me.
I can’t wait to see where it will take me.
