Learn how to skate!
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Dream it.
Your journey on ice all begins with a dream. For some, the dream is about learning a new skill, while for others, it’s about achieving a lifelong dream of representing the sport at the highest level. What’s your dream?
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Plan it.
You and I will meet and develop a plan to discuss how you can reach turn your dream into a reality. We’ll set up a training plan with goals and ways to measure your progress. Are you ready to take your skating to the next level?
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Do it.
It’s lesson time! You and I will meet on and off-ice to help put your plan into action, whether you’re taking your very first stroke or you’re working on a double axel, I’ll be there to help you grow and develop.
About Coach Ray
My skating journey began 35 years ago at a Southern California ice rink. My mother and I were captivated by a Senior level skater doing triples on the ice and I knew that I wanted to try skating. I fell in love with skating the moment I stepped onto the ice and felt the freedom and joy that skating provided me. I began training with a private coach not long after I started and did my first competition less than a year later. She and I worked together for over 12 years, until I graduated from high school and moved away to attend college.
As an athlete, I trained with National, World, and Olympic level coaches from the U.S., China, and Russia. I was fortunate to have trained under these legendary coaches from the beginning of my skating career because I developed a strong technical foundation in the sport that I share with my skaters today. I competed through college in Singles and was a team captain for the Los Angeles Theatre on Ice team for several years. I attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate and had the opportunity to compete as part of the Cal Figure Skating Team, where I placed 2nd in the men’s division, 1st in ice dance, helped the team place 4th in the nation.
My philosophy is to instill a lifelong love of skating in each and every athlete I work with while providing them with the foundational skating skills and techniques to make their dreams come to light. I have over 15 years of coaching experience working with athletes of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels, though I particularly enjoy developing young skaters and adults who are motivated to compete. I am passionate about teaching skating skills, jump/spin technique, and power skating. Over the years, I have worked with a wide range of athletes including skaters in the Adaptive Skating Program, an Adult Masters’ Synchronized Skating Team, young skaters getting ready to compete, and competitive youth skaters working on double axels and triples.
I currently coach out of Yerba Buena Ice Rink in San Francisco and am currently available for lessons on freestyle and public sessions Monday - Saturday. I am rated by the PSA in Free Skating (C-FS), Moves in the Field (R-MIF), and in Hockey Power Skating (Hockey 1,2). I am also a professional member of both USFS and ISI.