A Bit About My Coaching Philosophy…
I’ve been a figure skater nearly my entire life, but if you check out my About Me page, you’ll see that I have done and achieved many other things that at face value bear no relationship to skating.
Yet, in a way, they do relate to skating. The ups and downs, good and bad of figure skating, the injuries, the varying results and the struggles to maintain an extremely demanding academic and training schedule taught me SO much more than how to do any skating element.
This has influenced my approach to coaching. I believe that my role as a coach isn’t to merely teach figure skating skills. It is to encourage each skater to develop the mental agility to exceed their own expectations - in all aspects of their lives.
While skating & coaching is a huge part of my life, and I love to share it with others, I believe that as a coach, it is equally important to remember that figure skating is something we DO. It is not all that we ARE.
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
competitive highlights
U.S. Collegiate Champion Jr Men’s Singles
2-Time U.S. National Competitor Championship Pairs
Ukrainian International Team Member
3-Time U.S. Junior National Competitor Men's Singles
U.S. Figure Skating Triple Gold Medalist (Moves, Freestyle, Pairs); Dance (Partnered) Pre-Silver +2
Skate Canada Gold (Free Skate, Elements & Program Challenge)
5-Time Sectionals competitor & 10-Time Regionals competitor, including 2-time champion (Novice & Junior men) & 8-time medalist
coaching & teaching experience
USFS National High Performance Development Camp Coach, Novice Men & Pairs
13 years coaching experience, including singles, choreography (through Junior Qualifying), pairs & Learn to Skate
Instructor, Balanced Skaters Off Ice Training Program
Instructor of college course on the interdisciplinary aspects of figure skating at the University of California, Berkeley.
Instructor, Grades 5-12, Digital Media Academy, teaching students how to master cutting-edge digital media tools
professional & educational experience
USA Country Manager, GRAF Figure AG
Skating Professional and instructor on ITV's Dancing on Ice (2020 Netherlands, Semi-Finalist; 2020 UK pre-show & 2018 UK Runner-Up)
Goodbye Petrushka (Nicola Rose) Body/Stunt Double & Choreographer 2022; RISE (Lookalike Productions) Body/Stunt Double for Evan Lysacek 2010
Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (Minor in Theater, Dance & Performance Studies)
Team Captain of the Cal Figure Skating team, leading our tiny team to qualify for the U.S. Intercollegiate Team Championships & earning the Pewter medal each year.
Trained under Olympic and World Coaches Alexei Mishin, Nina Mozer, Alexander Zhulin, Jenni Meno & Todd Sand.
Performer with numerous additional shows including Woodstock Ice Productions (Principal Male Solo & Principal Pair), Ice Dance International, Ghiaccio Spettacolo (Italy) & Ice Theatre of New York.
USFS: Collegiate Program Committee member (2015- 2019); Silver Test Judge & Non-qualifying Competition Appointment: Singles/Pairs (resigned 2019 to focus on coaching)
Extensive Dance & Music Training & Competition in styles including ballet, ballroom (Open Gold, Smooth), Hip Hop (UC Berkeley The [M]ovement & TrueLement), character (Ukrainian Dance, ISKRA & Roma Pryma Bohachvsky Ukrainian Dance Camp ), musical theater & concert band (1st clarinet)
certifications & languages
American Red Cross CPR/AED Certified, Adult & Pediatric
Abuse Prevention Training, NY
SafeSport Training
PSA Basic Accreditation, Level IV Ranking, Singles & Pairs
Speak, Read & Write Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian & basic Mandarin
