WHAT ARE PRIVATE LESSONS?
Private lessons are offered to skaters who are looking for more one on one attention within their program. The CanSkate supervisor or the Director of skating can provide advice on whether a skater is ready for private lessons.
Skaters working at all levels of the STARSkate and Competitive programs develop their skills though private lessons. Semi-private and group lessons may also be an option, depending on the coach’s availability and the skater’s needs.
Skaters will register for specific ice sessions (for which they are qualified by test level) during which their will work with their coach. Typically on a 50 minute ice session, a skater will sign up for 15 minutes of coaching and spend the remaining 35 minutes practicing. Learning to work independently is an important skill for a developing figure skater.
ENGAGING A COACH
Skaters contract individually with their coaches. Coaches set their own rates, according to their experience, qualifications and services.
Choosing a coach is an individual decision. A list of coaches is available on the Club website. Skaters can arrange to take the trial lesson from different coaches, to ensure that personalities and teaching/learning styles are compatible.
Coaching arrangements, including payment, are made directly with the coach, who operates independently from the club. It is advisable to discuss expectations in advance. Coaches will expect skaters to be prompt and attend lessons regularly, and to give advance notice whenever possible if a lesson must be missed.
SKATER-COACH DIPLOMACY
Skaters experiencing conflict with a coach are encouraged to meet with the coach to discuss the problem. If a skater plans to change coaches, for any reason, the coach should be advised of the decision, by phone or in person, and outstanding coaching fees should be paid in full. Keeping relations cordial contributes to a productive and cooperative atmosphere in the club.
Coaching Team
Our Team of Coaches are all NCCP Certified Levels 1-5. We work with skaters at all levels and all disciplines from beginner to World and Olympic level. Please feel free to contact us to discuss what you may require to meet your skating needs.
Janice Morgan
Director of Figure Skating Development for the Barrie Skating Club
Janice's specialty is creating a yearly plan for athletes that facilitates growth and personal development while pursuing personal skating goals. As a base coach, Janice encourages a team based approach to learning in a fun and positive atmosphere. Using this approach, Janice has successfully taught athletes from the grassroots to Olympic level success.
In Janice’s 30 year coaching career she has been successful in developing Local, National and International level competitive skaters. A few of her most memorable accomplishments:
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Coaching Provincial, National and International medalists
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Coached at 15 National Championships including Canada and South Africa.
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Coached at many International and Junior Grand Prix events
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Team coach for Ontario Winter Games in 2012 and 2018
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Team coach for Canada Winter Games in 2019.
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Facilitated seminars at the club, provincial, national and international level.
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Coach/consultant to athletes from countries such as Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Australia, Turkey, Iran, India, Germany, Austria, USA, Great Britain and Switzerland
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Establishing the pair program at the Mariposa School of Skating
Available to facilitate seminars at the club provincial national and international level.
Janice trained as a skater with Barrie Skating Club and Mariposa School of Skating while competing at the National Level.
She obtained her Gold Free Skate, Gold Dances, Gold Figure, Gold Interpretive Dance, Senior Competitive & Novice Pairs tests. Janice has been a Skate Canada professional coach since 1992 and is well on her way to becoming Level 4 certified.
Azure-Dee Perkins
azuredeeperkins@gmail.com
705-985-1061
Director of Skating for the Barrie Skating Club
Azure-Dee trained at the Mariposa School of Skating to the Senior Competitive level and has coached at Barrie Skating Club and Mariposa since retiring from competitive skating. Azure-Dee is a program coordinator for CanSkate and StarSkate for Mariposa School of Skating as well.
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Developed a successful Multi-Sport Day Camp program which has attracted figure skaters and Hockey players from across Ontario.
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Designed Therapy Ice program with the guidance of the children development services at RVH.
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Has proven success developing skaters to be competitive athletes Domestically and Internationally.
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Azure-Dee has been coaching since 1992 and has disciplines of expertise are in Program Development, Hockey Skill development, Skills and CanSkate.
Judy Myles
myles7546@rogers.com
Judy has been coaching for over 30 years for Barrie Skating Club
Greg Myles
Head coach/Administrator
info@barrieskatingclub.com
Greg has been coaching for over 30 yeas with the Barrie Skating Club
Michael Hopfes
Michaelhopfes@hotmail.com
Mission Statement: I teach skaters from grass roots to Olympic level, I take pride in coaching all of my students. I guide my skaters to achieve their goals and go further in this sport. Through a Coaching Team environment, I aim to bring out the best of the skaters I teach.
NCCP Certified National Coach
Michael has over 17 years of coaching
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Coached over 50 international competitions
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Coached at 3 Junior World Championships
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Coached at 4 Four Continents Championships
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Coached at 3 World Championships
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Coached Julian Yee at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea
He specialises in jumps, spins, steps, harness and choreography
In his amateur career he competed in International competitions as well as in Junior Worlds & World Championships
He speaks 3 languages
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German
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Spanish
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English
Michael is an ISU (International Skating Union) Technical Specialist for singles for over 11 years in various competitions like Skate Canada, Grand Prix Final, 4-Continents
He facilitates at many different seminars
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Yearly Mariposa Seminar
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Seminars in Mexico
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Seminars in Malaysia
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Seminars in Germany
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Seminars in Indonesia
Julian Yee
julianyee@gmail.com
Julian trained as a skater at Mariposa under the direction of Michael Hopfes and Doug Leigh. Julian is a 2018 Winter Olympian. He has competed in many International Competitions including 5 World Championships and 6 ISU Four Continents Championships. He has gained experience in the eyes of a competitive skater which has helped with his coaching for over 7 years.
Julian specializes in Singles Skating and focuses on jump technique, spins and off-ice jumps. He also does Harness lessons. He is NCCP Certified and has also conducted many seminars across the globe such as South East Asia and Mexico.
Furthermore, Julian speaks 5 different languages
• English
• Mandarin
• Cantonese
• Malay
• Bahasa Indonesia
Amanda VanDriel
CanSkate Coordinator
aam_vandriel@outlook.com
Amanda enjoy coaching all disciplines including hockey skill development, CanSkate, StarSkaters of all ages. Amanda is a Certified Regional Coach, and currently is continuing her education in coaching. Amanda has been involved in Mariposa’s first synchro skating team.
Trained at Mariposa as a competitive figure skater from 2002-2016
Competed at Skate Canada Challenge Senior Ladies 2015 and 2016
