Primary Coaches, also known as “head coaches,” serve as the leaders of a skater’s coaching team. In addition to providing on-ice instruction, primary coaches often assume a managerial role, coordinating a skater’s career, including managing other coaches on the team, developing training plans and season-level strategies, and fulfilling various other responsibilities.

Coach Mark offers primary coaching services in all major disciplines of the sport, and his students have qualified for regional, sectional, and national finals. His freestyle technique is rooted in the John Nicks school, while in ice dancing he specializes in the Brown-Lescinski-Cullinan Method, and trained extensively in the British, Russian, and American schools.

As a skater progresses, consistency of instruction becomes extremely important to a skater’s ongoing development and safety, and as such, a primary coach is recommended for skaters once they complete Learn To Skate.

Secondary coaches work with skaters on specialized subsets of their skating. Most singles skaters have a secondary coach for skating skills, and many also work with jump and spin specialists, among others. Ice dancers may also work with specialists on lifts, pattern dances, and interpretation among others.

Coach Mark is an expert in advanced skating technique and skating skills development, as well as ice dance and partner work for pairs and dance. In addition to these areas, Coach Mark also works with skaters on footwork, transitions, applied skating skills (for jumping and spinning), power skating, packaging, and ice dance for singles and pairs skaters.

When working with a secondary coach, clear delegation of coaching responsibilities is crucial for success. Coach Mark requires that skaters obtain the prior approval of their primary coach before assuming a secondary coaching capacity.

Test Partners (sometimes called “test props”) are coaches who serve as a practice and testing partner for their students. Most skaters work with a test partner to complete their dance tests. Test Partners must maintain a high level of fitness and technique outside of their regularly scheduled lessons in order to properly offer this type of coaching.

Coach Mark offers the widest range of test partnering in the Pacific Northwest, including:

1. All Partnered Pattern Dance tests (incl. Gold and International)

2. All Partnered Free Dance tests (including Gold)

3. Preliminary and Juvenile Pairs tests

Please note that Free Dance and Pairs testing requires a significant commitment of time and resources from both the skater and Coach Mark, and additional fees may apply. Please reach out to Coach Mark for more information.

Choreography is the fabric connecting a skater with their audience. Coach Mark is a National-level choreographer, and has been creating for the ice for over two decades in all major disciplines.

Creating a program is a collaborative process that starts with the generation of a concept, arrangement and/or editing of music, layout of elements on the ice surface, creation of the linking steps between them, and the ongoing packaging and polishing of a skater’s work over the course of a season. Coach Mark is deeply experienced in all aspects of this process, and also brings a background and training in classical ballet, Argentine tango de salon, classical music, and figure skating history to his work.

In addition to end-to-end program creation, Coach Mark offers music selection, music editing, section choreography, and interpretation coaching for all disciplines à la carte; please reach out for more information.

Short-Term Coaching encompasses the diverse range of time-bound or scope-bound projects undertaken by coaches with students. These projects may include technical deep-dives, seminars, footwork refinements, interpretation coaching for programs, collaboration with visiting skaters, or travel to work with students outside the coach’s home rink.

Coach Mark consistently engages with skaters on a short-term basis to address specific, scoped projects. Additionally, Coach Mark offers ad-hoc coaching to skaters with unconventional and/or irregular schedules that conflict with a traditional weekly lesson schedule.

Coach Mark regularly travels to facilitate seminars, camps, and “stroking jail” technique boot camp for skaters and coaches. Contact Coach Mark for further information regarding coaching and seminar opportunities.