Coaches
Coaches
Meet Our Coaches
Private lessons are given on a first come, first served basis, and are coordinated by each individual coach. Lesson rates differ per coach. Lessons are given during the following times:
BOPARC Freestyle ice: Mondays-Thursdays from 2:30-5:00pm
MDFSC freestyle ice: Tuesdays 5-6pm, Wednesdays 5-5:45pm, and Sundays 3:45-4:45pm
BOPARC public ice: Fridays 7-9pm, Saturdays 1:30-3:30pm and 7-9pm, and Sundays 1:30-3:30pm
Please contact each coach directly for lesson availability. Skaters are allowed to take from more than once coach, as long as the coaches agree to team coaching, and are also allowed to change coaches any time they wish.
Emily Adkins
Emily is currently a Pre-Nursing student at WVU, as well as being active in the WVUteach program. She’s from Charleston, WV, and the president of the WVU Figure Skating Club. Emily is a member of the Charleston Figure Skating Club in Charleston, WV, and US Figure Skating. She’s insured and certified to coach through the U.S. Figure Skating Association. She began skating at the age of 9 focusing her attention on moves in the field. She was an active member of West Virginia Synchro team for several seasons and she’s a current team member of the WVU Mountainettes. Emily has tested in moves in the field and dance.
Contact: Emily.l.adkins@gmail.com
Lesson rate: $20 for 30 minutes
Angela Barclay
Angela has been skating for more than 25 years and has been coaching for 13 years. She is a U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist in Moves in the Field and Freestyle, and specializes in teaching jumps, spins, off-ice training, and choreography. Having been taught by Georgian coaches, her technique most resembles a Russian style. She has trained with elite coaches such as Rafael Arutunian, Alexei Mishin, and Valentin Nikolayev. She has a long competition history including competing in Qualifying Regionals every year growing up, as well as show performances with the Johnstown Figure Skating Club and Mason-Dixon Figure Skating Club. She is compliant with the U.S. Figure Skating coaching requirements, and serves as the MDFSC’s Skating and Learn to Skate Director.
Off the ice, she is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Cardinal Pediatrics, having graduated from West Virginia University in 2014. She lives in Morgantown with her husband, Von, and her shih Tzu, Sidney.
Contact: angelaskates@yahoo.com
Lesson rate: $28 per 30 minutes
Rebecca Brazaitis
Rebecca has been figure skating for over 10 years and coaching with Learn-to-Skate for 4 years. Rebecca has tested in both freestyle and moves in the field and has earned medals in a variety of skating competitions A member of the Mason-Dixon Figure Skating Club and US Figure Skating, Rebecca enjoys helping with club fundraisers and performing in shows on ice. Most of all, she loves working with students of all ages and disciplines.
Contact: rebskate@yahoo.com
Lesson rate: $20 for 30 minutes
Shaun Butler
Shaun has been figure skating for over 20 years and derives from an extensive competitive skating background. Beginning at the age of 7, she continued her training as a member of the Johnstown Figure Skating Club. Alongside Georgian and Russian coaches, Amir Babaev, and George and Leila Shankulashvili and attending seminars with world recognized Olympic coaches, Valentin Nikolayev and Rafael Arutunian, her skating career includes medaling in high-level competitions held throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. Shaun continued as a coaching member of the Mason-Dixon Figure Skating Club and a community member of the WVU Figure Skating Club team while attending Fairmont State University’s Bachelor of Architecture degree program. Shaun is a professionally licensed and insured U.S. Figure Skating Association Member, completing Moves in the Field and Freestyle testing through the intermediate level. She specializes in jump technique, footwork, and choreography.
Outside of the rink Shaun works as the Administrative Assistant for the Morgantown Municipal Airport and resides in Accident, Maryland with her husband Brent and 1-year old daughter, Amelia.
Contact: shaunaa77@gmail.com
Lesson rate: $25 for 30 minutes
Haley Hicks
Haley began her professional figure skating career over twenty years ago at the age of four. Over the course of her competitive years, she had the opportunity to train with Brian Orser, John Zimmerman, Silvia Fontana, Shawn Sawyer, Michelle Webber, as well as long-term coach and former Disney On Ice performer, Scott Powell. Haley starred alongside two-time Olympic silver medalist, Brian Orser in the show, Spring Skating Sensation and has competed in over sixty competitions nationwide.
Some of her most esteemed competitions include: Regionals, District Championships, Keystone State Games, and Invitationals. At the age of twelve, she was a competitor in the 2005 State Games of America at the World Olympic Rink in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is also a South Atlantic Regional gold medalist. She has been a member of USFSA and the Washington Figure Skating Club since 2002.
Haley has been teaching figure skating for over five years and has trained over two hundred skaters throughout the course of her time as an instructor. She has experience serving as a Learn to Skate coach, private instructor, judge, and competition announcer.
She specializes in Freestyle, Basic Skills, beginning Moves in the Field (MIF), Power Skating, choreography, spins, and off-ice training. She has extensive experience in training students of all ages and skill levels as well as intercollegiate competitors and skaters with disabilities.
She has held her PSA Associate and ISI Pro memberships since 2011, passed the PSA Basic Accreditation Written Test, and has made a conscious effort to stay up-to-date with the latest curriculum changes and teaching techniques by attending PSA coaching clinics, workshops, and enrolling in PSA continuing education courses.
In 2017, she graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with an associate's degree in letters, arts, & sciences with a concentration in communications as well as two bachelor's degrees in political science and law & society. Today, she is a graduate student at West Virginia University studying for her master's in american politics and plans to continue to pursue her Ph.D.
Contact: H.Hicks94@yahoo.com
Website: SkateCoach.weebly.com
Lesson rate: $25 per 30 minutes
Caroline Leadmon
Caroline Leadmon is currently a WVU Biochemistry student from Hurricane, WV. Caroline is the president of the WVU Figure Skating Club and helped to found WVU’s first synchronized skating team. Caroline is a United States Figure Skating Association Quadruple Gold Medalist in Moves in the Field, Pattern Dance, Solo Free Dance, and Solo Pattern Dance. She has competed ice dance in four national championships and the U.S. Challenge Skate. While Caroline grew up skating out of Charleston, WV, she also trained weekends and summers in Cleveland, Ohio and Novi, Michigan. Caroline is a member of the Professional Skaters Association and currently coaches Learn-To-Skate and Mountain State Synchro here in Morgantown. She specializes in Moves in the Field and Ice Dance, however can teach up to juvenile freestyle.
Contact: cel0002@mix.wvu.edu
Lesson rate: $20 per 30 minutes
Elizabeth Bragle-Leavey
Elizabeth Bragle-Leavey has been coaching figure skating for over 25 years. She has coached countless number of Gold medalists in all disciplines including Figures, Freestyle, Pattern Dance, Free Dance and Moves in the Field. She has had two pair teams and two dance teams make the National Championships.
Elizabeth is an examiner and referee for the World Figure and Fancy Skating Association.
Elizabeth also offers off ice classes for Plyometrics.
Elizabeth trained in Philadelphia for four years with National and Olympic coaches
Contact: leaveyliz@gmail.com
Lesson rate: $40 for 30 minutes
Samantha Martinez
Samantha has been figure skating for six years, testing her skills, competing, and further utilizing them in ice shows. She has been a member of Mason-Dixon Figure Skating Club for as long as she has been skating, and has been coaching with Learn To Skate for five years. She enjoys teaching choreography and setting a firm, safe foundation for students to learn and build upon.
Contact: samiskates19@gmail.com
Coaching rate: $20 per 30 minutes
Grace McCusker
Grace is a junior coach who has been skating for 10 years. She has assisted and coached in the MDFSC’s Learn to Skate program for the last 3 years, as well as give private lessons during freestyle and public skate. Grace has passed her Juvenile moves in the field and Pre-Juvenile freeskate.
Contact: grace.mccusker@icloud.com
Lesson rate: $20 per 30 minutes
Anne Roth
Anne, from Fairfax, Virginia, is a junior at WVU studying Elementary Education and Spanish and joined the WVU Figure Skating Club in 2016. Currently she is a collegiate member of the Gardens Figure Skating Club. She began group lessons at age 6 at Fairfax Ice Arena. At age 8, representing the Skating Club of Northern Virginia, she began competitive skating and was coached for 10 years by Inna Volyanskaya and received jump instruction from Nick Perna. During this time, she medaled in many U.S. Figure Skating competitions including the May Day Open, Potomac Open, Hershey Open and Gateway Open in St. Louis, MO, where she was coached by Igor Lisovski. Anne became a U.S. Figure Skating Bronze Medalist in Freestyle in 2014 and in 2015, she became a U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist in Moves in the Field. She also skated many artistic programs in shows and recitals during her time at Fairfax Ice Arena.
Anne coached with the Learn to Skate Morgantown program through MDFSC during her freshman year at WVU, giving private lessons and choreographing a group number for the Spring Show. Anne is a member of the Pride of West Virginia Mountaineer Marching Band and volunteers at Suncrest Middle School in Morgantown. Anne will be available for Learn to Skate lessons in the Fall and for group or private lessons during the Spring semester.
Contact: awr0001@mix.wvu.edu
Lesson rate: $20 for 30 minutes
Devan Tighe
Devan is studying Computer Science and Mathematics at WVU and is active in the WVUteach program. She is an officer of the WVU Figure Skating Club, a cofounder of the WVU Mountainettes Synchronized Skating Team, and a member of both Mason-Dixon and the Charleston Figure Skating Club in Charleston, WV.
Her primary focus in skating was ice dance. Devan began skating 17 years ago, and spent 10 years training as an ice dancer. She is a 2x USFS Gold Medalist in Free Dance and Pattern Dance. She was a finalist in the USFS National Solo Dance Championships in 2013, and was competitive on a national level in synchronized skating and showcase.
Devan is certified and insured through Learn To Skate USA, the U.S. Figure Skating Association, and the Professional Skater’s Association to coach any ice dance levels up through and including international patterns, as well as moves in the field and freestyle.
Contact: dmt0001@mix.wvu.edu
Lesson rate: $20 for 30 minutes