About Katie Holmes
Professional Skaters Association [PSA] member since 1995
PSA Certified Rated in Ice Dance, Group & Skating Skills
United States Figure Skating [USFS] member since 1978
Competed in the US Championships in Junior Dance
Coached skaters through Gold tests in Skating Skills, Pattern Ice Dance & Solo Free Dance
Taught group & private lessons at EPIC in Fort Collins, Colorado since August 2016
Katie's Story
I love ice… ice cream, ice skating, ice rinks, ice dancing... you get the idea. This is my story and why I love this crazy sport of figure skating. I'm often asked: How did you get started skating?
My dad, who I think might have played a little pick-up hockey back in Pennsylvania as a kid, took me one Sunday for a fun daddy-daughter date to the local ice rink. I hated it! Cried... held onto the boards. Well, my 8th birthday was coming up so he looked on the used equipment bulletin board and found a pair of SP-Teri's that were my size. He called and the mom brought them over to the rink. I remember trying them on and they felt great. So we left that day with a new-to-me used pair of SP-Teri ice skates and I was signed up for Learn to Skate lessons - Happy Birthday!
But I didn't really like skating until... I could spin! That was the golden ticket for me. As soon as I could show-off a spin ... then I was hooked on figure skating. I never really liked to jump. I mean, I did because all the other kids were doing it. But it never thrilled me. I liked the showmanship part - the theatrical part. The part where you were a character. So yeah... I skated but I also did ballet, gymnastics, golf, tennis. I tried lots of different sports but skating was the one that I enjoyed the most. And I did get to skate more than 3 days a week - eventually.
But I didn't really like skating until... I could spin! That was the golden ticket for me. As soon as I could show-off a spin ... then I was hooked on figure skating. I never really liked to jump. I mean, I did because all the other kids were doing it. But it never thrilled me. I liked the showmanship part - the theatrical part. The part where you were a character. So yeah... I skated but I also did ballet, gymnastics, golf, tennis. I tried lots of different sports but skating was the one that I enjoyed the most. And I did get to skate more than 3 days a week - eventually.
The turning point for me from recreational skater to competitive skater was getting to go to watch the 1984 US Nationals in Salt Lake City. I watched practices, warm-ups, events for all the levels and all the disciplines. I lived in my seat for the whole week. I knew when I came home what my goal was - to go to Nationals. I didn't know how, when or where - but that was my goal.
I had an ice dance partner at the Intermediate level but in 1984 you didn't get to Nationals in ice dancing until the Junior level. I was very focused when I got home and back on the ice. I just copied what I had seen - the confidence, the posture. It really helped my skating.
Those next 2 years I really focused and trained hard. I did everything my coaches asked of me. I did not question it - I just did it. I trained 6 days a week and did 3 or 4 days of off-ice training too. And by a miracle we did qualify for Nationals in Juniors in 1986. We were completely surprised. We did not think it was a possibility. It was truly a dream come true to get 4th at Sectionals and get to go to Nationals. I was in shock.
So at Nationals we were just ecstatic to be competing in Long Island, New York, and skating in a "big" arena. The stands were basically empty for all our events but who cares!!! We were skating in an arena! We were 12th in compulsory dances, OSP and freedance. My partner and I both got food poisoning and that didn't help our skating... but it didn't hurt our placements! We were last and we didn't care - we were at Nationals!
Starting my senior year of high school I decided I wanted to focus on my school activities and having fun with my friends so I quit skating. Back then the rules were very different than they are today. I had passed my Pre-Gold pattern dances and partnered free dance, but not my Gold pattern dances, as that would have made me ineligible to compete in Junior. So after college, after I got my first real job at an advertising agency, after I started getting some regular income, I knew I needed to get back into shape and pass those Gold pattern dances.
After many late night training sessions in Kansas City at the old King Louie Ice Chateau rink I passed all my Golds and 3 International dances when I was 24 / 25 years old. That too was a huge accomplishment. That's why I push all my students to get through ALL their tests when they are young... It's exponentially harder to do it as you get older! I know!
Then a couple of moms at the rink started handing me cash after freestyle sessions because I had "worked" with their daughters... but really I was just having fun helping them! But eventually I did officially become a part-time coach and then, after 10 years of working 8-5 at various advertising agencies, I took the plunge and became a full-time skating coach.
For over 20 years I coached all ages and abilities in Kansas City. Then my family's situation had to change in the fall of 2013 due to health issues with my in-laws. So our family moved to Cuenca, Ecuador, for 20 months. I consulted with the Quito ice rinks on marketing strategies and taught ice skating on a limited basis. We then traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, for 2 months where I helped teach a few young skaters. However, that environment was not a good fit for our family so we returned to the U.S. to sunny Las Vegas, Nevada, for a few winter months and have now finally settled down in gorgeous Fort Collins, Colorado, where I'm teaching skating again.
While in Vegas I reconnected with a friend, an ice dancer I met years ago at Wichita's ice dance weekends. From her I heard about an opportunity to be the Venue Manage a 34' x 60' outdoor ice rink at the Denver International Airport called "Ice at the Den" from November 25 through New Year's Day 2017 & 2018. This was a great opportunity to learn how a rink is built from the ground up... biljaxs staging, mats, glycol, compressor / chiller unit, pumps, header and boards. What I'm most proud of is that we introduced ice skating to thousands of people who had never ice skated before!
