Coaching is her gold medal

Times Reporter   

 

After suffering a back injury of a fracture and two slipped discs, Strathmore’s former figure skater Lindsay Woodcock chose to give back to the Strathmore Skating Club, where her mother had been the head coach for 10 years.

“I’ve been involved for three years; this is my first year as head coach,” Woodcock said.

Woodcock has been skating for 20 years, and stuck with the sport when she was younger because of her natural skill.

“At first it was, this is fun, and you get to miss school. The opportunities that were presented through the years – I got to compete nationally and travel the world with it. It created a great atmosphere for me,” she said.

Woodcock took part in the Canada Winter Games, and traveled throughout the nation, but also to Philadelphia, New York and California to train and compete.

“The bonus of training in California, was that I got one of the best coaches in the world, John Nicks,” she said.

Pushing through her back pain in the 2011 season, Woodcock decided to leave competitions at the end of the year.

“I just overdid it. It was a fall that ultimately took me out,” she said. “I made it as far as I could, and then I retired, and got involved with doing some shows.”

Those shows included one for the Calgary Stampede, alongside Canadian Olympians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

Prior to her injury, Woodcock was based at the Calalta Figure Skating Club in Calgary, but would spend her summers training at Barrie, Ontario’s National Training Centre.

“You get into a rhythm. You’d do your programs at this time, then you’d train. In the entire skating season, I’d only get two weeks off,” Woodcock said. “The training just came as though something was inside; as good as you think you are, there’s always somebody better than you. It was always that which motivated me to keep going.”

Woodcock skated six days a week, with three to four hours of training on the ice and off the ice, including working out, yoga, pilates, running, plyometrics, and mental therapy.

“There’s constantly something everyday that I had to do to make sure I stay in the game, and keep my head clear,” she said. “I had the support from my parents and my family, that was huge, to always have someone sitting in the stands watching you.” 

Though she misses the tournaments – “oh yeah, I do. All the time,” she said – teaching young kids is just as rewarding.

“Coaching for me, I really grew to it. My entire life, skating is just what I’ve always done. It’s natural to me. To do what I’ve done for a lot of these girls, that accomplishment – you can’t get that in a gold medal,” she said.

In terms of advice for young girls following her path, she says to look past the hard moments.

“You’ve got to remember why you’re doing it, and why you love to lace up those skates. Take those falls, and take that heartache – continue for you, and what you want out of it,” she said. “You can’t let other people tell you what they want from you. It really is your sport.”