EDMONTON – Olympic figure skater Joannie Rochette touched thousands of people around the world three years ago as she delivered the performance of a lifetime, just two days after losing her mother to a heart attack.
“I’ll never forget that skate,” said Terri Gallant, the head coach of the Sherwood Park Figure Skating Club. “I mean, it’s hard enough to compete in the Olympic games, let alone what she went through, and to do it as well as she did, you know? We’re thrilled to have her.”
Gallant invited the Olympic bronze-medalist to host a seminar at the Glen Allen Arena on Tuesday – an invite Rochette accepted enthusiastically, much to the excitement of some aspiring young skaters.
“For the majority of these girls, they all watched the Olympics, they all saw her story, her dedication, her motivation,” Gallant explained. “So to have someone like her that they idolize come out and work with them is pretty important to them.”
Rochette is first to admit that she’s not a coach. But she did give the girls some skating tips, and offered them some of the other lessons she’s picked up over the years.
“I just wanted to share my experience and have fun with them, because that’s really the most important thing in skating.”
“We wanted her here more to…tell the kids what worked for her, what she went through, how she trained, things she learned along the way,” added Gallant. “You know, basically the perseverance end of it and the hard work, because that’s what she put in a lot of.”
While Rochette still holds her amateur figure skating status, she’s put international competition on hold. She now spends her time touring as a cast member with Stars on Ice, alongside skating veterans Kurt Browning, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Training for those shows compared to training for competition is completely different, Rochette explains. And even though she admits missing competing, she says she still gets to grow as a skater thanks to the shows, which offer their own unique set of challenges.
“When you’re skating out there in a show, it’s pitch black, you have a spotlight blinding you, and you still need to do those triple jumps, but you also need to entertain the crowd…because these people are there just to have a good time. They’re not there to count the number of revolutions you do in a spin.”
Girls from the Sherwood Park Figure Skating Club who were able to spend time with Rochette said they were motivated by all that she’s accomplished.
“I think it’s great how she pushed through the adversity and she just loves the sport, which really shows her passion for skating, which I truly admire,” said 14 year-old Morgan Stang, who’s been figure skating for eight years.
“It really inspires me to just think that, just keep on going at it and maybe I’ll be able to be like her one day,” added fellow 14 year-old skater Theresa Ngo.
Aside from figure skating, the 27 year-old former Olympian is dabbling in the movie business, lending her voice to the soon-to-be-released Disney movie, Planes. Rochette also works with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, helping educate women on the disease she lost her mother to.
With files from John Sexsmith, Global News
Follow @TrishKozicka
Comments