Diane Stemberger is taking a step back from leading the Fernie Skate Club after 16 years of coaching the thriving Fernie club.
With new head coach Kathy Sutherland leading the way; Stemberger is still involved with the club during practices assisting the other professional coaches as she still enjoys being on the ice.
Goals and focus for the club have been and will continue to see growth in membership and development with all the skaters from wee ones to the graduating skaters.
“Skate Canada is moving in the direction of the Long Term Athlete Development program (LTAD) and the Fernie Skating Club is implementing the LTAD program this season,” said Stemberger.
“There has been a lot of changes in competition levels in the past few years, so I decided to become a Technical Specialist. This is a volunteer position, and the job is to help identify the elements that are being performed in a skater’s routine.”
“There are so many memorable moments over the past 25 years of coaching,” said Stemberger. “What makes coaching so rewarding, is to see skaters achieve their own personal goals. It can be as simple as taking a few extra steps that a skater wasn’t able to do last week, or a new landed jump, a new spin, a gold test level, or a skater achieving their ultimate, winning a Provincial or a National Championship.”
Her future plans are to continue to work with School District No. 5, currently at Fernie Secondary School, and be working in a full time position in the future as she enjoys working with kids of all ages.
The club membership continues to grow and the skill level continues to rise with highly qualified coaches Marni Wilson, Lisa Skubovius, and Debbie Joseph, to help with their success.
The Fernie Skating Club has been offering power skating sessions in summer camp and spring camps. For more information, go to www.fernieskatingclub.com website.