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World and Olympic champion Kaetlyn Osmond coaching Nelson figure skaters

Osmond is leading a week-long camp at the city91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s rec centre
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Kaetlyn Osmond, one of the most successful figure skaters in Canadian history, is spending a week coaching athletes in Nelson. Photo: Tyler Harper

Athletes tend to pay a little more attention when a world champion is speaking to them.

Nelson Skating Club head coach Sarah Gower noticed this as soon as her skaters began taking direction from retired Canadian figure skating star Kaetlyn Osmond.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœIt91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s funny, because we might say the same thing to the skaters and they sort of listen, but if it comes out of her mouth, they91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™re like, 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ˜oh!91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ They really pay attention.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Osmond, who won three Olympic medals and was the first Canadian in 45 years to win ladies singles at the , is working with young skaters for a week at the Nelson and District Community Complex.

While her words may carry a touch more weight than Gowers, Osmond says it doesn91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t take long for athletes to relax around her.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœI think when they spend more than two minutes with me, they realize I joke a lot and make fun of people a lot along with myself, and that kind of loosens it up around them and they realize I91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™m more of a human than terrifying.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

The club was able to invite Osmond thanks to a personal connection with coach Jordyn Eberts 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ the pair previously trained in Edmonton together.

Osmond said she has been helping with skaters one-on-one, conducting practice drills and would also talk to them about how she dealt with issues such as competition nerves.

By the end of the week, she said she hopes to see the skaters had made a little progress with their own goals.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœMiracles don91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t happen in a week. I just like to see if the light switch goes off. They might not even be able to land something new or do something new, but even if something just makes that little tiny bit more sense, that91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s as much as I can get out of it. And that91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s super rewarding for me.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Since retiring in 2019 at 23 years old, Osmond has taken part in shows such as Stars on Ice while pursuing a media studies degree at Edmonton91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s University of Alberta. Eventually she hopes to make a career in radio broadcasting.

Coaching has been the biggest surprise of her post-competition life. It wasn91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t something she wanted to do 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Osmond admits being pushed into it by a friend 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” yet mentoring young skaters has restored love for the sport she says had in part been lost once her career was over.

Now she91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s juggling a full-time coaching job with her studies.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœTo be able to go back into the world and see there91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s still joy in a lot of younger skaters and watching them try to live their dream, it kind of gives me purpose in skating, which is amazing.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

It doesn91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t hurt that they are learning from one of the best.

Nelson skater Taylor Singer (left) reviews video of her jump with Kaetlyn Osmond at the Nelson and District Community Complex on Aug. 29. Photo: Tyler Harper
Nelson skater Taylor Singer (left) reviews video of her jump with Kaetlyn Osmond at the Nelson and District Community Complex on Aug. 29. Photo: Tyler Harper

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| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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Tyler Harper

About the Author: Tyler Harper

I91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™m editor-reporter at the Nelson Star, where I91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ve worked since 2015.
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