Memberships: Brazos Valley Figure Skating Club
Specialties: Choreography, Ice Dance, Moves in the Field, Freestyle, Competition, Showcase
I am a positive, outgoing, fun-loving, hard-working, dedicated coach that loves what I do! I am a wife and mother to 3 beautiful children: Mia, Caleb, and Juliet. I’m married to my awesome husband who is also a skating coach, Aren Jonasson.
I have been coaching for over 22 years now. I began coaching gymnastics, then cheerleading, and now figure skating for the past 15 years.
I got my degree from Texas A&M University in Interdisciplinary Studies – Student Teaching here in Bryan, Texas, and then took the job as the Figure Skating Director at the formerly known Arctic Wolf Ice Center here in College Station.
After 8 years of being the director and with my 3rd child on the way I decided to put my growing family first and resigned from being the figure skating director and moved to a more flexible path continuing to teach figure skating group classes and private lessons.
Figure Skating is not just my love, it is my passion. Getting to do what I love every day is truly a blessing. Sharing that passion with my students is one of the best parts of teaching.
Skating teaches so many life lessons that I believe shape us into successful individuals ready to take on any challenge. The self-discipline, hard work, “try again, and again”, “fall down, get back up and try again” that you learn will take you so far in life. Skating is a journey and there is no final destination. It is not the outcome, it is the journey. The journey is where you grow, stretch, learn and develop those life lessons. I love being a part of my skaters’ journeys and helping them to achieve their dreams and reach their goals.
I love choreography and ice dancing, and being able to create routines to music is one of my favorite aspects of being a coach. It is empowering to express yourself, your emotions, feelings, telling a story, bringing a piece of music to life while you skate. So much self-discovery and confidence is gained through performing and competing.
While I do teach skaters of all ages, stages, and abilities including, Snowplow Sam 1-3, Basic 1-6, Pre-freeskate, Freeskate 1-6, Ice Dance, and Pre-Preliminary to Senior for Moves in the Field and Singles. I feel a special connection with 3- to 6-year-olds. I know they are capable of so much awesomeness. More than most give them credit for. I also enjoy teaching adults and watching them successfully accomplish new skating skills.
Over the years I have coached many skaters at their first figure skating competition, local exhibitions, taken teams to the National Theatre on Ice competitions, Christmas Shows, and Spring Shows, along with putting them through the United States Figure Skating test structure. Helping each skater create goals and live up to their potential to become the best skater they can be is what I always strive for.