By Kim Magi, Black Press
Revelstoke Skating Club head coach Sabrina Hinson can add another trophy to her shelf after being recognized by Skate Canada earlier this month.
Hinson, who coaches in Revelstoke, Nakusp and Castlegar, was awarded Skate Canada Club and Recreation Coach Award of Excellence in Burnaby during the organization’s B.C.-Yukon section AGM and awards banquet.
“It’s really nice to be nominated and I work really hard at coaching so I am proud of my award, as it is nice to be recognized for something I enjoy so much,” Hinson said. “But the awards are not why I coach. I coach because I love the sport and want to be a positive role model and help to make a difference in the sport of skating.”
Four coaches were nominated, including two from Vancouver and one from Prince George, and there is lengthy list of criteria a coach must meet before being nominated.
The coach must have a minimum of a Level 1 NCCP Primary STARSkate coach status (Hinson has Level 2 and has nearly completed Level 3), as well as a proven track record of success.
“I teach CanSkate at both the Nakusp and Revelstoke Clubs and the Nakusp Club has had an increase in numbers for the past four years that I have been coaching there,” Hinson said. “My Best of the Best award from last season helped to prove that I have success coaching at the CanSkate level.”
Hinson also teaches adult skating in Revelstoke and is qualified to teach Special Olympics figure skating, but said there hasn’t been an interest for the program.
The final requirement of the nomination was for the coach to be someone who moves beyond coaching as a profession and contributes to the development of skating globally through professional and/or volunteer commitment.
“Skating is not only my profession, but it is my passion and my life,” Hinson said. “I want to help improve skating with the clubs I teach at, my region, and my section.”
Eventually, Hinson hopes to secure a position with Skate Canada to move her passion forward at the national level. As a facilitator and mentor in the region, she ensures she keeps lessons fresh and updated for her students and colleagues.
She plans a lot of theme days with her skaters to incorporate music and props around the theme to teach skating, and supports her students around the Kootenays and Okanagan for five or six competitions per season as well as six or seven competitions around the province per season.
“I am always attending various coaching seminars and workshops to further up grade myself and to keep learning so I can pass on new knowledge and ideas to my skaters,” she said.
Last year, Hinson won a national award recognizing her as one of the 10 best CanSkate coaches in the country. Part of the award included a trip to Toronto and one-on-one sessions with CanSkate expert Monica Lockie.
“Monica was brought in from Ontario to be a guest workshop presenter at the AGM this year,” Hinson said. “She was in the audience the night I received the Club and Recreation Award of Excellence and she was the first person I saw the next day and congratulated me on my award. I thought that was pretty neat as I feel my award from [last year] and some of the training techniques I have learned and implemented helped me to be considered for the award this year.”
With her provincial win, Hinson now moves on to be considered for the national award.
“I feel I have a chance at the award, but at the same time I know it will be tough as there are 12 other section award winners and everyone that has won at the section level will have quite a resume of accomplishments, and I am sure any one of them would be deserving of the national award and I am happy just to be considered,” Hinson said.
Being recognized through awards furthers Hinson in her goal to be a role model.
“I want to show my athletes that with hard work and dedication you can fulfil any goal you set for yourself.”