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Amy started taking lessons from Sue
Ervin after her coach, Joy Hoepfl Krausert decided to quit coaching.
She recommended her old coach Sue Ervin. This was a big step for our
family because it meant driving
from Janesville to Milwaukee each week
and most times more for lessons from
Sue. Amy was coming off
an injury and was
undecided if she wanted to continue to skate. After the first few lessons
with Sue she
decided that Sue was the coach for her, so began our
travels to Milwaukee each week for the next six years.
Sue
re-established confidence in Amy that she had lost and gave her the joy
back in skating. Sometimes the
nerves won at competitions over Amy and
Sue, but Sue was always there for her giving her the positive
things
that she had accomplished.
When Amy went away to college she
decided she wanted to coach figure skating to earn money but most
of
all to pass on her love of skating on to younger skaters. She
decided the knowledge that she had gained first
from Joy and than Sue
needed to be passed on to future skaters. She has never regretted her
decision. As she
sometimes says — I sound just like Sue, and now
understand how frustrating teaching can be but than again
the joy when
you see a young skater learn a new jump or spin. To this day Sue is still
her mentor. She loves
to visit with Sue and competitions and talks
over problems teaching techniques to her young skaters. At a
competition in Green Bay a summer ago, Sue invited Amy to sit with her
as they were giving lessons to their
students during practice ice. Amy
was thrilled to be with Sue behind the boards. Sue still is her teacher
and
mentor and continues to learn from her each time she sees her. Not
as a skater any longer but as a colleague.
Sue will always remain a
very special person in Amy’s
life.
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