Jackie Brenner Coaches

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Issue: 2006 January

In a few weeks, people the world over will be dazzled by the grace and beauty of figure skaters competing at the Olympic Winter Games in Torrino, Italy. Undoubtedly, some viewers will be captivated by the athletes and want to take to the ice. That’s how it started for Linsey Stucks.

“I was watching the Olympics and Nancy Kerrigan inspired me to start skating,” Stucks said. That was 12 years ago. Now you can find the Edmond native working out on the ice every morning at Arctic Edge Ice Arena.

Stucks wrapped up her skating season in November, finishing in eighth place at the Midwestern Sectional Championship, competing against skaters from nearly two dozen states. Her competition schedule starts again in April.
In the meantime, Stucks stays in top form by skating three hours each day. She follows that with an hour and a half exercise routine at the Edmond Athletic Club to strengthen her cardiovascular endurance.

While some may dismiss figure skating because of the sequined costumes and musical accompaniment, excelling in the sport requires the athleticism of a football player combined with the grace of a ballet dancer.

Gone are the days of Dorothy Hamill when skating precision could win a gold medal. To compete, skaters must execute daring moves requiring phenomenal degrees of strength and agility.

“Now they have to be an athlete first and a skater second,” said Jackie Brenner, Stucks’ coach and the skating director at Arctic Edge. “This makes it more physically demanding.”

The physical demands of the sport can pose a challenge to keeping the athletes motivated, but Brenner knows this happens with almost every endeavor.

The first year or two are the “romance years” – an athlete learns so much initially and the learning and accomplishment are fun and rewarding. Once the athletes reach a certain level, they begin to plateau and the triumphs arrive in smaller increments and only as the result of extreme dedication.

“It can be a challenge to keep them excited and motivated,” Brenner said.

But Brenner excels at meeting that challenge. In 2000, her peers selected her as the Developmental Coach of the Year for the Professional Skaters Association. The national award recognizes coaches who take skaters from the basics of learning to skate and train them through all levels of competition.

Brenner herself was once a national competitor. She grew up in Michigan and started skating when she was 6 years old.
“I’ve always had a passion for figure skating,” Brenner said.

Later, she trained at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. While there, she met and fell in love with an Air Force Academy cadet. After his graduation, they married and he was later transferred to Vance Air Force Base.

In 1990 when the Brenners moved to Oklahoma, there was virtually no figure skating in the state. Instead of being discouraged by the absence of the sport, Brenner was excited about introducing the Sooner state to figure skating.
“I’m making more of a difference by bringing skating to a community that has never experienced it,” Brenner said. If she’d stayed in Michigan, she’d be one of many master-rated coaches. In Oklahoma, she is the only master-rated coach in freestyle.

Jackie Brenner Coaches

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