Figure Skating at Private Ice | | On the Edge: A Figure Skating Melodrama | | The Strong and The Sequined: A Figure Skating Soap Opera
Whispers on the Ice (a Figure Skating Novel) | | Classic Figure Skating Fiction | | Short Stories, Poetry, Humor, Essays on Figure Skating
A Day in the Life | | SkateReviews: Figure Skating Books, Videos, and DVDs | | Figure Skating Fiction Directory
Figure Skating Blog | | Figure Skating Stuff at PI's Pro Shop | | Submissions

Figure Skating Coaches—Tamara Moskvina

At 4'9", Russian coach Tamara Moskvina can barely see over the boards at some figure skating events. Her power, however, fills the entire rink whenever one of her impeccably trained pairs takes to the ice. The list of teams that have been coached by Moskvina reads like a who's who of figure skating: Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, Artur Dmitriev (with both Oksana Kazakova and Natalia Mishkutenok), Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev, Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov, and Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman.

Moskvina, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the Academy of Physical Education and Sport, starts with an image in her mind of what a team should look like and then works backward to make the figure skaters match her vision as closely as possible. During practices, she can be seen chasing the figure skaters around to improve their speed or moving their bodies to enhance positions. To help her figure skaters learn to be better performers and to appreciate the arts, Moskvina encourages them to study ballet and acting and to attend dance and music recitals. She takes an active role in all aspects of the figure skaters' career, from devising new moves and designing costumes to acting as a press secretary and translator.

Moskvina competed in singles during the early years of her own figure skating career and was a five-time national champion (1962-66). The State Sports Committee, however, did not think she could win a medal in international competition and refused to send her to the world figure championships. Her husband/coach, Igor Moskvin, suggested that she try pairs figure skating. Though both already in their 20s, Moskvina and partner Alexei Mishin formed a successful duo, finishing fifth at the 1968 Olympics, winning the Soviet title in 1969, and taking home a silver from the 1969 World Figure Skating Championships. Mishin went on to become a notable men's coach and currently trains Evgeni Plushenko.

—Beth Braccio Hering

Copyright © 1998-2008 Private Ice Publications, a division of Tyler Communications. All Rights Reserved.
Please take a moment to review our privacy policy.

Private Ice's layout is tested in major browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
There are known incompatibilities with Konqueror 3.0.5, Netscape 4.78, and IE 4.0 and below.
Any questions or comments concerning the site may be directed to Dejah.