In the cold underground rink, a sharp flick of his skate blade sends junior Stanley Tan skillfully gliding across ice. A group of his students watches his demonstration of a salchow jump, then takes to the ice themselves. The rink rings with the scrape of his takeoff and landing. As Tan watches them skate, he calls out corrections and delivers compliments, passing his love and experience in figure skating to his students.
Tan’s journey on ice began at 8 years old when his father took him to the Cupertino Ice Center, the same rink where he now works. Although he originally struggled with maintaining his balance without falling, he improved after just a few laps around the rink and was soon gliding smoothly on the ice. The support he received from his father as he improved sparked Tan’s further interest in the sport. Soon after, Tan began to figure skate regularly, transforming it into a new passion.
“Something that always motivated me to skate was having a tight community of friends that would always motivate me,” Tan said. “Sometimes they would even give me tips on how to better execute a maneuver.”
Over time, Tan has found a community of fellow skaters that he spends time with on and off the ice, making the activity feel bigger than just a sport. From supporting each other through difficult skills and injuries to spending nights at Cupertino Main Street, the great moments they experience together are some of Tan’s favorite aspects of skating.
Being a figure skater hasn’t been without challenges. Tan faces constant injuries, including many falls and bruises. Despite the challenges, he never lets them deter him from trying new skills. As the level of difficulty increased, he grew more committed to the sport, making it an integral part of his life. One of Tan’s fondest memories was the night when he finally landed his axel jump, a skill that had taken him two months to learn.
“At that moment, my brain finally clicked and I suddenly knew how to rotate in the air,” Tan said. “It was super scary yet exciting, feeling so much adrenaline rush through me, but also achieving another milestone in skating.”
In order to share his skills and passion with others, 16-year-old Tan became a skating instructor at the Cupertino Ice Center. However, his experiences in teaching had begun much earlier. At 12 years old, Tan had already been volunteering during freestyle sessions to teach skaters.
Coaching has taught Tan to envision skating from his students’ perspectives. While improvement in his own skating is usually intuitive, coaching students challenges Tan to break down moves and catch mistakes. His supervisor, Nancy Poon, has watched Tan develop confidence as a coach.
“He’s patient, and he explains the maneuvers and moves really well because he breaks them down into smaller parts,” Poon said.
Tan started as an assistant coach before advancing to lead lessons of his own. Now, he teaches students of all levels, from toddlers to adults. Through coaching, Tan has improved not only his students’ abilities, but also his own understanding of skating maneuvers and working through mental blocks on the ice.
“I learned a lot of empathy,” Tan said. “I never really knew how much people struggle with some of the new elements that I teach them.”
Despite the challenges of injuries and coaching, Tan looks forward to continuing his journey on the ice after high school. For now, he’ll continue to split his time between school, personal training and striving to be the best figure skating coach that he can be.
