GLACIER SKATE ACADEMY COACHES

Glacier Skate Academy has a great team of professional coaches who work together to ensure that each skater achieves personal excellence. Our dedicated coaching staff provides a full range of skating disciplines - freestyle, moves, dance, and pairs - with professional specialists in jumps, spins, skating skills, and choreography.

The Glacier Skate coaching team asks that all skaters and parents adhere to the Glacier Skate Academy club policies upon registering as a club or associate member.

All GSA Coaches teaching private lessons at Glacier Skate Academy must be USFS Coach Compliant, and Jr Coaches must be Learn-to-Skate USA Compliant.

GSA Coaches

Kimmi Jeffers, Head Coach

*Coaches: Privates, Club, Jr Club, and Learn-to-Skate*

M.Ed, E-RYT 200

(Available Year-Round)

Accomplishments and Coaching Information

Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Kimmi started skating at age five and left home at fourteen to train in Salt Lake City, UT, for over ten years with world-renowned coaches and choreographers and practiced alongside some of the highest-level skaters in the world. She found herself at home on the ice and dedicated herself to full-time on and off-ice training for over twenty years. Kimmi discovered her passion for teaching more than sixteen years ago under the mentorship and guidance of her coaches based out of Salt Lake.

After graduating from the University of Utah in 2011, Kimmi taught skating and yoga full-time while traveling and pursuing other life interests. Upon completing a skating contract on Royal Caribbean, she taught skating and yoga in the Seattle area for two years before settling in Spokane to finish school and be near family. Upon completing her Master's degree in Elementary Education, Kimmi was called back to the ice to apply all she had learned. Over the last four years, she coached full-time in Spokane, WA, Coeur d'Alene, ID, and Salt Lake City, UT, before settling in Whitefish, Montana.

Through her years of coaching, teaching yoga, and graduate studies in education, Kimmi has built a dynamic skillset in guiding students of all ages and backgrounds to learn how to figure skate in competitive and recreational settings. Kimmi provides consistent jump and spin technique through strong skating skills to build consistent, balanced, and healthy athletes on and off the ice. In addition, she thrives on open communication with students and parents and loves to create a positive and fun learning environment.

Kimmi's primary goal is to inspire her students to become lifelong skaters.

Credentials: 18+ years coaching experience, Double Gold Medalist, competed multiple years in Regionals, Sectionals, Jr Nationals, US Nationals, and International events. Performed professionally worldwide with Willy Bietak Productions (Royal Caribbean Cruise Line). Specializes in singles, strong jump technique, spins, skating skills, yoga/off-ice for skaters, and choreography.

Contact: glacierskate@gmail.com

Kyla Jewell

Coaches: Privates, Jr Club, and Learn-to-Skate

(Available: Full-time from November-Mid April)

Accomplishments and Coaching Information

12+ years of coaching experience.

Competed multiple years at Junior Nationals in Ice Dance and Pairs and at Sectionals in Junior singles.

Performed as a Chorus Skater with Holiday on Ice in Europe and the UK

Gold tested in Moves in the Field and Freestyle.

Internationally tested in Ice Dance.

Novice tested in Partnered Free Dance

Junior tested in Pairs

Kyla loves working with both figure and hockey skaters of all levels. Her goal is to help skaters learn and improve their skills to reach their skating goals.

Contact: kjewell22@hotmail.com

Elyse Knudsen

*Coaches: Privates, Jr Club, Star Skate, and Learn-to-Skate*

(Available: Part-time from Sept - May)

Accomplishments and Coaching Information

Elyse loves working with the youngest to the youngest at heart, sharing her love of skating. She most comes alive when working on choreography with her students and is inspired by creating beautiful movements and moments.

Elyse skated professionally for Disney on Ice and as a principal pair skater for Willey Bietak Productions (on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships). She toured Japan, South America, Mexico, and the U.S.

Elyse splits her professional life between coaching skating and Operations Manager for a leadership consulting company, Genii Earth.

Credentials: 18+ years of coaching experience. Gold-tested Moves in the Field; Novice Free Skate; Intermediate Pairs.

Contact: lotuselyse7335@gmail.com

Lisa Kriley
(Available: frequent guest coach)

Lisa is a triple Gold Medalist in figure skating, an Advanced Level Hockey Coach in USA Hockey, and Professional Skaters Association rated. She specializes in making technically sound and consistent skaters. Since 1991, she's been coaching Olympic, Team USA, National, Sectional, Jr. National, and Regional figure skating champions and recreational skaters of all ages. She's taught therapeutic skating, the fundamentals of ice sports, and beginning, intermediate, and conditioning classes. During her career, she's studied with Olympic and World-renowned figure skating coaches and NHL power skating coaches and has trained at skating academies across the US.

Lisa received the prestigious President’s Award of Excellence for the Central Pacific Region in 2019. The President’s Award of Excellence recognizes exceptional grassroots coaches, in all disciplines, for their positive contributions to the sport of figure skating.

Lisa is specialized in jumps, spins, power skating, moves, choreography, and comprehensive off-ice training. She is a member of the Professional Skaters Association, United States Figure Skating Association, and Ice Skating Institute.

Contact: sk8coachak@icloud.com

Carly Poremba
Coaches: Privates, Learn-to-Skate, Star Skate, Jr Club
(Available: Jan-March and Summer)

Accomplishments and Coaching Information:
There is much I love about figure skating: the creativity, the athleticism, the artful self-expression. Throughout my life, skating has been a crucial creative outlet and powerful teacher! I am a Gold Medalist in Freestyle and MIF, a Pre-Gold Medalist in Ice Dance, and have been coaching for 12+ years. I encourage my skating students to self-express, push their edge, and reflect with open-mindedness and curiosity. I do my best to embody these principles each time I skate for myself, too. I feel quite lucky to collaborate with other like-minded coaches!

Contact: cporemba1@gmail.com

Kathie Jewell
Coaches: Learn-to-Skate, Skating Skills (Moves-in-the-Fields) small group classes
(Available: seasonally)

Originally from Buffalo, New York and currently resides in Montana/Florida. Cornerstone of the Figure Skating Club of Billings from 1987 - 2012 and developed the skating program in Cody, Wyoming and continued as a guest coach through 2021. Kathie is a US Figure Skating & PSA Registered Coach, CER certified, IJS Technical Specialist (non-qualifying).

She has forty years of experience (NY/ND/MT/WY) taking skaters through their golds, and has taught regional, sectional and junior national competitors in freestyle, dance, and pairs.

Kathie’s emphasis is on freestyle and moves in the field. She enjoys teaching skaters of all levels with a variety of goals – be it recreational or competitive.

Contact: kjewell02@hotmail.com

Junior Coaches

Allie Blythe
*Coaches: Star Skate, Learn-to-Skate, Jr Coach Privates*

Junior Coach

Allie is currently working on her Pre-Juvenile and Juvenile MITF tests and re-learning and landing her doubles. She has six years of skating experience and four years of coaching experience with the Glacier Skate Academy. Allie has performed in many club ice shows and competed in and out of Montana. She is passionate about all things skating with goals to do shows and loves to coach Learn-to-Skate and GSA's Star Skate program.

Contact: allieivivva@gmail.com

Andrew Hawken

*Coaches: Star Skate, Learn-to-Skate, Jr Coach Privates*

Seasonal Junior Coach

Andrew started skating in 2018, immediately fell in love with it, and has been skating competitively since February 2021. He enjoys the challenge of mastering jumps and spins and also likes that there is always something harder to learn. He plans to skate competitively in college and wants to skate with touring ice shows. Andrew enjoys interacting with his coaches and wants to give the same encouragement in his coaching. In addition to skating, Andrew has a passion for astronomy, hunting, and fishing. He raises pigs in his spare time and enjoys eating bacon. Andrew has passed his Juvenile Moves in the Field (MITF) and Pre-Juvenile Freeskate tests. He is currently working on Intermediate MITF.

Vaughan Irwin

*Coaches: Learn-to-Skate, Jr Coach Privates*

Junior Coach

Vaughan Irwin has skated with Glacier Skate Academy for two years and has competed in competitions in both Singles and Pairs events locally and out of state. He is a member of the US Figure Skating Axel club since 2021 and is currently working on his doubles as well as his Intermediate (Pre-Silver) Moves-In-The-Field and Pre-Bronze (Pre-Juvenile) Freeskate tests. He has been coaching Learn to skate for two years and loves working with new skaters and helping them achieve confidence and skills on the ice. Off the Ice Vaughan plays Clarinet in the Whitefish High School Band and Saxophone in the Jazz Band.