FACES AND PLACES: Queen of the ice

Melissa Olson is a performer.

When she was one of the area's top ice skaters, Olson liked to entertain, doing her routines with the flair of the dancer that she also was. Now that she's teaching ice skating to younger girls, Olson, a skating instructor for Northern Lights Figure Skating Club in East Grand Forks and the Border Blades Figure Skating Club in Grand Forks, strives to instill in them the need for a little panache in their skating routines.

"I make sure I have all my girls try different things, not just focus on jumps, the regular stuff," Olson said.

Olson also is a performer when it comes to doing her job to the best of her ability. She's engaged with her students, frequently stopping their routines to give them suggestions about how to better execute a move. If it's more effective to show her students a move than it is to try to explain it in words, Olson heads out to the ice to dip, jump and twirl.

"I'm a repeater," she said, noting that she wants her students to master a move before they go on to the next. She practiced in much the same way when she was younger.

"If I wouldn't land a jump, I would make sure I tried it three or four more times before moving on to my next element.

"It was me that wanted to push. It was never my parents," Olson said.

Olson started skating when she was 2½ years old and went with her father, Alan Olson, mother, Susan Olson, and brother, Jeremy Olson, to the VFW Arena in East Grand Forks.

"My dad would always tell me bend your knees because I would always skate straight-legged. My dad was a hockey player and so was my brother." When she was a young girl skating simply was a fun activity to do with her family, Olson said.

Competitive

But when Olson turned 10 she got more serious about figure skating and began taking individual lessons. She credits Melody Olstad, one of her former coaches, for piquing her interest in competitive skating.

"She was a really big influence in starting my skating," Olson said. Olson still recalls the first time she skated competitively at an event in Bemidji. Though she was nervous, she enjoyed the events and dance competition.

"After that I was hooked," Olson said. She was involved in competitive skating events until she graduated from East Grand Forks Senior High School in 2004. Over the years she garnered many awards, earning the gold medal, the United States Figure Skating Association's highest honor, in dance.

Olson's success caught the attention of other young figure skaters and when she was still a sophomore in high school she began getting requests from them to teach figure skating. Olson had a few students when she was in high school, and then took on more after she graduated.

Now she has about 20 students during the school year and about 25 to 30 during the summer. Her days begin early and end late. She's on the ice at 6 a.m. to teach her first lesson. Though it makes for a long day, Olson encourages her students to take advantage of the early morning skating time to work on their skills.

"A lot of that afternoon time gets to be so crowded. Working with speed and jumps and moves, you've got to have that space."

Long, but rewarding, days

Olson finishes teaching morning skating by 8 a.m. and then is off to her day job as a special education paraprofessional at Viking Elementary School in Grand Forks. After she finishes there, she goes to the gym for a quick workout before teaching another round of skating lessons from 5 to 7 p.m. After that, it's time for another break before teaching skating from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Olson teaches skating 11 months of the year, but never tires of it.

"I love it. When I'm off for those two weeks in the summer and two weeks in the fall, I get kind of gloomy."

During the next two weeks Olson will be watching the Olympic figure skating competition on television, both for fun and to get ideas for new routines for her students.

"I usually have a note pad with me," she said, noting that she jots down new moves and musical scores as she watches the Olympic skaters.

Skating is never far from her mind, even is she's not teaching it or watching it on TV.

"As I was driving home, I'm listening to Broadway music trying to think of ideas for next year. It's a continuous program going on."

Bailey writes for special features sections. Reach her at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com .