[Ce texte n'a pas été traduit.]  In surfing the internet and browsing through the various sites revolving around in-line skating and various clubs, I happened to come across an article in Roller-Montreal written by Lanny Totton entitled IISA & Mickey Mouse - and I nearly fell off my chair from utter shock and disbelief. Nothing about this article struck me as having rung true in remembering my own personal experience throughout that very same weekend in Ottawa and in fact, I found it nothing short of rude and completely dismembering. Not only that but... Well let me begin, then, by cordially introducing my own "titles" and qualifications to adequately present my point of view and my background within sport. Elizabeth Wadas is a coaching member of Skate Canada and a recent member of the IISA. She is a Level 1 certified Figure Skating Instructor with Skate Canada and a coach at the Minto Skating Centre in Ottawa and has been for over 3 years. She is also a figure skating coach for the City of Ottawa and has been for the past 2 years. She has a Level 1 Theory of Coaching certification along with many other coaching related and skater experiences. She has been a figure skater for over 20 years of her life. The weekend had begun by reaching the arena at approximately 7:00 pm on Friday evening after also having braved heavy traffic and gorgeous sunshine, straight from work. We were greeted with nothing but smiles and professionalism and positivity from the two trainers - Dave (from Oakville) and Kim (from Ottawa). They waste no time in briefly introducing themselves and their "qualifications" and do it with humour and seriousness blended just so. They move right along then into the IISA manual - what exactly would anyone else have used? With every job one begins, do they not provide you with some kind of rules and regulations to follow? Do you not get something to read to learn the ins and the outs of what you are doing or going to do? In this case, how else would you have liked to have learned about the IISA and in-line skating and the expectations put on a coach when potentially being hired/certified by the IISA? We all require some kind of guidelines in most things we do and a strong basis from which to start, don't we? I believe my point is made. The constant reference to the trainers as "Gods" within Mr.Totton's article was completely absurd and totally uncalled for. I found them nothing short of pleasant, very approachable, extremely knowledgeable and precise in their instructions and what they expected from us. They started out with a few minutes briefing the group on the equipment, which (for some of us non-veterans "of two of the world's most challenging races") was very useful and created a great start to a most challenging weekend. My personal experience with the IISA manual was terrific. The explanations of the various teaching techniques and the entire manual itself from cover to cover was eye opening and beneficial to me even as a "veteran" coach. As far as I'm concerned, you can never learn enough techniques for your own coaching purposes and experiences and you never learn enough from other people or coaches. I suppose that some people believe their teaching techniques are all too perfect and need no work or suggestions from anyone at any time! Not all of us have that same glory to thy names ( should we perhaps be referring to Mr.Totton as "GOD" then ?) In reference to Mr.Totton's statement of "having never met someone who needs all these lessons to learn to skate... and having yet to meet this imaginary dense and uncoordinated person," I suppose he has then never actually taught anyone who is just learning how to skate. I also suppose then that he doesn't realize that this imaginary dense person he makes reference to could potentially have been a 6 year old student of his. Any "veteran" coach who actually has taught beginners and "uncoordinated" people knows that yes... you do need to teach from the very basics, from the very fundamentals, from the ground up, from scratch. Anyone that has any experience with coaching beginners would know that - you, Mr.Totton have quite obviously had the luxury of teaching professionals! The bulk of the time was spent in our in-line skates. Approximately 6 hours per day (except for Friday). Everyone's feet were hurting; however, we were not here to play in the sand with shovels and sunshine. We were there to learn how to coach, we were there to learn how to do the skills... How else could we have learned those things without being in our skates for the duration? Yes our feet hurt and our various muscles hurt... But we did not go there expecting any different - I'm sure that long distance speed skaters are more than used to enduring skates on their feet for many hours, just as figure skaters are. With respect to having a certain preference for teaching certain techniques over others... If a student wanted to learn how to skate backwards, Mr.Totton, which you apparently state "you would never teach anyone to skate backwards... I never skate backwards, it's asking for injury..." Would you pass this person/child on to someone else who actually "knew" how to skate backwards? It seems to me that the only reason one would not want to teach a skill, is if one didn't actually know how to do the skill themselves - coaching isn't about preference, it's about coaching skills - whether or not you like them or feel comfortable doing them, is totally and completely irrelevant to the students. The trainers were there to make certain we knew absolutely each and every skill, that we would know how to break it down into their basic components... that we knew how to do them ourselves. This was a Level 1 certification - which would lead one to believe then that the students who would be taking the Level 1 classes from a Level 1 certified coach would be Level 1 skaters - how in the world could they possibly learn speed skating techniques when chances are they are there to learn the Level 1 basics of in-line skating first and foremost, like standing or gliding? I would assume that one would probably tend to concentrate a little more on actually acquiring the Level 1 first before looking ahead to Level 2 and "fast/speed skating" right? For anyone wanting to teach in-line skating, then, I would highly recommend taking this course - especially from two of the most knowledgeable and most approachable trainers I have ever met on any training course I have ever taken. Those that didn't pass were simply asked to work on a few things with a certified trainer to get their own skill levels up to the expected level - no extra fee required (the trainers were gladly making appointments with the various people at no extra cost, on their own time). What more could one expect? As far as I'm concerned, the cheap shots that Mr.Totton took against the trainers, the course and the material itself was nothing more than out of frustration or angst on his part, from not having passed the course perhaps. I learned a great deal from the trainers, the course and the material. If I could take the Level 2 IISA certification course from either one of these trainers again, I most definitely would. My growth as an athlete and coach has greatly benefited from this course - I not only learned things that I didn't think I would but I got the opportunity to meet various wonderful personalities with so much knowledge and wisdom to pass along. Each and every one of us that were there, were there to learn from one another, from the trainers and the future of in-line skating progressing through the eyes of the IISA - eyes which have greater than 20/20 vision, if you ask me. Keep this thought in mind... an individual may be the best skater in the world... not necessarily does this mean they will make the best teacher. Elizabeth Wadas