The UC Berkeley’s Figure Skating Team has done away with an indispensable figure from their roster. Taking pride in the 100% student-run program, they have adopted the moniker of “coachless figs” as a badge of honor. The ambassador and speaker for the Pacific Coast powerhouse team unveiled profound revelations from the hidden depths of the Oakland Ice Center.

Kevin Li is the product of the last generation and has had private instruction throughout his student journey. Therefore, the new concept of coachless training is as much a challenge as it is an opportunity for him. Here’s how he explained it!

UC Berkeley’s figure skating team ambassador breaking the ice

Kevin Li took the opportunity to explain the unprecedented concept of the program in an article published on the US Figure Skating’s official site. Titled “COMPETING WITHOUT A COACH”, the article shone a spotlight on the unique approach and how trainee athletes are embracing the challenge. Li highlighted the challenges, writing, “It requires added discipline to haul myself to the rink and regularly squeeze in off-ice training, and it requires being in touch with what my body is feeling or can handle”. The collegiate ambassador could buy into the program’s revolutionary doctrine because of his prior self-training experience. Still, it was a “foreign experience” to train without the guidance of a coach.

Kevin Li could change his perspective gradually, but the final die was cast at the subsequent competition. He reported feeling unbound exhilaration in the knowledge that the rewards of the self-training were purely owed to the athlete. However, the athlete is not without all supervision, as Kevin Li later clarified, which added an intriguing layer to this unconventional training approach.

Kevin Li unveils revolutionary supervision tactics

The Cal figure skating team has appointed a team captain or TC who is an athlete themselves. They need to be available for consultation, but it is left to the students’ discretion to seek help. Kevin Li strayed from his “one-man show” imagery to adopt a more collaborative stance. He pronounced teamwork and camaraderie to be the key factors of their success on the icy turf.

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By his own admission, the TC program is meant to bring some discipline into the team during practice time. The practice revolves around a “dedicated freestyle session for team practice as well as a set weekly off-ice time slot”. This helps eliminate the scheduling responsibilities that ideally belong to a coach. Kevin Li acts as both the ambassador and chauffeur to the underage team during competitions. Despite the added responsibilities, he is hopeful of a new era of figure skating.

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