Skate Talk - by Steve Milton

Skate Talk is an interesting compilation of interviews, gathering many different skaters’ thoughts on several different levels. It’s almost like having a conversation with different skaters about the same topics. It provides us with a look inside the minds and thoughts of many of the most famous skaters in recent history. Both Brian Orser and Brian Boitano discuss how their lives changed after the “Battle of the Brians” and how each of them dealt with the fame that they experienced upon returning home.

Barbara Ann Scott-King, Todd Eldredge and Carol Heiss-Jenkins reflect upon their Olympic experiences. Each one tells us about proud and amazing moments in their lives, things that made each experience special to them. Toller Cranston and Robin Cousins discuss what they felt was missing from their amateur careers, and how things might have been different. Many other skaters reflect upon their moments of greatness and moments that were not so great. This book gives us a sense of what it was like to be there at that moment that meant so much to each of these athletes.

The chapter discussing death is both touching and heart felt. It is amazing that people are willing to let us look into their pain and heartbreak as well as their happiness and sorrow. Tracy Wilson, John Nicks, and Frank Carroll discuss the great losses in their lives. The terrible crash of 1961, which took so much of U.S. skating away from us, touched both John and Frank in different ways. This book allows us to see into the lives of those who have made us love the sport of figure skating. Skate Talk is highly recommended reading.

Find out what stands between you and the performance you know that you are capable of giving. Learn how to train enough without overtraining and learn the value and principles of periodization. This is a must-have book in any athlete’s library, so I highly suggest it to all of my students from beginners to seasoned competitors. The New Toughness Training for Sports is well worth the investment.

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