Meet Our Learn to Skate
Coaching Staff

Welcome to The Rink at Lehigh Valley Learn to Skate Program. We are proud to provide the highest quality of instruction in the Lehigh Valley. Our mission is to provide a fun, safe environment for all ages, levels, abilities and skating disciplines with the opportunity for positive physical, mental, physiological, and social development. All of our staff are members in good standing with the Professional Skaters Association, US Figure Skating and or the Ice Skating Institute. The Rink’s Learn to Skate staff consist of the following accomplished instructors. Our staff is also available for private lessons. You can contact the instructor of your choice in person at The Rink or contact Skating Director Adam Swift, at 610.434.6899, or email him below.

Skating Director: Adam Swift Master rated Moves in the Field coach with the Professional Skaters Association. Triple Gold Medalist; Former national competitor; Involved in skating in Southern California for over 18 years prior to becoming the skating director for The Rink. Adam also holds a certified Freestyle and Ice Dance rating as well as register Group; Gold Judge with the Ice Skating Institute; Former Dance Director and Ballroom Dance instructor for Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Lake Forest California. Contact Info: aswift@sbgmanagement.com

Janene Chidiac Instructor with The Rink, since 1991; Performed with Walt Disney World on Ice; Member of the Professional Skaters Association; Enjoys teaching children and adults of all ages including hockey clinics; Nursing background including first aid and CPR/AED certification.

Suzannah Nolt Gold Medalist in pair figure skating; Silver Medalist, World Professional Figure Skating Championship; Two-time national competitor; Principal performer for Ice Capades; Member and rated coach, Professional Skaters Association; Teaches Freestyle, Moves In The Field, and Choreography; Suzannah has been coaching since 1987.

Patricia Arnold Koehn Principal character Walt Disney Magic Kingdom on Ice; Certified instructor for Artistry in Motion under the direction of Paula Wagener; Silver Medalist in Ice Dancing; Director of synchronized skating; Coached synchro. team to a third place finish in the mid west championships. Coached in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Honolulu, Hawaii; Member and rated coach, Professional Skaters Association; enjoys teaching all disciplines, ages and abilities; Both of her daughters Megan and Calie train at The Rink at Lehigh Valley. Patti has been coaching skating since 1989.

Becky Mattes Member of the Professional Skaters Association; Instructor with The Rink since 2004; 5 years of competition experience. Becky enjoys teaching kids and adults of all ages.

Group vs. Private Lessons?

Our staff has found that a skater’s progression is accelerated through a combination of group and private lessons. The group lessons provide a fun, social, and economical avenue for learning. In combination with privates the group lessons can function as a supervised practice session that can introduce new moves as well as the opportunity to perform repetition of a maneuver with the supervision of a qualified instructor. If you decide on private lessons, our staff still encourages continued participation in the group instruction. Private lessons are considered for many reasons:

• as an occasional booster lesson to help a skater get over a maneuver they are having difficulty with
• on a regular basis to accelerate the learning process
• to polish up and develop a higher level of technique
• to learn a routine for competition or shows