Paul Crocker
Started skating at just 4/5 years old when his mother used to take him to Telford ice rink. At the age of 5 he moved to Gosport, Hampshire, the same year Gosport Ice Rink was opened. He skated as a hobby until the age of 8, watching his mum and sister from the sidelines, where he then enrolled in group lessons and eventually started lessons with his lifelong coach Julia Parvin who taught him from the age of 11 to now (Over 20 years). After many successful results in lower-level open competitions he went on to have 9 consecutive gold medals in the artistic section of the “National Team Challenge”, a gold medal at Masters level skating for the International “NISA Cup” and was Adult British Champion in Gold Free dance in 2013, 2015 and 2017. He also competed at Senior level with dance partner Chantelle A’Court at the British National Championships in 2016 earning 4th place.
He went on to work with coach Gary Peed who took him through the final top skating levels. Paul achieved level 10 across the board completing all British Ice Skating tests – Free Skating, Elements & Free, Field Moves (Skills), Free Dance and Pattern Dance. He also achieved a Gold Bar test for free dance.
In 2017 he took on coaching his home rinks synchronised skating teams. 3 teams of skaters competed in national competitions. He taught their mixed-age team to become the highest-ever scoring mixed-age team in the UK in the 2019-2020 season. In 2021 he merged his teams with fellow coach mate Terri Smith to form the Solent Synchronised Skating Club, an academy of synchronised skating with 7 teams and over 80 members progressing from no level under 11’s to Senior ISU teams and beyond!
In 2017 Paul also was on the GB Coaching team for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria and after 4 training weekends, he flew out with the team of 21 athletes (including 10 figure skaters and 11skierss) to the World Winter Games in Graz, Austria. The team had a great experience. In 2020 he also attended a Winter Games in Sweden in Ostursund with a handful of British athletes as head coach. He’s looking forward to 2024 when team GB are heading to Italy to compete again for the country!
In lockdown 2020 Paul started an online presence on Instagram and YouTube helping millions of skaters around eh globe with free off-ice training content. He also created online courses and ran countless zoom classes to keep the skating community going. He also used this time to drop in on zoom classes with some of the world’s best coaches, learning at every possibility and sometimes staying up to early hours to meet timezone restrictions to work with these coaches. It was in this time his off ice knowledge was really refined.
Paul has attended every British Championship event, as a coach, rink side at the British Skating Championships, British Adult Skating Championships, British Synchronised Skating Championships, British Inclusive Championships and British Solo Dance Championships.
Paul is an ambassador for “Inclusive Skating” and loves to work with and support the Inclusive Skating Community helping skaters earn confidence and find opportunities for skaters to grow within and outside of skating!
His real passion for performing grew from the Gosport Ice Show held once a year at Christmas in Gosport Ice Rink. He believes his character and confidence were built from years of performing and skating.
Over 30 years in skating has given Paul a passion and deeper knowledge of the sport’s technical perfection, but also just as much; what is achievable as a person within the sport.
Paul says:
I love ice skating, it’s one of the most diverse sports in the world. You can enter it at any age and be a part of all or just one of its many many diversities: Dancing, Acting, Technical Perfection, Big Jumps and spins, social, fun, speed skating, and teams like synchronised skating. Kids, teens and adults sharing the ice also share the same bug for skating and I love helping people realise what they can achieve within the sport.
Paul also adores skating with his dance partner and wife Sam, who he met through Skating. Paul and Sam had years of successful competing together.
Qualifications:
- BIS Licenced Level 2 Coach
- BITA Young Coach of the Year 2017
- Official BIS Off Ice Coach Qualification
- Senior Level Competitor
- Public Liability Insured
- Member of the British Ice Teachers Association
- Over 30 years of experience in skating
- Coaching since January 2008
- Awarded a BIS Scholarship for coaching and grade “A” for both on-icee assessments for qualification
- Experience in Free, Dance, and synchronised skating
- Regularly attends and updates Sports Coach UK workshops including:
o Good Practice and child protection
o Coaching equity
o Fundamentals of movement
o How to coach sports effectively
o How to coach children in sport
o How to coach disabled people in sport
o Long Term Athlete Development
o Analysing your coaching
o Positive Behaviour Management in Sport
- Regularly attends BIS seminars and nationally accredited seminars including:
o BIS Skating Skills seminars
o IJS Singles and IJS Dance seminars
o The BIS Licenced Coaches Convention
- Other qualifications outside of skating that all help include:
o Sports Specific First Aid
o “Understanding Autism” course by WENDY LAWSON and working experience
o Working with learning difficulties experience
o Working with special needs experience
o 4 years experience working as a youth worker
o HND in Business
Other interests:
Paul has a passion for music and has been a DJ and producer for over 20 years now.
Paul is also the founder of “Push Forward” skate camps for all ages and abilities to ‘push forward’ their knowledge and drive for skating. And was the co-founder of “The Inclusive Skating Academy” teaching disabled and inclusive skaters around the country.