Coach Nick Hughes
2001 - 2003
Coaching at the National Ice Centre Nottingham
2006 - 2007
Coaching and training in Ice Dance for USA and
coaching Ice Hockey in Chicago USA under
Oleg Epstein (Olympic, International and
Russian National Ice Dance Coach)
2007 - 2008
Coaching and training in Ice Dance and
coaching Ice Hockey in New Jersey, USA
under Nikolia Morozov (Olympic, World and
International Figure and Ice Dance Coach.
Hi, my name is Nick and I started skating at about 9 and started having lessons
about a year later. At 15 I was lucky enough to get the chance to improve my skating
more by going to California to train with Russian World and Olympic coach Rafael Arutunian
and Evelyn Kramer, who are amazing coaches and very passionate about skating and worked
very hard with me. This was the first experience that really opened my mind to
international level skating.
At the age of 16 I moved to Nottingham to train. In Nottingham I skated in the
Queens Skating Gala that was held for the Queen’s jubilee celebration in front
of 10 thousand skating followers and where I had the chance to skate alongside
British, World and Olympic Champions
When I was 18 I started doing ice dance and I trained under Vincent Kyle and won
the 2004 British Primary Ice Dance Championships with my partner Alexandra Zimbler.
We were then added onto the British Olympic Development Squad for the 2010 Olympics.
The following year my partner and I were selected for the Junior World Championships
in Canada. In 2005 I spent a couple months with the Olympic Pairs Silver medallist
Denis Petrova and Genrick Stratenski the Olympic Ice Dance Bronze medallist in America
and also worked in the summer with the French and German National coaches for a month.
When I was twenty I started working and living in the USA teaching figure skating and
basic skating to all ages and I was able to support myself easily through training.
I was offered a job teaching in Washington DC at first where I taught around 10 - 15
girls how to ice dance and then partnered them through their ice dance tests up to Gold
level dances, I worked there for 6 months and while there competed in Lake Placid at a
National Qualifying Competition and placed first in two out of the six competitions;
beating many national USA competitors at Senior level that had been together for along time,
while then maintaining a high placing in my other competitions.
I was then offered a job in Chicago where I spent a year training under and teaching
alongside an ex Russian team coach Oleg Epstein. In August 2007 I moved to New Jersey,
next to New York City to work under the top coach in the world Nikolia Morozov to train
with his student. I learned a huge amount about performance and movement and was lucky
enough to train around some of the best skaters in the world.
I feel that I have learnt so much from my experiences in America and I have been honoured
to have the opportunity to do so.
I have always enjoyed coaching or helping in group or team situations. I enjoy showing people
new things and learning new techniques. I am very passionate about skating and teaching people
new methods with on or off ice sessions and showing them the fun and excitement of ice-skating
from my own passion.
I really believe that I make a good coach. I love skating and feel that if people are shown how
to enjoy and be passionate about skating that they will improve far quicker than if they are
shouted at or forced to skate.