#interview: cbc

[virtchandmoir]

CBCOlympics: Canada vs. USA - ice dance edition 🇨🇦⛸🇺🇸

@Devin_Heroux and U.S. coach @ScottMoir set up the ice dance showdown between Canada's Gilles/Poirier and USA's Chock/Bates

[virtchandmoir]

CBCOlympics: Such a pleasure to catch up with Canadian champion turned ice dance coach @ScottMoir 

More figure skating to come on @CBC TV and right here: https://cbc.ca/player/play/2157404739861

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tessavirtue: What does 2022 have in store? #olympics #wintergames @CBCOlympics @cbcsports

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Olympic great Scott Moir credits coaches-turned-colleagues for rediscovering his love of skating

Gold medallist now head of Ice Academy of Montreal's satellite program in London, Ont.

September 1, 2022

Scott Moir, seen here during an unveiling of his Canada's Walk of Fame Hometown Star in Ilderton, Ont., in 2019, has transitioned from his figure skating career to coaching and is now head of the Ice Academy of Montreal's satellite program in London, Ont. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir came out of retirement to compete at the 2018 Olympics with a "stone cold" focus."T and I . . . we wanted to win, and nothing else," Moir said.

Their ferocious gold-medal pursuit led to a fierce push and pull with Montreal coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, whose focus was on the process and not the outcome.

"They helped us understand that [gold] actually wasn't the goal. Our goal was to be the best we could possibly be . . . but the double-edged sword of it is it allows you to be your best as well, when you have your priorities and you're connected with the joy of skating and why you started skating," Moir said Wednesday at Skate Canada's national team training camp.

"And the higher you get, the higher the pressure is. And you forget that so easily."

Virtue and Moir retired after winning gold at the 2018 Games as the most decorated ice dancers in history.

Dubreuil, Lauzon serve as inspiration

Moir hadn't considered coaching as a career, but he was so sold on the philosophy instilled by Dubreuil and Lauzon at the Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM), he became the head of their satellite program in London, Ont.

"My time in Montreal changed . . . well, it changed my life. I know Tess feels the same way," Moir said. "I fell back in love with the sport again."

Of the 23 dance teams at the Beijing Olympics, Dubreuil and Lauzon, who captured back-to-back world silver medals before retiring in 2007, coached 10 of them at I.AM, including gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France.

Dubreuil, Lauzon and former French skater Romain Haguenauer co-founded the academy in 2014. They had one team in the Sochi Olympics that year. They had four teams four years later in Pyeongchang, including Virtue and Moir.

In Beijing, country allegiances seemed to melt away between the 10 Montreal-based teams. Instead there were plenty of hugs and high-fives.

"We take care of the human being more than anything else," Lauzon said in Beijing. "I think that's what draws people in."

'His love for skating has not faded'

Haley Sales and Nikolas Wamsteeker, who are at this week's national team camp, are one of Moir's dance teams.

The two, who've twice been fourth at the Canadian championships, described Moir as a positive, high-energy coach who spends most of his time on the ice rather than behind the boards.

"His love for skating has not faded," Wamsteeker said.

They've noticed a shift in their skating since moving to London a year ago.

"The really unique thing about having a coach so fresh off the circuit was interesting, and more in tune with the modern kind of ice dance," said Sales. "I would say we've learned a lot more of the artistic side of skating, which we felt like we really needed."

"I'm starting to realize more and more of [Moir's influence] in my skating, watching the videos from years past it wasn't there," added Wamsteeker. "And it's hard to put my finger on it, but it's a fluidity, it's performance."

They're one of nine dance couples based in London. There are another 17 in the Montreal program.

While there's been criticism about coaching skaters who compete for countries other than Canada, Moir said the program works for the Canadians as well.

"We see the strength in the numbers . . . we believe that it makes our Canadian kids better, stronger," Moir said. "There are some people that it doesn't work for, which is fine. But usually it is life changing, and in this day and age, we need sport done in the right way more than ever. That's the whole commitment we made to each other. And hopefully, we can continue to uphold it."

'It's the little victories that I find extremely rewarding'

The 34-year-old Moir recently married longtime girlfriend Jaclyn Mascarin after COVID-19 twice threw a wrench into wedding plans. They have an 18-month-old daughter.

Moir's mom Alma and his aunt Carol, who were Virtue and Moir's first coaches, run the nearby Ilderton Skating Club, and can provide a developmental feeder system for dancers.

"So they're bringing up little teams, and they're also involved in the I.AM Ontario campus. So it's a nice little crossover that helps us," Moir said.

Moir, who often reaches out to Virtue if he has a skating question he can't figure out, said there's a big sense of satisfaction in the success of his athletes. But it comes in the moments away from competition.

"It's the little victories, and they mostly happen in training when you have a day and everything's clicking, and you're like, 'Oh, my God, I am actually having an impact!' I do have those moments," he said. "Sometimes it's the actual skills that they're getting, such as doing a perfect rocker turn that we've been working on forever.

"Most of the time, it's how the kids behave, and their skills that they'll take on to do whatever they do in the rest of their life — little things like being vulnerable, giving everything they have and even showing up on time and writing an email that they're supposed to.

"It's the little victories that I find extremely rewarding."

—CBC

[virtchandmoir]

andipetrillo33: Shenanigans and showtime. Miss these two so much ♥️ So great having them part of CBC’s figure skating coverage during the Olympics. @tessavirtue17 @scottmoir14 @cbcolympics @skate_canada #OlympicChampions #WorldChampions #FigureSkating #IceDancing

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tessavirtue17: ⛓💚

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Tessa’s Instagram Story (February 11th)

Link

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Olympic champion Scott Moir back on the ice with new coaching gig

The Olympic athlete has been named head coach of the Ice Academy of Montreal's second campus in Ontario

February 11, 2021

Scott Moir, 33, has been named the head coach and managing director of the Ice Academy of Montreal's second campus located in southwestern Ontario.  (Jordan Cowan/On Ice Perspectives)

After a 22-year career in ice dancing and winning five Olympic medals, Scott Moir says he ready to try new things. 

Three years removed from capturing the gold in Pyeongchang alongside longtime skating partner Tessa Virtue, the 33-year-old from Ilderton, Ont., is set on coaching the next generation of elite ice dancers.

Earlier this month, Moir was named head coach and managing director of the Ice Academy of Montreal's (I.AM) second campus located in southwestern Ontario. 

"It's a huge honour," Moir told CBC News. "My goal is to make these athletes better and for them to thrive as humans and as athletes."

Moir is no stranger to I.AM. He and Virtue trained at the academy for the last two years of their careers under head coaches and founders of the Montreal campus, Patrice Lauzon, Marie-France Dubreuil and Romain Haguenauer, who led them to capturing their second Olympic gold medals in 2018. 

Scott Moir and Tessa Virture embrace their coaches Patrice Lauzon and Marie-France Dubreuil. The pair worked under Lauzon, Dubreuil and Romain Haguenauer for the final two years of their careers. (Sofia Rodriguez/CBC)

The transition into the new role seems like a natural fit. Since stepping away from the sport alongside Virtue in 2019, Moir said he still found himself dropping by at the local ice rink to help coach young athletes.

Moir said the partnership with I.AM came from a desire to give back to the local community and being able to offer them an elite service without having to leave Canada.

"I want to get back in the arena with these athletes and discover new ways to be extremely excellent. And I think that's what this journey is all about. The plan is to teach, but also to learn."  

"I want to get back on the international stage. I want to bring in Olympic champions to southwestern Ontario and I want it to be done the right way," Moir said, adding that he wants to ensure his athletes accomplish fulfilment both on and off the ice.

"The way that Patrice, Marie-France and Romain saw [Tessa and I] as human beings, they respected that and pushed us to be our best not only on the ice, but off the ice. It had a long lasting effect on my life, so I want to be able to do that."

Moir's new position has already caught the attention of high-profile athletes. On Monday, it was confirmed that U.S. ice dancers and two-time World Junior medallists Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will be training under Moir's supervision at I. AM.

Virtue and Moir announced they were stepping away from the sport in 2019 after 22 years and numerous Olympic and world titles. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images/File)

This new chapter in Moir's career comes after spending 22 years with a professional partner. Moir and Virtue were paired up in 1997 at ages nine and seven, respectively. Moir said he won't be taking on this task alone, adding that he'll be working alongside a team of other coaches, including his mother Alma and his aunt Carol.

As for a future collaboration with Virtue, Moir said the possibility is always on the table.

"I don't want to get people too excited, but she had talked about what it would be like to come back inside the rink and I want to make sure that that's always available to Tessa Virtue."

"Watching Tessa and Marie-France create our last couple of programs together with Sam Chouinard, I was really in the front row of genius happening. So anytime that I can get her back in the arena, I'm going to do that."

Virtue is in the midst of obtaining an Executive MBA at Queens University. The 31-year-old from London, Ont., has also partnered up with brands, including Nivea, Adidas, The Brick and Kashi all while continuing to empower young women.

"We look back at these crazy, young kids, but we always were on the same page and I think now our relationship is at a really beautiful point where we're starting to figure out where each other wants to go and we're really just cheering each other on," Moir said.

—CBC