Smart, funny, and engaging

By Brandon Lee

The Santa Clarita Speed Skating Club wants to recognize Coach Richard Atkinson for his past contributions.

Short-track speed skating coach, Richard Atkinson.

Coach Richard helped the club restart after the pandemic. He has now relocated to the Lakewood area and is helping the SoCal Short Track Group develop their program at the Rinks - Lakewood.

Level One Coach

Richard is a US Speedskating Level One certified coach. He has over a decade of experience both in short and long track.

From the outside, Richard is smart, funny, and engaging. He cares about the experience for skaters of all levels and ages.

A Testimony by a new skater about his experience with Richard

I personally have a long background in freestyle skating. Yikes, I just ran the numbers! I have 44 years of bouncing off walls, tight turns, and narrow passes. Almost none of it applies to speed skating. But speed skating improves my strength, power, and speed on hockey skates. Coach Richard told me to relax, don’t be in a hurry; enjoy the journey.

It took months for me to get to that point of relaxation. I'm pacing myself. Now I see I'm at the beginning of the path. I'm settled in, work harder to relax, and the improvements are incremental. Now, with time, I'm starting to feel it.

Mentor and Friend

Shortly after starting my speed skating journey, I asked Coach Richard to coffee after skating so I could ask more questions. That coffee turned into a friendship I value greatly. I find myself aligned with his goals and passion for speed skating. It led me to take a trip to Utah to skate on the long track at the Olympic Oval.

After a few months, Coach Richard and I started arriving early, around 6 am, to set up pads and do warm-ups before skating. I can hear Coach Richard in my head when I skate: “Slow it down." "What if it were in slow motion?" "Breathe." "Get lower.” “Walk sideways up the stairs."

Learning and Fun

For me it’s not just the coaching I'm grateful for. Coach Richard finds ways to inject fun into learning. That, in turn, makes coming out to skate more fulfilling.

I will enjoy any opportunity to share the ice with Coach Richard. 

-  The new skater,  Brandon Lee, "Skate Ambassador" and Founder of The Craft of Skating.