A Desire for Ratings

By Kent McDill

Madeleine (Leine) Newby-Estrella has a bachelor’s degree in cell biology and kinesiology, pursued PhD studies in kinesiology with a focus on exercise science, has a master’s degree in quantitative biology, and minors in both chemistry and kinesiology.

Upon completing the master’s program at the University of TexasArlington, Newby-Estrella decided she would rather be a full-time figure skating coach.

And, so, she is.

Newby-Estrella is the skating coordinator for Children’s Health Star Center in Mansfield, TX., one of several ice skating sites under the Star Center umbrella (she also coaches at the Euless branch). She is a PSA-rated coach in freestyle, group, and choreography. She also coaches power skating for the hockey program.

She also has a full calendar of future PSA ratings events she plans to attend with an eye toward adding more ratings to her resume.

By her own admission, Newby-Estrella is fixated on the PSA coaches’ ratings system, and her appreciation for the ratings grew when she failed one of the many tests she has taken.

“If you open yourself to the possibilities and open those doors, your coaching will benefit because of it,” she said.

From Texas to Canada to Texas

Newby-Estrella was born in Texas, but she has family in Ontario, Canada, and it was there where she was given her first pair of ice skates by her grandmother after she watched the Winter Olympics and fell in love with the sport. She competed in ice dance through the Junior level and represented Canada at Lake Placid in 2008 before hanging up her competitive skates and moving back to Texas.

But it was while she was living in Canada that she found her calling.

“When I was skating in Canada, one way I was able to get more ice time was to become a program assistant at the (Kitchener Waterloo) skating club,” Newby-Estrella said. “That started when I was 13. I absolutely fell in love with teaching other skaters how to do different elements and explain things to them. That is what I fell in love with right away. At 13, I realized I wanted to do something with teaching.”

But that darn quantitative biology got in the way.

“I finished my masters in quantitative biology in 2018,” Newby-Estrella said. “My initial goal was to become a research professor, but after being a graduate teaching assistant at the university, I found out all I wanted to do was be at the rink. I had been coaching on weekends and after school, and I found so much more joy on the ice. So, I finished out my degree and pursued a career in coaching.”

So, did coaching figure skating push all of that biology knowledge aside?

“I use the kinesiology degree quite often, formulating off-ice plans and working on different exercises for injury prevention,” she said. “I have a pretty good understanding of human anatomy, what the human body can push through.

“Also, in school, I learned how to organize and plan to make myself as prepared as possible,” she said. “I don’t think I would be where I am today without that education. I learned a lot in my degree, not just degree-topical things, but I learned how to be a better researcher, and I used that in my every-day coaching.”

The Pursuit Begins

Prior to joining the Star Centers organization, Newby-Estrella was at a different rink where none of the coaches were PSA rated or pursuing those ratings. In 2017, Newby-Estrella realized she needed more coaching knowledge. So, she took her PSA Basic Accreditation exam, “and I had so much fun with it I actually took all of the sport science exams on the same day,” she said with a laugh.

I sat there thinking ‘This is fun. I want to do more of this. I can learn and apply all of this to my coaching. This is great’.

Upon joining the Star Centers group, Newby-Estrella stepped out of her comfort zone and went to Las Vegas in 2020 to attend a rating event.

“It was one of the best things I did,” she said. “I was able to network and meet coaches in the PSA who guided me through the process of my first ratings.”

That trip was followed by a second trip that year to Palm Springs for the annual PSA Conference, where she took three ratings exams.

“I would not recommend that,” Newby-Estrella said. “I took the Registered Group, Registered Free Skate, and Registered Choreography, and I passed two out of three. They were much more challenging than I anticipated, especially the choreography exam, which I thought I would pass in a breeze.

“What was good about the experience is that the whole community is very uplifting and willing to share their knowledge,” she said. “That was something I was craving.”

By networking and being open to instruction, Newby-Estrella found herself invited to go to rinks around the country to attend different educational seminars. At the invitation of Kate McSwain, the executive director of the American Ice Theatre in Boston, she attended the American Contemporary Festival, and from there she moved on to Chicago and Montreal to learn from other coaches she met at the conferences.

Failing to pass the choreography exam the first time (she passed the second) was a wakeup call for Newby-Estrella. It was also a push to evolve as a skating coach.

“I learned that, just because you did not pass does not mean you are not knowledgeable,” she said. “They just hold you to a very high standard and you learn in the process regardless. I learned how to be a better critical thinker, how to better give information to my students, and how to approach topics from a variety of perspectives.”

A Ratings Rookie Turned Ratings Advocate

Newby-Estrella is now running an academy at the rink in Mansfield, Tx., and that has prompted her to pursue the Registered Program Director rating, an exam she will take in April. She is planning to take the Master Group Instructor rating exam in Chicago in May.

Newby-Estrella’s pursuit of ratings and skating knowledge has become voracious, and she desperately wants to share that thirst with others.

“My advice to coaches is to take it seriously,” she said. “Branch out and network as much as possible. The PSA has a vast wealth of knowledge and all of the coaches are willing to share that knowledge if you ask.

“Go to as many educational sites as you can. There is always something to learn and improve on.”