Daisha Thomas often travels for hours to find an open ice rink for practice. And the 15-year-old Cody figure skater's coach, Anita Hartshorn, is always with her.
The twist: Hartshorn is there virtually from her own rink in Sun Valley, Idaho — or wherever else she might be that week.
Competitive figure skating takes dedication and hard work. In Wyoming, it also takes innovative thinking and persistence.
Ice is scarce. Coaching sometimes must come via phone.
Despite these challenges, Thomas became the first figure skater ever from Wyoming to qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating Excel Series, a competitive developmental program for the national organization.
“It felt like I had made it,” she said about getting an invitation to the Excel Series. “I was the first one to be able to go this far and I already see a lot more people from Wyoming realizing they can do it too and going for it.”
Thomas qualified for the July national competition in Boston by earning high scores at two Excel Series competitions. She skated away from Boston ranked No. 21 in the U.S. at her level, despite suffering a serious injury right before the competition.
Another skater crashed into Thomas during practice, and she ended up with eight stitches and a black eye. Thomas rested one day and doctors cleared her to skate.
“She could not have skated any better if she had been not had the accident,” Hartshorn told Cowboy State Daily. “It is that Wyoming grit that keeps her going.”
Hartshorn said Thomas has the potential to be an Olympic gold medalist because of her dedication and willingness to do what it takes to improve, on and off the ice.
While a challenge to coach Thomas remotely, Hartshorn said it has been worth it as Thomas’ skills improve.
“Most people who grow up in Wyoming are not a China-cup child,” Hartshorn said, explaining that a person can’t be fragile to compete in figure skating. “Even when things go wrong, the show must go on.”
Thomas competes for time at the Cody skate rink with hockey players and other ice skaters. She is excited that Billings, Montana, is getting a new rink she can use for extra practice time.
“I try to stay on the ice for as long as possible — until they kick me off,” she said. “Some days, I want to skate more and more and then there are those days when I'm just really fatigued and I'm just falling on everything.”
From Fun To Competition
Thomas gas grown up on the ice, playing with her mom, Denae, on old run-down skates during free public skates in Cody. When she was 11, Denae saw a Facebook ad for a free lesson.
At first hesitant, Daisha decided to give it a try.
That decision changed her life.
“That was the first time ever going on the ice with good figure skates, because the rental skates were really broken down,” Daisha recalled. “I remember being surprised that I could skate so well and that it was really fun. I could actually stand up in those skates.”
Denae said they are grateful for the free lesson because they never would have tried figure skating otherwise. Daisha also had to work to catch up with the other girls, most of whom had been skating since they were 4 or 5.
“It's just freeing to get on the ice,” she said. “It’s such an accomplishment to get a new skill on ice because it's so much more difficult than other sports I've tried. Landing a new jump just feels so nice to finally get it.”
Finding The Ice, Coach
Daisha routinely travels to Billings and Casper because of the ice scarcity and crowded rink in Cody.
“Wyoming is more of a hockey state so the hockey tend to get priority,” Denae said. “We just have to be ready to get ice when they allow us to have ice, so it's a bit of a challenge.”
Off-ice work is also a big part of Daisha’s regimen. New jumps are safer to try before she is on skates.
“We're able to supplement our ice time by doing off ice lessons and just off ice training,” Denae said.
When Daisha first began figure skating, she used local coaches. As she progressed, they found Hartshorn.
“Daisha’s success with virtual coaching is her consistency,” Hartshorn said. “My coaching buddies are just amazed at what she has accomplished even though we are not together in person.”
Hartshorn, 69, a former U.S. pairs world champion, has been coaching figure skaters for 50 years and began virtual coaching during COVID in 2020. She never expected it to be permanent but has found it has expanded her abilities to help students like Daisha who don’t have access to top-tier coaches and ice.
“You just need to put in more work than everybody else,” Daisha said. “You need to show up to all the practices and you just can't give up.”
Daisha FaceTimes with Hartshorn with someone else holding the phone when she's on the ice. She wears headphones so she can hear what her coach is telling her in real time.
“You'll be on the video call, and you'll do your jump or spin or step or whatever, and then she will give you corrections just like a normal in-person coach,” Daisha said. “And then you'll just keep doing the lesson.”
Said Denae: “Virtual lessons can be a little harder than an in-person coach. There's some struggles, there's certain things the coach can't see on video and you're not getting the full perspective when you're there.”
Hartshorn agreed virtual coaching can be challenging.
“I can help Daisha with her technical skill but I was not seeing how she interacted with the judges – her performance,” she said.
Taking The Next Step
After the Boston competition, Hartshorn has been sending her videos of other skaters to study.
Twice a year, Daisha does get to see Hartshorn in person. Daisha's Cody Figure Skating Club has begun using Hartshorn as well for group lessons.
Every day, Daisha tries to get in at least an hour to two hours of freestyle time on the ice. In addition, she does another hour of off-ice training, which is mostly stretching and strength training but can include jumps and other tricks.
“You can also do spinners that you can practice your spins off of the ice,” Daisha said. “It's not quite the same as being on the ice, but it definitely helps.”
As Daisha prepares for another season of figure skating, she said she is excited and nervous. She is moving up another level and the competition will be more challenging.
It helps that her coach allows her to select her own music and choreographs the moves for her.
“I think ice skating will probably be a part of my life forever,” she said. “I see ice skating as always being a part of me and what I'm doing.”
Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
