John Nicks, Millennium Hall of Fame

Richard Dunn

Some say in order to remain young at heart, you need to surround

yourself with young people.

If that’s the case, figure skating coach John Nicks, who has seen

every move and twist imaginable on an ice rink, never seems to grow old

... only his list of Olympians gets longer.

“The most significant thing at (age) 71 is still being in the business

and being a survivor,” said Nicks, who has been based out of the Ice

Chalet in Costa Mesa for 18 years, and has coached a U.S. national

champion in every division -- men’s, ladies, pairs, novice, juniors and

seniors.

Nicks, who has coached 53 national champions and myriad Olympians, is

still working with the best. Sasha Cohen, the 15-year-old star from

Laguna Niguel, and Naomi Nari Nam are pupils under Nicks and serious

contenders to make the U.S. team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt

Lake City.

“It’s a real exciting time of my life, and, really, the most

enjoyable,” Nicks said. “Just being at my age and winding down (in my

career), yet still being able to be associated with two young ladies of

the future, is quite enjoyable.”

Todd Sand and Jenni Meno formed a noted pair in the 1990s because of their romance off the ice (and eventual marriage) and Olympic moments,

but the top pair coached by Nicks included Tai Babilonia and Randy

Gardner, the 1979 world champions who skated at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

Nicks, who has coached U.S. skaters at nine different Winter Olympics,

trained JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley in the 1970s, but Babilonia and

Gardner captured five straight national championships from 1976 to ’80.

A two-time Olympic skater for Great Britain in 1948 and ‘52, Nicks won

the world and European championships in 1953, then turned pro, skating in

ice shows throughout Europe. Nicks went on to operate his own ice show

for two years out of South Africa.

In the spring of 1961, while Nicks was visiting his sister in Canada,

he learned of the tragic news that would change the course of his life.

An airplane carrying the entire U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team crashed

in Belgium, killing every skater and all six coaches.

Nicks later replaced Bill Kipp as U.S. Olympic coach and helped

resurrect the American program. His first year as U.S. Olympic coach came

at Grenoble in 1968, the country’s first year back since the catastrophic

plane crash.

“I’m a survivor -- I’m not frozen out yet,” Nicks once said in March

1992, following the Winter Games in Albertville, France, where he coached

five U.S. skaters.

When Nicks first arrived in Southern California, he taught at a rink

in Paramount where the Zamboni was invented. He was there for 10 years,

then moved to a rink in Santa Monica, then finally to Costa Mesa in 1981.

As an Olympic competitor, Nicks placed eighth at the 1948 Games and

fourth in ‘52, skating with his sister in the pairs.

“I’ve always been fortunate,” Nicks said, “because I’ve always been

associated with talent in ice skating. I don’t know why, but I’ve been

lucky to coach a lot of very talented people.

“One reason why I wanted to come to California 40 years ago was

because I knew that California had youth, not only for skating, but for

any sport. The people seemed to be very focused and had a lot of

ambition. They were very intense in their approach and usually very

successful, and there’s not really a better place to finish up (a

coaching career) than Orange County, California. It’s a wonderful area to

work in my line of business.”

Nicks, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

lives in Costa Mesa with his second wife, Yvonne. They’ve been married 20

years and have four children and two grandchildren between them.