Our COACHES
VSSC Program
Coaching Philosophy
The coaching staff set an example for young athletes and prepare them for life, both within, and outside of sport. Sport participation at elite levels is not for everyone, nor is it forever, it is reserved for a small percentage of the population. It is important that people understand that sport has a place for athletes at all levels, whether active for life, high performance or something in between.
We place a strong emphasis on goal setting, technical development, and personal improvement (both physically and mentally). The aim is to create an environment where athletes are not afraid to try new things, and possibly fail — there are learning opportunities in success and failure.
Our program is designed to coach athletes in the technical and tactical areas of speed skating, and create awareness of how to apply this knowledge. Once the race starts, skaters are in a situation where they cannot control (or predict) what the other skaters are going to do, they have to be able to react to any situation. Our role as coaches has limited influence from the sideline. It is important that we prepare athletes to be able to modify their tactics to multiple scenarios as the race unfolds for the best possible performance results.
Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!
— Adam Ingle, Head Coach
Adam Ingle, Head Coach
Coach Adam Ingle began coaching speed skating in 2005 with the Prince George Blizzard where he spent seven years leading the Intermediate Group before moving to the Advanced Group. Ingle became Vancouver Head Coach in 2015 and continues to work with our Intermediate/Advanced Group.
Adam has multiple NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) certifications, culminating in a Competition Development Certification in June 2016. Adam is also recipient of both the viaSport BC Regional/Provincial Coach of the Year (2018) and BC Speed Skating Association Coach of the Year (2013). In both 2019 and 2023, Adam was selected to join the Long Track coaching team for TeamBC at Canada Winter Games.
Stanley Chang, Beginner Coach
Stanley has been with VSSC for over 8 years. First as parent and on-ice helper for Special Olympics and later an integral part of the development team for our club. Stanley has NCCP certifications as FUNdamentals Leader, FUNdamentals Coach and Introduction to Competition (In-Training).
Pete Friedel, Beginner and Dryland Coach
As a competitive cyclist, Pete took a keen interest in understanding all aspects of speed skating development since joining the club as a parent. He has acquired both NCCP certifications of FUNdamentals Leader and FUNdamentals Coach (Trained).
Giang-Vi Nguyen, Assistant Coach
Giang-Vi has been speed skating since 2012. She has competed in provincial competitions in long-track and short-track speed skating. She represented Vancouver-Richmond in the 2016 and 2018 BC Winter Games and CanWest. She also enjoys coaching and working with skaters of all levels. Giang-Vi is studying biochemistry at UBC, and is currently In-Training for her FUNdamentals Leaders certification.
Wilfred Chan, Junior Coach
Wilfred took a year off from high performance competitive skating to focus on academics. Lucky for us Wilfred is able to come out and inspire and coach our younger skaters.
Simon Mikulash, Junior Coach
Simon has competing at the highest level in British Columbia and recently represented our province at the 2021-22 Short Track Canada Cup Junior Final. Simon is In-Training for his FUNdamentals Leader certification.