MEET OUR COACHES!
Llonda Leaver
CanSkate & PowerSkate Coach
Llonda Leaver is a proud mom of three nearly grown children (ages 23, 19, and 17). Both of her daughters figure skated, and her son is currently active in hockey. She is also the wife of a dedicated oilfield consultant. Llonda has worked as an Educational Assistant for the past seven years and is currently based at Didsbury High School. With over 12 years of coaching experience in Skate Canada programs—including Junior STAR and StarSkate—Llonda brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the ice. She has also coached a variety of other sports including hockey, volleyball, soccer, and softball.
This season, Llonda is excited to be coaching both CanSkate and PowerSkate. She looks forward to a fun and engaging season, and to inspiring a lifelong love of skating in her athletes.
Cobi Grisack
Intro to StarSkate (ITS)
& StarSkate Coach
Coach Cobi coached with the Didsbury Figure Skating Club between 1998-2013 and re-joined our coaching staff in 2024 after eleven years of growing her young family. She resides west of town with her husband and now three teenage children. Cobi brings with her over twenty years of coaching experience. Her portfolio includes learn to skate, CanSkate, Star 1-5 and 6-gold (or prior equivalencies), as well as pre-hockey and PowerSkating. She is also known to be an active volunteer in her children’s activities - participating on various councils and boards and actively coaching t-ball, soccer, hockey, skills and drills and leading catechism and 4-H equine programs. Cobi’s knowledge, enthusiasm, encouragement and support has guided many skaters to success in testing and competing at all levels up to novice competitive. Back in the day, her own skating career took her to her 7th figure, senior silver freeskate and diamond dances under the direction of 1958 world champion Paul Thomas. Cobi also had the unique opportunity to skate in the closing ceremonies of the 1988 Olympics and many winter festivals at the plaza - memories she cherishes to this day! She enjoys a good book and many outdoor activities in her spare time - especially those including water - frozen or liquid!
Cobi is excited to be back in the rink and looks forward to an awesome year getting to know all of the skaters and parents involved with the Didsbury Figure Skating Club.
Shannon Black
Intro to StarSkate (ITS)
& StarSkate Coach
Shannon Black has called Didsbury home for the past 17 years, where she lives with her husband and their four children—all of whom have been part of the Didsbury Figure Skating Club over the years. Shannon has been a certified Skate Canada coach with DFSC for approximately 15 years. In addition to figure skating, she has coached a wide range of sports across various levels through schools, clubs, and camps. She holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary, along with NCCP Theory Level 3 certification and a variety of coaching-related educational courses focused on youth development.
Shannon has a deep passion for skating and youth sport. She strongly believes in the power of sport as a foundational tool for raising confident, well-rounded young adults.
