Honesty is Essential

Feedback wouldn't be accurate if it didn't include all opinions — positive and negative. I am a firm believer in open communication with my students, parents, and all of my clients in both of my professions. Here is what my hockey clientele have to say:
Bottom line: Coach Donna will make your skater better.  Period.
We brought our 17-year-old son to Donna after his season wrapped up this year to keep him on the ice and in shape for tryouts. He has been playing a high level of travel hockey, billeted with a 16U tier 1 team and will be playing 18U this upcoming season.  He intends to play Juniors and hopes to play at the collegiate level someday. 
I’m sorry we didn’t have Donna working with him earlier.
Xander came to Donna as a skilled and experienced skater, but what a difference her coaching has made. His foot speed is much quicker-you can see it in his transitions, lateral moves, quick stops and starts. Skating has become effortless now, and the coach of his current team was impressed with how smoothly he skates.  We are watching a kid that has transformed into a different player.  Her work with him has elevated his game. 
Donna’s knowledge of skating is excellent.  She has been transforming our son from a good skater to a great skater, one session at a time.  If you are looking for a top-notch coach, you need look no further.

Andrew Wehner

Donna,

Totally loved the lesson today! It really was the best, most thorough, lesson I have ever had.
And, that rink, with the way the sun shines in, is a great rink for an early morning lesson.
I’ll schedule another lesson with you in a few weeks.

Best Regards,
Tim Taylor

Skating had always been a skill I wished I had acquired while I was young.  Now, as a 46 year old, the challenges seemed insurmountable.  I had taken lessons from a number of teachers that only reinforced my own  belief that falling, poor balance and turned in ankles would be my norm.  Through a bit of research, I was able to connect with Donna.  In my first hour she was able to break down what I was doing wrong and through demonstration, explanation and quite a bit of encouragement, put me on the right track.  I was able to take turns, pivot and begin to skate backwards.  I am already looking forward to my next lesson.  Working with Donna reminded me of the well know quote: 

"The average teacher explains complexity; the gifted teacher reveals simplicity."

Brian A. Solomon, MD 
Chairman, Dept. of Radiology 
Donna, 

Just a short note to again thank you for the time you took in giving JT a few lessons on skating. Yesterday, he played in his 2nd cross ice game of the season, and Missy and I were both just astonished at how much his skating has improved. He was like a different kid out on the ice, and it was clear to us that the instruction you provided has payed off in dividends !!!! We are both grateful to you for instilling some sound fundamental skating techniques in him, and ultimately allowing him to enjoy more than ever the game of 
hockey ! We will likely be back in touch in the future to see if, perhaps, we can schedule a few more lessons to further progress his skating. Who knows, one day he just might be able to skate as well as you :-) 

Once again, many many thanks, and if you happen to be in the U of D area on a Sunday afternoon, stop by and see him play.......it'll make you proud !!!!

Raymond P. McDonald, Jr.
Excellent skating and skills coach for our rink programs.

Jeff Grable, GMPower Play Rinks
Donna-
I just wanted to thank you again for helping out tonight. You did an amazing job in the Power Skating class.  I was just going to have you observe my class so you could get an idea of how I run my clinics, but you were doing such a great job breaking down the skating mechanics for the kids that I felt I needed to use your skills to make the class better. I hope I didn't overstep my bounds by throwing you right into the fire. I had several parents ask where I had found you and were very impressed with the job you did.  I always had confidence in your ability as an instructor,but I have to say that I was extremely impressed. 

Paul M. Caron
Hockey Director
Power Play Rinks
Donna has performed many different duties at The Igloo at Mt. Laurel. She has held figure skating classes; as well as Men’s League Power Skating camps and served as the Power Skating Coach for the 14 Jaguar Travel Teams. Each time doing an outstanding, professional job enjoyed by the participants and held in high regard by our management group. Her enjoyment and knowledge of skating shows through in her teaching. She is always welcomed at the Igloo. 

David Settlemyre
Hockey DirectorIgloo in Mount Laurel NJ
Donna,
I got a lot of postive feedback from the clinic thanks, let me know if you can come back.

Jim Kaden
Operations Manager
University of Delaware

Jim ,
 
I just wanted to say that last night was the last puck control session we will be able to make due to baseball.  But I wanted to say Donna and the classes were fantastic and that my son got a lot out of them.  In fact I am curious if these clinics will be offered again this year before the season starts?
 
thanks again,


RLCornett

I can't say enough great things about Donna.  I met her during an adult ice hockey clinic and was impressed with her skating knowledge, her ability to translate it into techniques specific to ice hockey and the way she handled the class .  I quickly took advantage of the opportunity and arranged private lessons for my son.  Once again, her keen eye, patience, skating knowledge and demonstration skills broke down the mechanics of skating into manageable chunks and dramatically improved my sons skating in just a few lessons. 
 
A few weeks ago, a year and a half after his lessons with Donna, I was on the ice for the first time after recovering from a knee injury.  I was struggling with power turns because I was afraid to re-injure the knee.  My son saw me and said "Donna taught me to turn like this" and demonstrated the technique.  I tried it and sure enough felt less stress on the knee and boosted my confidence enough to continue trying. Perhaps that is the best testimonial to Donna of all . 
 
Hank Dominguez 
Father of Mitchell Dominguez currently a defenseman on his 
Middle School Ice Hockey team.
Donna Helgenberg is a coach that looks at the details. Though I have
only had one opportunity to skate with Donna, I know that the 90
minutes I spent on the ice with her was a time of great learning.
Whether we were stick handling or doing cross-overs, Donna always took
the time to show the simple details that went into perfecting our
skating.
Lauren Gibson
Donna is an excellent coach.  I love the way she focuses on proper technique and doing drills correctly, not simply quickly.  Donna has a knack for breaking down skills into technical components, which is just what I need as a new adult skater.  She explains why instead of just how.  In just 2 short years I went from barely being able to stand on my skates to being comfortable on the ice and a contributor to my team.

Karen Shull
Concord Flames Red, 2 years
The Conestoga Middle School Program brought Donna on for 10 sessions last year because we had some really new/developmental skaters who needed more instruction than our coaches could offer. It worked wonderfully, she was able to work with the team and bring everyone's playing level up significantly. We couldn't be more pleased and she will be returning again this season.
 
Kathy Borzell
Conestoga Middle School Ice Hockey Club 
 I have had overall a very positive experience with you as my coach... You kept us going and you were very good about explaining the technical parts of our skating. I think the only complaint I might have is that sometimes I felt like I wanted a little less scrimmaging time..... I think that while scrimmaging is more fun, I get more practice and experience from drills and plays.   Besides that, I found that I really benefitted from your coaching and I hope that you continue to coach after I come back from germany. 

Dede Stockton
Conestoga Girl's Hockey Player


Dede,
If it was up to me, I would never let players scrimmage.
As a matter of fact, you guys are the first group of skaters I have ever let scrimmage.
Believe me, I agree with you 100%.
I would much rather be teaching and keeping things structured towards learning than losing my teaching time to scrimmaging.
It just so happens that as my first team I have been hired for as the Head Coach, I know I am going to be spending many long grueling sessions with all of you. Therefore, although you and I don't like scrimmaging, many players do, and in order to keep everyone happy, interested, excited, and challenged, I thought I would let a bit of my normal structure loosen up to allow you guys some fun time.
Thank-you so much for your input. Positive or negative and good or bad we can all grow and benefit from open communication.
I would never have it any other way.
And you can bet I will still be here when you get back from Germany; you can't get rid of me that easily. : )
Coach Donna

Donna is a dynamic, knowlegable & engaging coach. She relates well to players at all levels and can provide coaching & challenges that are applicable to either an entire hockey team or an individual. She encourages open & frequent communication with both players and parents but has a clear boundary of "informed involvement vs. coaching" that works for all concerned. Donna works hard with each of her players to get the most out of their game & being competitive while keeping it fun. She has pre-practice private lessons, challenging on-ice coaching sessions & off-ice conditioning drills that provide a formula for individual & team success. Aside from being a great skating coach, she is a genuinely nice person and I recommend her highly.

Steven Sheronas
Chase Strategic Data Solutions

Donna is a very fun, up beat coach. We always do a variety of different drills at practice, including skating, puck handling, shooting, passing, and situation drills which allows everyone to be able to work on what they need to work on. Plus practices are always fun.

Sara Yost
Conestoga Girl's Hockey Player
 I remember the first time I skated under Donna's instruction one spring and was introduced on the beginner's Red Flames team. I was very shy but Donna quickly helped me adjust by being more of a friend giving advice than a coach dictating instructions. This encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone and try harder to keep up with  Donna's drills. As I progressed I was able to play alongside Donna not only on the same team but on the same defensive line. We were unstoppable because her communication skills were just what I needed, friendly yet firm when needed to be when an offensive line was attacking our zone. Donna never criticized how I did things, I only ever heard praise and good things from her. Donna has been a great coach, teammate, friend and I can't thank her enough for all that she has taught me on the ice. "

"You really have been one of the best coaches I have ever had. I have had tons of coaches from playing team sports all my life but you are up there with my high school soccer coach and my dad. "

Kim Chiffens Ragen
Flames Red Team and Flames Gold Team
Donna takes skating skills apart and shows you how to do all the pieces of them before making you figure out the "whole".  She makes great use of drills which force you to think about where your weight is, which edge you are on, and why.  She pays attention to how you personally do things, and adjusts how she explains a skill or a drill to fit your own style and current skill level.  She has a great way of relating ice skating to other skills and hobbies; I can remember comparing a turn and lean involving skate edges to taking the right line and leaning a jet-ski or a motor-bike through a turn. It's always a pleasure and a great learning experience to have Donna work our practices.

Jess Otte

Flames Red player 7 years
Research Coordinator Temple Neuroscience

"Donna's enthusiasm, energy and expertise in the fields of figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey make her an excellent choice to coach anyone who would like to improve their skating skills."

~Barbara McConnell
Parent of an ice hockey player

I really enjoy being coached by Donna because she's not just a drill sergeant; she really tries to get to know us and always has fresh and fun drills for us every week. Now I actually look forward to going to practice.

-Conestoga Player, Gaby Epstein

Coach Donna has the unique ability to tailor her teaching style for each individual skater, even in a group setting.  She has a gift of demonstrating the technical aspects of proper skating form and combining those skills towards each person's own needs.  As an adult student, I have always found Coach Donna methods, techniques and strategies to be extremely effective.  More importantly, her patience and enthusiasm is infectious!   One of her biggest assets is the ability to observe each person's individual skating style and develop a targeted approach that makes learning fun and effective.  I highly recommend Coach Donna's teaching methods.....no matter what your age!

Ang Onorato
Long-time Flames Player

Donna was an absolute miracle worker with my 7 year old boy. She started with the basics and progressed to hockey. The most important aspect of the experience was that he learned to love to skate and he looked forward to the lessons. 
Mike HarrisVice President Boeing Company and father of Matt Harris
Donna is a Fantastic Hockey Coach.

Donna has "Guest" coached our Mighty Moose Girls teams on several occasions, both our regular season and spring league teams, as well as recently several "Moose Moms" who are beginner skaters.

While Donna is a great skater & player in her own right, she has the ability to convey the dynamics of skating in a simple yet comprehensive way that makes her students go, "Hey... I get it... I really GET it!".  Donna is able to run a full practice while still focusing on the individual, letting them know that she is there for them and genuinely wants them to improve.  


Paula & Bob Jorgensen
Founders 
Mighty Moose Ice Hockey Club