STAYING `COOL' AT THE ICE; SHAW STILL SKATING AFTER 17 YEARS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Todd Shaw was 10 years old the first time he cautiously placed his bladed feet on a smooth, white sheet of ice.

He did it because he thought the other kids looked "cool" gliding around the rink, showing off their newly-learned skating skills and hoping they didn't fall down in front of their friends.

Shaw soon found skating was one of the things he loved to do most in the world.

"When I first tried it I loved it. I was at the rink and I met a girl who was on the skating team. I was watching all these kids skate and I was hooked," he said.

Seventeen years later, skating has turned into Shaw's career. The former seventh-ranked male skater in the nation now teaches skating students at The Ice at the Plaza Galleria in Cape Girardeau.

While Shaw, a native of Cape Girardeau, was growing up, he had to travel to St. Louis to skate. The rink at The Ice opened just six years ago.

He took lessons at rinks around St. Louis and in Belleville, Ill., and spent just about all his time and money learning the technical aspects of the sport.

"It's always what I wanted to do," he said. "When I was younger I ate it, breathed it and drank it."

His hard work and dedication paid off. In 1983, Shaw won seventh place in the national skating championship, held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Back then, Shaw was still an amateur, meaning he took no money for his skating. After winning his title, Shaw decided to marry and, in order to pay the bills, took a job in sales.

"I hated it, and I especially missed the creative end of it, coming up with the routines," he said.

"I decided to turn professional. Professionals can take money for their skating, but they can no longer compete as amateurs."

As a professional, Shaw could give skating lessons, and he eventually ended up back in Cape Girardeau at The Ice.

Being a skating coach is rewarding, he said, but can be difficult at times.

"It's a sport that looks so easy, but at the same time it's really very technical," he explained. "Sometimes it's hard for kids to grasp the technical aspects of it."

The rewarding part comes mostly when a student learns what he or she has been taught, said Shaw.

"To get kids when they are beginner skaters and see them get better and better and know that it's somewhat because of you that they're getting better and better, that's great."

As coach of about 100 students, Shaw said he attends as many competitions as he can. He said it's important for the child to have his coach there for support. But watching his students compete is "a very nerve-wracking experience," he said.

Shaw said he tends to get nervous and uptight right before a competition.

"All you can do is watch," he said. "There's not a damn thing you can do."

Shaw said he dreams of becoming a coach of Olympic skaters. Two of his students, 11-year-old Matt Buttrey and 9-year-old Sarah Booth, already participate in national competitions and are setting their sights on Olympic gold medals.

The two possess a natural ability to entertain in front of a crowd, a skill that can't be taught, Shaw said.

"Matt and Sarah are very entertaining to watch," he said. "They are good with the crowd and have a good stage presence. That's important because you can teach skaters the technical aspects of it, but some kids are shy, they get nervous and aren't good in front of crowds."

Shaw said that although he's never suffered a major injury while skating, bumps, bruises and twisted body parts are common occurrences around the rink.

"You get to be a really good doctor," he said. "I can usually tell by the sound of the squeal how bad they're hurt."

But, he said, skaters usually learn how to fall without hurting themselves.

Shaw spends six days a week at the rink. He also takes classes part time at Southeast Missouri State University, working toward a degree in recreation.

He said his busiest times are when he's preparing for one of the four shows held yearly at the rink. The shows usually include all the students in the skating school, even the beginners.

"The first show for a kid is really a big thing," he said. "They've seen skaters perform on TV, and they go out and buy a skating dress and get all fired up."

Shaw said that while he never expected to be a skating coach in his home town, he has few regrets other than he wishes he had done better in skating competitions.

"I wish I would have done better than I did professionally when I was young and in shape," he said. "I would have liked to have been first in the nationals."