Community Heroes: Roller skating coaches bring heart and soul to the sport
Apr 22, 2025 12:07PM ● By Peri Kinder
Diane and Doug Adams have performed with and coached artistic roller teams for more than 50 years. They were nominated as Community Heroes in the Sandy area. (Photo courtesy of the Adams)
West Jordan resident Steven Geoghan nominated the duo as City Journals Community Heroes. The 70-year-old roller skater thought they deserved attention for the good they do for their students and the sport.
“Even when I left this morning, they were trying to encourage me and tell me I did a good job, even though I have my own thoughts about that,” Geoghan said. “They’ll work with anybody and it’s been good for me.”
The Adams are more than instructors. They are advanced certified coaches with USA Roller Sports and the Society of Roller Skating Teachers. As cheerleaders on wheels, they help skaters of any age build confidence and learn to enjoy the art of skating.
The Utah Skating Academy is based at Classic Fun Center (9151 S. 255 West) in Sandy, where they’ve been coaching since they moved from Ukiah, California, to Utah in 2017. The academy provides multiple artistic skating lessons each week for beginners of all ages and more experienced skaters with figure, loops, freestyle, dance and show.
Astrid Ojeda was the Utah Skating Academy’s 2023 skater of the year. She works with artistic skating coaches Doug and Diane Adams. (Photo courtesy of the Adams)
“There were some surveys done back in the early 60s with teenage girls and skating was the most popular sport in the country. Today, things have changed a little bit,” Doug Adams said. “We’ve got something for all ages. My wife is really good at coming up with promotions and fun ideas.
Thanks to the 2024 TV series “Roller Jam,”, the Utah Skating Academy has seen a resurgence of interest in the sport. The show features roller-dancing teams from across the country and one of the Adams’ former students, Josiah Bishop, competed on the show.
On Saturday mornings, the academy offers four classes: freestyle, dance, figure/loop, and one-star/two-star. On Wednesday afternoons, another one-star/two-star class is offered, along with skills and drills. Mondays and Tuesdays are reserved for travel team practice.
In 1961, Doug started skating in Walnut Creek, California. He skated as an amateur for 10 years, before turning professional in 1970. Later, he returned to Walnut Creek to operate the rink then moved to Ukiah where he owned and operated a roller rink for 30 years. That’s where he met Diane. Her parents were former rink operators and had retired in Ukiah. Diane went to work for Doug and they were married two years later.
“We are an artistic skating club, which means figures, loops and freestyle, which is jumping and spinning, and dance,” he said. “I used to coach roller derby and I’ve coached hockey, so I’ve kind of done everything in skating that there is to do. We prefer the artistic and we’ve got a nice artistic club. We’ve got about 45 skaters here and our program is four days a week.”
For more information about classes, competitive teams, events and skating packages, visit SkateCityUkiah.com.
“We do what we do because we love it. We have a big love for the sport,” Doug said. “Not only have I been in it all this time, but I’m honored to be able to give back. We love giving back to the community.”
To submit your Community Hero, email [email protected].
