Class of 2003: Builder
A national and international competitor for the former Czechoslovakia until he was 21 when a knee injury forced him into retirement, Michael arrived in Canada in the late 1960s and has never looked back.
Settling first in Calgary, he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary. Coaching figure skating part-time while at University, Michael found his first job out of school to be unfulfilling and was soon coaching full-time. Twelve years later, he retired from coaching and moved Edmonton to raise cattle. Fate brought him into contact with a very young Kurt Browning and soon after they began to work together. Michael eventually guided him to three World titles in 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Michael’s coaching career has spanned the last 30 years, and his students include Canadian Ladies Champion Lisa Sargeant and Olympic and World ice dancers Karyn and Rod Garossino.
Among his coaching awards are the 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 Longines-Wittnauer Coach of the Year Award and the 1990 Amateur Sports Awards Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Alberta Hall of Fame in 1995.
