Local figure-skating products John Coughlin, Ryan Bradley stay busy in Boston, look forward to KC

John Coughlin remembers his first meeting with Ryan Bradley very well: They were 5 years old, and — at Ryan’s childhood rink in St. Joseph, Mo. — they bonded over a WWE wrestling toy Coughlin had just gotten for Christmas.

“He thought that it was awesome,” Coughlin laughs. “It was the ice-breaker between the two of us.”

Some 20 years later, the Missouri natives went on to win simultaneous national championships — John in pairs, Ryan in singles — in 2011, titles that would help cement them as household names in figure skating.

“It was rare that two boys would do so well from a smaller figure skating community,” says Coughlin, who grew up in Kansas City. “I tell everyone I was more happy for Ryan than I was for myself because I knew his journey.”

Now, with both retired from competitive skating, the two are serving as honorary co-chairs for the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which return to Kansas City for the first time in 32 years in January.

“I wish they had gotten the bid 10 years ago so I could compete in front of my family and friends,” says Bradley. “But I think they’re going to do a great job with it.”

Jobs well done

These days John and Ryan are staying busy — very busy. Both are serving as commentators for the World Championships in Boston this weekend, John on “icenetwork,” the sport’s subscription-based streaming coverage, and Ryan on NBC Sports Network.

They also work as coaches, clinic directors, touring performers and general champions of this sport, which has a fervent following in its fan base.

“I’ve been doing a little of everything,” explains Bradley, who calls Colorado Springs home. “I have been trying to balance all of it, to be honest. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind.”

Coughlin is on the road so much (about 300 days in 2015) that he doesn’t have a permanent “home,” he says. “My mail gets sent to Colorado, if that’s what you’re asking,” he chuckles.

Challenges that once were landing triple jumps and complex partner lifts are now those of commentators and, for Coughlin, learning about how to help market for John Wilson Blades, for whom he serves as a consultant.

Bradley spent his time in long production meetings when he first started commentating at what was then known as Universal Sports. It’s a careful skill he’s honed.

“The enjoyable thing is I’ve studied this my entire life and I have a platform to give my opinions,” he says. “That’s the hard part too: Fans don’t want to listen to us talk that much, so it’s about getting our thoughts in quickly and concisely.”

In Boston this week, Coughlin has been busy, going from the rink to the icenetwork desk inside TD Garden, serving as the color commentator for the pairs event.

“Growing up as a kid I was mesmerized by Scott Hamilton as he transitioned into commentating,” Coughlin explains. “I try to do it more and more because I love it so much. I’m interviewing (athletes) I know well, so it’s delicate. I have to balance the emotion, which is a challenge at times.”

Local roots

Both Bradley and Coughlin have fond memories of competitive skating making its way through Kansas City. Ryan’s mom was a volunteer at nationals in 1985 and John watched the likes of Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt on tour.

Tom Zakrajsek, coach to current Worlds participants Max Aaron and Mirai Nagasu, was brought to Springfield, Mo., originally by Ryan’s mom to coach. He’s now one of the most well-known and successful coaches in the country.

“My mom kind of recruited Tom,” says Ryan, who spent his childhood in St. Joseph. “I was one of his first students. We probably only had 30 skaters at the time.”

After barely missing the Olympic team in 2010, Bradley would win his lone national title in 2011, the same year as Coughlin won. A few months later, Bradley retired from competitive skating.

After finding a new partner in Caydee Denney in 2011, Coughlin would win another national title at her side (2012). But the two would also come up just shy of an Olympic bid, placing third for a two-team squad in 2014.

Both spend a good chunk of their time as show performers, Ryan with Stars on Ice and John doing events across the country like a tree lighting ceremony in New York City’s Bryant Park.

Bringing skating to KC

Their excitement over nationals coming back to Kansas City is through the roof, both Bradley and Coughlin are looking forward to sharing the stories that will dominate January’s skating headlines.

As honorary co-chairs, they’ll spend time in Kansas City area at events throughout he next 10 months.

“It’s a really exciting time in our sport,” Bradley says. “The young kids coming up, they’re going to set the skating world on fire. It’s the year before the Olympics. It’s that time of jockeying to see who is going to put themselves in the position to make that team.”

Coughlin, who was picked out of the crowd as a little boy at an Ice Capades show at Kemper Arena, can’t wait to see skating inside Sprint Center.

“This is a destination, bring-your-family kind of event,” he says. “It’s a win for everyone.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Local figure-skating products John Coughlin, Ryan Bradley stay busy in Boston, look forward to KC."