Kelli says she always loved roller skating. When she was 7, she broke her arm skating around the block outside. Fast-forward to the age of 10, her Girl Scout leader was looking for badges to complete and signed the troop up for beginner skating classes. She was hooked.
Kelli began taking private lessons and competing not long thereafter. She skated through high school and her first job was at Skatetown in Racine. She moved to Florida for college and continued skating out of the Southern Region. She earned a Gold Medal in American Team Dance skating with World Pan Am Champion, Dan Littel in 1987. She made the finals at Nationals a number of times in different events and placed as high as 4th. After a knee injury, Kelli stopped competing and began coaching exclusively.
Over the past 20+ years, she has coached dozens of skaters, including her four biological children, who have medaled at Nationals well over 50 times. In addition, she is the Wisconsin regional representative for the Great Lakes region and the president of the Wisconsin Artistic Roller Meets (WARM) league. She is considered an advanced certified (AC-3) coach with USA Roller Sports.