Justin's feats, a year full of firsts

In the past nine months, Justin's figure skating skills have improved immensely. Joe and I continue to be amazed at how much he learns when his desire is so strong. He makes his own decisions each step of the way on this chosen path of his.

Last October, he set several goals for himself, both as a single skater and in ice dancing with his partner. He has accomplished almost all of them, exceeding expectations in several figure skating areas. Below is a list of 'firsts' for him.

* He passed three USFSA (United States Figure Skating Association) moves in the field tests, the pre-preliminary, preliminary and pre-juvenile. Each test is a set of skills that consist of progressively more difficult edge and step patterns.

* He passed his preliminary dance test, which covers the fundamentals of ice dancing.

* He placed first out of three in his solo pre-bronze dance competition at the Sunshine State Games, his first statewide competition.

* He and his partner, Sarah, also took home a gold medal in the pre-juvenile couples dance category, competing against a Miami dance team. The event was their first statewide competition as partners.

Justin and Sarah at State Games. This is a picture
of a picture, which is why it's a bit blurry.

Earlier this year, Justin also landed his axel, one of the most difficult jumps in figure skating. I finally had my camera with me on the same day he was landing them one after another. When I posted about his landing his first axel in February, I hadn't captured it on video. So below is Justin landing an axel during his lesson with Coach Diana Deka.

Justin also recently began working on his double jumps. He's polishing his double salchow; he's close to landing a double toe loop. His sit spin has improved as well. It now is a full sit with his right leg out in front of him. The improvement from midway to a full sit fell into place earlier this year. Below is his sit spin.

The improvements can be attributed to many things: lots of dedication on and off the ice, focus, intention and good coaching, to name a few. But also key is the fact that nine months ago, in October, he increased his lessons and his practice ice time immensely. Prior to then, for most of his first four years on the ice, he took one lesson a week and practiced two to three hours a week. There were many times he couldn't have lessons or practice as much as he wanted to. Figure skating is an expensive sport. And we have had no financial assistance, such as sponsorships, to help defray some of the many costs. 

"I could stay on the ice forever," Justin said. "I have all my doubles to go. I just need to stay on the ice and keep working. Sometimes, I wish the whole world were made of ice."

Both Justin and Sarah have their work cut out for them. In order for the dance team to be eligible to compete in sectionals in November, Justin needs to pass his juvenile moves in the field test before Sept. 1st. And the two as a team need to pass their couples juvenile free dance test before then, too.

After passing these last two tests, they must then place in the top eight at sectionals to qualify for the United States Junior Figure Skating Championships. The December competition, also referred to as Junior Nationals, is where young skaters and teams compete for the title of U.S. Junior Champions.

Sarah also competes as a solo ice dancer, recently winning first place in her section. That means she is qualified to compete as a solo dancer at the Junior National Solo Dance Championships in September. We're so happy for her!

Justin continues to work hard, hitting the ice six days a week for either practice or lessons or both. He spends an average of two to three hours a day honing his skills, making the ice rink our second home. As long as he wants to keep skating, we will do our best to keep him on the ice, and we will be seeking sponsorships. If we can keep him on the ice at this increased level, we suspect there will be more first experiences to write about next year. :)

Justin getting last minute tips from Coach Jim Millns
before his solo dance competition at State Games.