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. 

A little late, but some thoughts on what made State Games great

Two months after the Sunshine State Games, our first out-of-town statewide figure skating competition, and I find myself with some random thoughts and observations...

On winning: Justin won two first places, one for his pre-bronze solo dance and one for the couples dances he skated with his ice dance partner, Sarah. The two competed against a Miami dance team in the pre-juvenile couples compulsory dance category. Justin and Sarah skated beautifully at the Saveology.com IcePlex in Coral Springs and took home a gold medal for both their Fiesta Tango and Rhythm Blues dances. Videos often speak louder than words so without further ado, the first video below is their performance of the Fiesta Tango. The second one is their Rhythm Blues dance.

Naturally, skating their personal best on the ice that day and winning felt good.

So it should be no surprise that when I asked Justin and Sarah recently what was the best part about competing at the State Games, they both answered honestly, "Winning."

But later when I wrapped up my questions with, "What was the most fun about State Games," winning took second place.

It's not that winning isn't great. But there's a lot more to competing than just winning. It's also about the social connections and friendships forged by getting together to share a common experience. They both agreed they had the most fun hanging at the Marriott hotel after their last competition with several other skating friends, talking and laughing.

We're at the picnic tables outside of the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar now and Justin and Sarah get up to show me some of the things they laughed about that Saturday night. I couldn't even attempt to capture in words what they showed me because it involved a communication code unique to that evening. And I wasn't there. While they and three other skaters were having fun hanging out at the hotel, Joe and I, and another skating mom were sitting in the large, comfy chairs in the lobby, chatting and watching high school seniors celebrate their prom night. Talk about a blast from the past. But just seeing Justin and Sarah try to convey the fun they had made me laugh.

L to R, Justin, Sarah, Trent, Sara Preston,
JoJo, William and Christian, in back.

Justin also said having the support of all of his skating friends there made the event even sweeter. 

"There was so much support there. Everybody was cheering for everyone," he said. "It was a good environment."

Which leads me to my next string of random thoughts and observations...

On sharing common experiences: Some 400 skaters from around the state, their families and coaches got together in May to celebrate a lot of hard work and dedication on the ice. The event is an opportunity for skaters to showcase their talents and a chance for past champions, such as John Zimmerman, Sylvia Fontana and Mark Ladwig, all Olympian skaters, to serve as inspirations to the many younger versions of themselves. 

For Justin, that inspirational moment came on the last day of the three-day event.

Holding a T-shirt in his hand, Justin walked up to Zimmerman and Fontana's vendor table peppered with practice shirts and pants.

"Would you sign this?" he asked.

"Sure," Zimmerman said. "Are you a skater?"

"Yes."

"How did you do?" 

"I got first," Justin said, smiling.

"Congratulations!" Zimmerman said.

He then reached out to shake Justin's hand. I don't know who soaked in the moment more, me or Justin or Joe, who had kept a watchful eye on the best time to approach the table. It's probably safe to say meeting a figure skating role model such as Zimmerman was an eventful moment for all three of us. Fontana was on the phone so we didn't officially meet her but she signed Justin's T-shirt with a smile while holding the phone between her shoulder and ear and then helping Zimmerman search in vain for practice pants and shirts in Justin's size.

Over the weekend, I saw many skaters get the Olympian couple to sign anything they had: T-shirts, programs, even their hands and arms. That's because this is also what competitions are all about, inspirational moments like these when young skaters -- and their parents -- meet in person role models in the sport. 

The State Games were definitely a wonderful experience and a milestone for Justin, for Justin and Sarah as an ice dancing team, and for us as a family. One more milestone in a long journey of many more events, of many more competitions, of many more role models to sign Justin's T-shirt.

Justin, Joe and I enjoying dinner in the hotel lobby

Video Of Their First Competition

The video of Justin and Sarah's first place Rhythm Blues performance at the ISI District 18 Championships in March has arrived! We're so proud! :)

Axel Madness

There are milestones on a journey that sometime feel like the journey itself.

In the figure skating world, landing a clean axel is one such milestone. It's an accomplishment that comes after much hard work, exhausting patience and sheer determination.

For Justin, that milestone came on Wednesday, February 9, 2011.

I've yet to capture Justin landing his axel on video. When I do, I'll post it. Meanwhile, the video below shows Michael Weiss, a two-time Olympian, demonstrating the axel jump.

For Justin, landing an axel with good form happened after a lesson with Coach Diana. She spent most of the 30 minutes helping him with the jump.

Named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed it in 1882, the axel can take years to master. It's attempted only after a skater first learns several other jumps: the Waltz jump, the Salchow, the Toe Loop, the Loop, the Flip, and the Lutz.

Of all the jumps, the axel is the only rotating jump to take off from a forward edge, which is what makes it one of the most difficult jumps to learn. After jumping forward from the left, forward outside edge, the skater makes 1 1/2 rotations in the air and lands on the other foot on a back, right outside edge.

On that Wednesday, all that fell into place for Justin.

"He did it!" the mom sitting next to me at the ice rink in Oldsmar said. The achievement is acknowledged even among other skating parents, who know what a skater goes through to land an axel correctly.

Justin's face lit up. He smiled and raised his hands over his head in victory.

"I knew I only had a couple of minutes left in the session," Justin explained later. "When I went to go into it I saw the Zamboni. I knew this was the last time I would get to try today. I told myself, 'I'm going to do it.'"

Earlier in the week, after being so frustrated because he couldn't land it, he challenged himself.

"If I don't land my axel by Friday, I'm quitting."

I've noticed in the four years Justin has skated it seems to liberate him to say "I'm quitting." It takes the pressure off so he can focus on what he really wants to achieve. And it seems to open him up to more possibilities. I've noticed this phenomenon throughout my role as a parent, actually. I seem to help him the most when I just offer him an empathetic ear. He expresses the negative emotions that build up from trying so hard to reach each new skating goal. I listen. The next thing I know he's back on the ice trying again.

His journey with the axel is no exception. After trying so hard to land it, vowing to quit several times, and then finally landing it, the floodgates seemed to open.

The next day at practice Justin landed several clean axels in a row. Two of his skating buddies, Madi and Shayla, were there to see it.

"Madi said it was awesome. Shayla clapped," Justin said.

Madi, 13, and Shayla, 14, know how frustrating and hard it is to land the axel. They both remember the date they did so.

"January 21, 2009," Shayla said. "It was exhilarating. I cried. I was so happy because I had fallen on my knees three months straight."

Tears of joy are an appropriate response to finally landing this jump.

Justin, at right, with Shayla, Madi & Mike

Sept. 30, 2008 was when Madi landed hers. "I was shocked and I cried," she said. "It's such a hard entrance and not natural at all."        
And last month, Madi's brother, Mike, landed his first clean axel. The 12-year-old started skating about 1 1/2 years ago.

"I was excited," he said. "It's my favorite jump now."                                  
Once skaters land the axel the goal then becomes to land it consistently. Often that means more trials and tribulations - for both the skaters and the parents.

"It's the most frustrating jump ever," said Tami, mom to Madi and Mike. "The overwhelming feelings of frustration. The 'I quits.' You want to cry right along with them."

Clearly, this journey will contain a lot of new milestones with all the double and triple jumps ahead. But landing that first clean axel is one milestone Justin - and many skaters - never forget.

Results Are In: It's A Perfect Start

Justin, Sarah, Joe and Kathy share laughs before the competition.

In about three hours, Justin and Sarah will take two first places in their first ice dance competition. But right now Pink's song, "You Are Perfect," is playing on the radio. I ask them if they're nervous.

I'm pretty sure I won't get an answer right away because they're both grooving to the melody, moving their shoulders in unison to the right, then the left, in the back seat of the car. It's Friday evening. We've just pulled into Chili's parking lot to get something to eat. The chorus hits its crescendo and the two join in.

"Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than, less than perfect. Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing, you're perfect to me!"

Clearly, they're in the zone, that heightened state of consciousness where artists and athletes ignore all pressures, intensely focus on the task at hand and deliver their best performance. It's often referred to as a "perfect moment" or "being in the flow" or "just jammin."

The two finally break from their jam session long enough to answer my question. While still grooving and in unison, they shake their heads no: they're not nervous.

"I think we're going to be amazing," Justin says, after they finish the chorus.

According to the judges, they were amazing enough to capture first place in both dances - the Canasta and the Rhythm Blues. Because no other ice dancers entered the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) District 18 competition, they "competed against the book," which is the standard set in the ISI rulebook.

Winning first place against the book means they did well. When skaters place second to the book that means there are some areas that need improvement.

"Your Blues was as good as your Canasta," Coach Jim tells the two after they skated both dances. Earlier, during their lesson that day, Justin and Sarah were worried about skating well the Rhythm Blues dance.

Coach Jim said it paid off that he followed them around the rink during their lesson, reminding them in all the areas where they weren't in harmony to keep in concert with each other.

"They were in unison in all those spots," he said.

A video of their Rhythm Blues performance is coming. I will post it on this blog when it's ready. 

Meanwhile, you'll have to take my word for it: They were "perfect to me!"

Justin and Sarah

Off To A Great Start

It's Saturday, March 5th. Tampa Bay Skating Academy's Spring Recital.

This day marks Justin and Sarah's first performance together in front of an audience as ice dance partners.

As they take the ice to perform the Canasta Tango, one of the first dances beginning ice dancers learn to master, I raise my camera and wait for the music.

Invented by James B. Francis, the dance is skated in the Reverse Kilian position to 4/4 time Tango music at 104 beats per minute. What this means is it may look simple but it's not.

Camera in hand, I look for the two to appear on the screen. But all I see are white letters against a black background: Battery Empty.

My heart sinks. I just became another example in the parent-camera mishap file.

Within minutes - in fact, the time it takes to skate twice around the rink - my distress turns to joy.

"You guys skated really well," a fellow skater says as they finish and exit the ice. Jim, their ice dance coach, and others echo similar sentiments.

Justin and Sarah said they weren't that nervous when they went out on the ice.

"This was the first time we skated together with all those people watching. It didn't feel like the first time," Justin said. "I was shocked at how 'not nervous' I was about it. I was just so happy.

"I feel so comfortable being out there with Sarah, so when it comes to competition time I don't think we'll be as nervous."

Their first competition as ice dance partners is next weekend at TBSA in Oldsmar. They will skate two dances, the Canasta Tango and the Rhythm Blues. Justin also will skate a solo performance to Pirates of the Carribean. Sarah also will compete solo in several other events.

I'll be sure to pack lots of extra batteries.