 |
| The pictures are blurry but at least I got him in the air. :) |
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
A Glance Back at Sectionals Provides New Direction
Going forward in figure skating, just as in life, sometimes means looking back. This year moving forward comes after a lot of heart-rending reassessment.
After ending an ice dance coaching relationship and an ice dance partnership in November, Justin set a new skating course for 2012. His focus: to work on his single skills. He wants to:
* consistently land all of his doubles
* work on some double jump combinations
* pass his intermediate moves in the field
* test up to juvenile freestyle
* attempt a double axel by year's end
Diana Deka, Justin's primary coach for nearly four years, is choreographing a single's routine to a fast, intense, orchestral piece that Justin picked out, called The Pursuit of Freedom. The instrumental music is written and produced by Dorian Markovac. Justin will perform it at several competitions this year.
All this forward movement, though, comes after much consideration around last year's events. Our trip to the Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in November ended with Justin severely re-injuring his back on a lift, causing us to withdraw from the competition. It was a scary and unsettling couple of days in Jamestown, New York. And his back injury gave us cause for concern and reason to reevaluate.
Once home, we took Justin to a doctor and a physical therapist. They did several specific tests to help isolate the source of pain in Justin's left lower back. From Justin's symptoms the pain pointed to a joint injury. The doctor told Justin not to do any lifts for two to three weeks or until he felt no pain in his back at all. And, if he re-injured his back on a lift again we needed to get an MRI to see if there is disc damage.
Jeremy A. Smith, a physical therapist at Therapy and Sports Center, explained that the SI joint, which stands for sacroiliac joint, is a firm, small joint that lies at the junction of the spine and the pelvis. It is critical to transferring the load of your upper body to your lower body. An injury to the joint takes three to five weeks to heal. Smith said Justin also could have ruptured a disc but only an MRI could tell for sure. Either way, Smith said, with specific stretching and exercises and treatment Justin's pain would go away.
"There are things we can do to fix it," Smith said. He was right. Five weeks without lifts and eight physical therapy sessions later, Justin finally had his first skating workout free from left lower back pain.
But at sectionals that was far from the case. After many discussions in Jamestown and over the following days, we knew it was time to take a break from ice dancing. The decision, though, came with a lot of painful realizations.
We will always appreciate the coaching Justin got last year from his ice dance coach, Jim Millns, but after reassessing Justin's back injury we felt it was time to move on. Because Coach Jim is Sarah's coach indefinitely, ending the coaching relationship meant we had to end Justin and Sarah's partnership, too. There are always so many things to consider when it comes to ending any relationship, whether it's a coaching relationship or an ice dance partnership. But suffice it to say, Justin was sad to end the partnership with Sarah.
"The saddest part was the friendship would be changing," Justin said. "I knew we weren't going to be as close because we wouldn't be ice dancing anymore. And that it didn't work out in general was sad because we were getting good."
After more than a year of lessons and practices, Justin and Sarah had become more comfortable on the ice together, and they had become closer friends. I can't count the number of times onlookers would tell me, "I don't know what you give them but they have so much energy and they're always laughing." Or, I often would hear, "They seem to have so much fun on the ice!"
My personal favorite comment, though, was by a skater mom I had never met until one day she asked me if I was their mom. "They're so refreshing to watch because you don't see many skaters that good who have so much fun with it," she said.
So when the partnership ended, we were sad. Fortunately, Justin and Sarah both agreed that, through it all, the friendship they developed over time was the most important thing to keep intact.
There's little doubt their friendship, and the easy-going, fun-focused, light-hearted sense of humor at the center of it, kept them sane through sectionals.
Before the back injury, the two discovered on their official practice ice that the Ten Fox, which they had practiced the months leading up to sectionals, wasn't the dance they needed to know. They also learned they were required to have their own compulsory music, but they didn't.
"Can you imagine training for months, focused on everything from being perfectly in time with your music to pointing your toe just right, only to discover the day before you compete that you've been practicing the wrong dance?" Joe reflected.
Coach Jim apologized for the mistake. He said he had accidentally looked at the previous year's requirements to determine which dances Justin and Sarah needed to learn for the competition. And, he said, he thought that bringing their own compulsory music was optional, but not required.
Fortunately, Kirk Wyse, (pronounced Wise) a pairs coach in Jamestown who was helping Justin and Sarah, was quick to schedule another practice ice so they could re-learn the required dance, the Hickory Hoe Down.
It was on the second practice session when Justin went to lift Sarah that the injury happened. Justin felt a pop; the pain was excruciating, worse then all the other times, he would tell us later in the car. The minute it happened, though, Joe and I looked at each other with great concern. My biggest fear was his back was getting more injured with each lift.
"I knew when he set her down he was in a lot of pain," Joe said. "I was terrified."
Clearly, something wasn't right. In the four weeks prior to sectionals, Justin kept re-injuring his back on lifts. The consensus all those times was that it was a muscle spasm. Treat it with heat and ice. Several days with no lifts would help. We did all of the above and every time he returned to doing lifts he would re-injure his back. Now, after three days rest from skating before sectionals, it happened again.
So when I saw him off the ice holding an ice pack on his back, his face trying to hide the pain, I knew he could not keep re-injuring his back or we would have a lot to regret. We needed time to figure out what was going on because his back wasn't getting any better; it was getting worse.
With this latest, more painful incident, Justin wasn't sure he could trust his back to skate in the competition the next morning. So we made the decision to take a medical withdrawal.
"It's not smart to skate with an injury that serious," Justin said recently. "I couldn't even walk at first or get in the car. Even if I had taken a bunch of meds and skated, there was no chance we could have made it at nationals and a great chance I could have injured my back even more. Looking back, it was a smart decision I wish I didn't have to make."
Others offered their opinions. They were:
* But Justin and Sarah had worked so hard all year to get here.
* But we spent a lot of money for additional lessons, practices and tests so they could qualify to compete.
* But we drove 1,250 miles to get to the competition in Jamestown.
* But a decision to withdraw would affect Sarah, who we care about like a daughter.
And then there were some who disagreed with the decisions we as Justin's parents were making regarding Justin's back. But the bottom line was all those opinions were given by people who weren't in our shoes, weren't in Jamestown and, moreover, weren't in Justin's skates.
"I'm sorry you guys came all the way up here, but ultimately, it's Justin's decision," Coach Kirk said, summing it up nicely later that evening.
While our experience at sectionals was filled with lots of worry, frustration and sadness, we did have some fun times on our 41-hour drive and 2-day visit to New York.
We enjoyed seeing the leaves change from green to orange, to yellow and red as we went farther north into South Carolina. And driving over, around and through the Appalachian Mountains was an exhilarating experience for all three of us.
There also was our first night in Jamestown when we dined at Friendly's with Sarah and her grandmother, Susan. We have video of all the laughs we shared there.
But what probably topped the list of cool things to experience was
watching the snow hit our windshield for several miles on our trip back through West Virginia, a terrain so beautiful Justin wants to buy a house with some land there one day. Seeing snow was a first for Justin.
When we think back about the whole experience, there are a few things we will never forget:
* How Sarah was so supportive and understanding through it all. We will always be impressed with her reaction when she learned of the decision. She showed a maturity beyond her years.
* That Justin made a wise decision, one that took a lot of courage because there was pressure from some for him to skate, even though it went against his and our better judgment.
* That Justin's health and well-being is always what matters most, more than the money we spend, or the time we invest, or the dreams we have for his skating future.
We'll always keep this last point top of mind as Justin moves forward. Recently, Coach Diana gave him one heck of an inspirational speech to kick off a new year in skating.
"I'm so psyched after that talk, Mom," Justin said on the way home from his lesson. "I want to go back and skate some more."
And he isn't ruling out the possibility of ice dancing again, either.
"I miss skating with Sarah," Justin said. "It's really fun to skate with somebody."
 |
* consistently land all of his doubles
* work on some double jump combinations
* pass his intermediate moves in the field
* test up to juvenile freestyle
* attempt a double axel by year's end
Diana Deka, Justin's primary coach for nearly four years, is choreographing a single's routine to a fast, intense, orchestral piece that Justin picked out, called The Pursuit of Freedom. The instrumental music is written and produced by Dorian Markovac. Justin will perform it at several competitions this year.
All this forward movement, though, comes after much consideration around last year's events. Our trip to the Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in November ended with Justin severely re-injuring his back on a lift, causing us to withdraw from the competition. It was a scary and unsettling couple of days in Jamestown, New York. And his back injury gave us cause for concern and reason to reevaluate.
 |
| Justin works out with his physical therapist, Jeremy, in December, to strengthen his back. |
Jeremy A. Smith, a physical therapist at Therapy and Sports Center, explained that the SI joint, which stands for sacroiliac joint, is a firm, small joint that lies at the junction of the spine and the pelvis. It is critical to transferring the load of your upper body to your lower body. An injury to the joint takes three to five weeks to heal. Smith said Justin also could have ruptured a disc but only an MRI could tell for sure. Either way, Smith said, with specific stretching and exercises and treatment Justin's pain would go away.
"There are things we can do to fix it," Smith said. He was right. Five weeks without lifts and eight physical therapy sessions later, Justin finally had his first skating workout free from left lower back pain.
 |
The Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships program book picture of Justin & Sarah. Photo taken by Holly Wintermeier. |
We will always appreciate the coaching Justin got last year from his ice dance coach, Jim Millns, but after reassessing Justin's back injury we felt it was time to move on. Because Coach Jim is Sarah's coach indefinitely, ending the coaching relationship meant we had to end Justin and Sarah's partnership, too. There are always so many things to consider when it comes to ending any relationship, whether it's a coaching relationship or an ice dance partnership. But suffice it to say, Justin was sad to end the partnership with Sarah.
"The saddest part was the friendship would be changing," Justin said. "I knew we weren't going to be as close because we wouldn't be ice dancing anymore. And that it didn't work out in general was sad because we were getting good."
After more than a year of lessons and practices, Justin and Sarah had become more comfortable on the ice together, and they had become closer friends. I can't count the number of times onlookers would tell me, "I don't know what you give them but they have so much energy and they're always laughing." Or, I often would hear, "They seem to have so much fun on the ice!"
My personal favorite comment, though, was by a skater mom I had never met until one day she asked me if I was their mom. "They're so refreshing to watch because you don't see many skaters that good who have so much fun with it," she said.
So when the partnership ended, we were sad. Fortunately, Justin and Sarah both agreed that, through it all, the friendship they developed over time was the most important thing to keep intact.
 |
| Justin & Sarah practice before the injury with Coach Kirk at the Jamestown Savings & Bank Ice Arena in New York. |
Before the back injury, the two discovered on their official practice ice that the Ten Fox, which they had practiced the months leading up to sectionals, wasn't the dance they needed to know. They also learned they were required to have their own compulsory music, but they didn't.
"Can you imagine training for months, focused on everything from being perfectly in time with your music to pointing your toe just right, only to discover the day before you compete that you've been practicing the wrong dance?" Joe reflected.
Coach Jim apologized for the mistake. He said he had accidentally looked at the previous year's requirements to determine which dances Justin and Sarah needed to learn for the competition. And, he said, he thought that bringing their own compulsory music was optional, but not required.
Fortunately, Kirk Wyse, (pronounced Wise) a pairs coach in Jamestown who was helping Justin and Sarah, was quick to schedule another practice ice so they could re-learn the required dance, the Hickory Hoe Down.
It was on the second practice session when Justin went to lift Sarah that the injury happened. Justin felt a pop; the pain was excruciating, worse then all the other times, he would tell us later in the car. The minute it happened, though, Joe and I looked at each other with great concern. My biggest fear was his back was getting more injured with each lift.
"I knew when he set her down he was in a lot of pain," Joe said. "I was terrified."
Clearly, something wasn't right. In the four weeks prior to sectionals, Justin kept re-injuring his back on lifts. The consensus all those times was that it was a muscle spasm. Treat it with heat and ice. Several days with no lifts would help. We did all of the above and every time he returned to doing lifts he would re-injure his back. Now, after three days rest from skating before sectionals, it happened again.
So when I saw him off the ice holding an ice pack on his back, his face trying to hide the pain, I knew he could not keep re-injuring his back or we would have a lot to regret. We needed time to figure out what was going on because his back wasn't getting any better; it was getting worse.
With this latest, more painful incident, Justin wasn't sure he could trust his back to skate in the competition the next morning. So we made the decision to take a medical withdrawal.
"It's not smart to skate with an injury that serious," Justin said recently. "I couldn't even walk at first or get in the car. Even if I had taken a bunch of meds and skated, there was no chance we could have made it at nationals and a great chance I could have injured my back even more. Looking back, it was a smart decision I wish I didn't have to make."
Others offered their opinions. They were:
* But Justin and Sarah had worked so hard all year to get here.
* But we spent a lot of money for additional lessons, practices and tests so they could qualify to compete.
* But we drove 1,250 miles to get to the competition in Jamestown.
* But a decision to withdraw would affect Sarah, who we care about like a daughter.
And then there were some who disagreed with the decisions we as Justin's parents were making regarding Justin's back. But the bottom line was all those opinions were given by people who weren't in our shoes, weren't in Jamestown and, moreover, weren't in Justin's skates.
"I'm sorry you guys came all the way up here, but ultimately, it's Justin's decision," Coach Kirk said, summing it up nicely later that evening.
 |
| Pictures from our drive up through eight states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. |
We enjoyed seeing the leaves change from green to orange, to yellow and red as we went farther north into South Carolina. And driving over, around and through the Appalachian Mountains was an exhilarating experience for all three of us.
There also was our first night in Jamestown when we dined at Friendly's with Sarah and her grandmother, Susan. We have video of all the laughs we shared there.
But what probably topped the list of cool things to experience was
watching the snow hit our windshield for several miles on our trip back through West Virginia, a terrain so beautiful Justin wants to buy a house with some land there one day. Seeing snow was a first for Justin.
When we think back about the whole experience, there are a few things we will never forget:
* How Sarah was so supportive and understanding through it all. We will always be impressed with her reaction when she learned of the decision. She showed a maturity beyond her years.
* That Justin made a wise decision, one that took a lot of courage because there was pressure from some for him to skate, even though it went against his and our better judgment.
* That Justin's health and well-being is always what matters most, more than the money we spend, or the time we invest, or the dreams we have for his skating future.
We'll always keep this last point top of mind as Justin moves forward. Recently, Coach Diana gave him one heck of an inspirational speech to kick off a new year in skating.
"I'm so psyched after that talk, Mom," Justin said on the way home from his lesson. "I want to go back and skate some more."
And he isn't ruling out the possibility of ice dancing again, either.
"I miss skating with Sarah," Justin said. "It's really fun to skate with somebody."
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sectionals To-Do List
"Mom, I'm thinking about videotaping our whole car ride up there," Justin says recently.
No problem I'll just add "check out video camera from Justin's photography class" to the to-do list I made.
Our 15-year-old son, Justin, and his 14-year-old ice dance partner, Sarah, will compete with dance teams from 20 other states across the East Coast at the Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Jamestown, New York, in two weeks. And the list of things to do continues to grow.
We still need to:
* Rent a car because we're driving to Jamestown to cut down on costs.
* Find a tie and white dress shirt to round off Justin's costume.
* Sharpen skates.
* Get books, games, music and snack foods to entertain and nourish us on our 46-hour round trip.
* Finalize plans for a friend and neighbor to take care of the cats and turtle.
* Do a map quest so we know where we're going.
* Clean the house.
We're still trying to raise funds, too. As part of our fundraising efforts, Justin and Sarah will give a presentation to the Sunset Optimist Club of St. Petersburg. Optimist clubs do all they can to help support the youth in their community.
About three years ago, Justin was a board member on the local Junior Optimist Club. The preteen and teen club participated in projects that helped the community, such as picking up trash along the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and hosting Halloween, Christmas and bowling parties for foster children. During this time, the Sunset club presented Justin with a Youth Appreciation Award in recognition of outstanding achievements. It was at the recognition ceremony where members learned more about Justin's love of figure skating.
The Sunset club will decide if they can help support the ice dance team's trip to sectionals after the two teenagers talk about what they've learned as figure skating athletes and what they expect to learn when they compete at sectionals in two weeks. If they place in the top 8, they'll advance to the Junior National Figure Skating Championships in December and compete with the top 24 junior ice dance teams in the US.
But even if we don't raise much money to help offset all of the costs, the fundraising efforts are a wonderful learning experience. They help Justin and Sarah get out into the community and be proactive in reaching their dreams.
Since we sent out a post asking for fundraising ideas, we received a lot of great suggestions. We so appreciate all the creative ideas and the wonderful support from friends. In addition to the Arbonne personal care products fundraiser (see photo above) and the Optimist Club presentation, several people who have had our homemade Toffee Cracker Candy suggested we offer the delicious, chocolate, toffee treat for a donation. So we're in the process of doing just that. (see photo below.)
While any money raised will help defray the many expenses involved in Justin & Sarah competing at this level, we have cut, and sliced, and diced our budget so we can get them there.
And making the most of the situation is what we do best, which reminds me of something else I need to add to my to-do list.
* Sit down as a family and research the historic sight-seeing we can do on our trip home through eight states. :)
No problem I'll just add "check out video camera from Justin's photography class" to the to-do list I made.
 |
| Justin & Sarah perform at TBSA's fall recital. |
We still need to:
* Rent a car because we're driving to Jamestown to cut down on costs.
* Find a tie and white dress shirt to round off Justin's costume.
* Sharpen skates.
* Get books, games, music and snack foods to entertain and nourish us on our 46-hour round trip.
* Finalize plans for a friend and neighbor to take care of the cats and turtle.
* Do a map quest so we know where we're going.
We're still trying to raise funds, too. As part of our fundraising efforts, Justin and Sarah will give a presentation to the Sunset Optimist Club of St. Petersburg. Optimist clubs do all they can to help support the youth in their community.
About three years ago, Justin was a board member on the local Junior Optimist Club. The preteen and teen club participated in projects that helped the community, such as picking up trash along the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and hosting Halloween, Christmas and bowling parties for foster children. During this time, the Sunset club presented Justin with a Youth Appreciation Award in recognition of outstanding achievements. It was at the recognition ceremony where members learned more about Justin's love of figure skating.
The Sunset club will decide if they can help support the ice dance team's trip to sectionals after the two teenagers talk about what they've learned as figure skating athletes and what they expect to learn when they compete at sectionals in two weeks. If they place in the top 8, they'll advance to the Junior National Figure Skating Championships in December and compete with the top 24 junior ice dance teams in the US.
 |
| Justin & Sarah get a vanilla & ginger hand scrub at Friday's Arbonne fundraiser |
Since we sent out a post asking for fundraising ideas, we received a lot of great suggestions. We so appreciate all the creative ideas and the wonderful support from friends. In addition to the Arbonne personal care products fundraiser (see photo above) and the Optimist Club presentation, several people who have had our homemade Toffee Cracker Candy suggested we offer the delicious, chocolate, toffee treat for a donation. So we're in the process of doing just that. (see photo below.)
 |
| Toffee Cracker Candy |
And making the most of the situation is what we do best, which reminds me of something else I need to add to my to-do list.
* Sit down as a family and research the historic sight-seeing we can do on our trip home through eight states. :)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
First Time Performing Their Free Dance (Video)
Justin and Sarah perform their juvenile free dance at Tampa Bay Skating Academy's Fall Recital Saturday.
They skated beautifully! Below is their performance in video.
And here it is in pictures. :)
They skated beautifully! Below is their performance in video.
And here it is in pictures. :)
Monday, September 5, 2011
A Labor Of Love: Sectionals
The subject line read as it came across my husband's blackberry:
"It's always tough to watch...
"It's always tough to watch...
...our children perform, compete, put themselves out there - particularly when they're just coming into their own. I'm certain your son performed well, regardless the ultimate outcome. To have practiced so hard for so long just to be able to compete at his level is remarkable.
Congrats to you and your family."
A friend emailed that to Joe last Tuesday after he took off from work that day to watch Justin pass a test that officially makes him a developing competitive figure skating athlete. The work friend has never met Justin but he has sons of his own and he knows. He knows that parenting is a labor of a lot of things, but most important, it's a labor of being there for our kids, of performing our best as parents even under all the pressure, and of challenging ourselves to stay focused on being the best parents we can be.
Last week, Joe and I saw Justin take all the hard work and all the pressure, put it into pinpoint focus and do what he set out to do last October: pass his Juvenile moves in the field test!
 |
| Justin, shortly after hearing the good news. |
But before he could even get to this point, he had to pass four other tests: three moves test and one dance test. In addition, he and Sarah had to pass their Juvenile Free Dance test, which they did last month.
It's been a long journey to get to this level but all those pre-qualifying tests are behind them now, and Justin and Sarah will advance to sectionals and begin another leg of their journey.
It would be crazy not to say that all the expenses coming up to compete at this level are overwhelming, with hotels and flights, etc. We are brainstorming for fundraising ideas and will be back in touch in a couple of days looking for ideas on how best to raise funds. For any of you readers who have been down this road already where you have a son or daughter in an expensive sport and you have to be creative to figure out how to meet all the funding requirements of lessons, club fees, ice time, training, travel expenses, and more, we welcome your thoughts and suggestions!
 |
| Justin on test day at Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex with his freestyle coach, Diana Deka, who is holding her son, Vance. |
Sunday, July 24, 2011
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.
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.
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. |
Sunday, July 3, 2011
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.
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Justin, Joe and I enjoying dinner in the hotel lobby |
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