Lessons From a Champion
I traveled to California this week for work and decided to bring my skates along. I found a rink that wasn’t too far from my hotel so I decided to skate the early morning freestyle each day I was in town.
Before the trip, I was able to get in touch with some skating friends that I had met at previous competitions. One of them happened to be the former Gold Ladies (national) champion, whom I’d only met once before. She happily agreed to skate with me one morning. I was ecstatic – I was going to share the ice with her!
Watching her flow across the ice was mesmerizing. She made everything look effortless.
During our practice, I asked her for some advice on two elements that I was working on (and that she has pretty much mastered): a broken leg sit spin (or “side sit”) and a split falling leaf. She gave me great tips on both elements that I will try to implement into my practices.
I told her about my skating goals, and this is what she said to me: “You can do it! Just train your heart out and set that intention – you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. Put in the work and go after that goal until it’s accomplished.”
While I already knew these things to be true, it meant a lot coming from a former champion. I can’t even describe in words how it feels to have her believe in me.
I hope to do her (and my coach) proud and achieve my goals, so that maybe one day, I can repay the favor to another skater.
