Figure Skating and Life Lessons
Figure skating is an integral part of my life! My training began at the age of four — I clearly remember my first skating lesson and how I wobbled my way through the first class. I have been actively training in figure skating for fifteen years now and competing regionally in South Florida since the age of six.
Skating has taught me much about grit, punctuality, artistic expression and resilience!
I am very grateful to my parents and my coach, Trina Erhard, for all their support in my training.
Striving for Excellence
It takes a lot of discipline and mental willpower to wake up at 5:30am on a school day to skate before classes – but this is what I did for my high school years as well as my middle school years for my training. In addition to competing regionally, I have also spent two summers competing in the State Games of America as well as being a delegate for the USA in the Maccabi Winter Games in Munich, Germany.
Being a competitive skater has taught me how to set goals, how to handle setbacks and losses as well as accept criticism.
Figure Skating: A Solitary Sport
Figure skating is a solitary sport — unlike soccer, basketball and other intramural sports, there are no teammates working together toward a common goal or to share the blame during a loss. During a performance, you are on an empty rink isolated by yourself with no support system from your peers. Figure skating training has also taught me about self-reliance and confidence.
Although a solo sport, I have participated in summer and winter shows with other skaters and have created friendships with other skaters on the same journey as me. Creating friendships with my competition has taught me about sportsmanship, respect and ethics.