Skating Showdown

by Jake Maddox

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: ENTERING THE COMPETITION

  CHAPTER 2: AN INTIMIDATING PRACTICE

  CHAPTER 3: FUN VS. WINNING

  CHAPTER 4: LOSING FOCUS

  CHAPTER 5: AN UNWELCOME OFFER

  CHAPTER 6: KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT

  CHAPTER 7: A GREAT IDEA

  CHAPTER 8: PAIRING UP

  CHAPTER 9: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

  CHAPTER 10: WORKING AS A TEAM

  CHAPTER 1

  ENTERING THE COMPETITION

  Grace tried not to yawn as she leaned down to lace up her skates before stepping onto the ice. Waking up early for morning practice wasn’t easy. But when she hit the ice, she was immediately energized.

  Coach Roberts was running late, and Grace was excited to have the rink to herself for a few minutes. First she warmed up without her music. She pushed off with her right foot, then her left, skating smoothly across the ice.

  Once her leg muscles felt loose, Grace raised one foot off the ice and practiced gliding on the opposite foot.

  I can’t believe how hard this move seemed when I first started skating, Grace thought. It seems like forever ago.

  Grace closed her eyes as she glided with both feet on the ice. She heard clapping behind her and turned to see Coach Roberts standing off to the side watching.

  “I see you’re already warming up,” Coach Roberts said with a smile. “You’re my most dedicated skater.”

  Grace smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “I was just thinking about how hard this used to be.” She stepped off of the ice and pulled on her skate guards. Then she walked over and joined her coach on a bench.

  Coach Roberts smiled. “You’ve definitely come a long way,” he agreed. “Which is why I think you’d be perfect for this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

  Grace saw the words YOUTH EXHIBITION AND COMPETITION printed across the top of the paper. Her heart jumped with excitement. She’d been in exhibitions before but never a competition.

  “I’ve been thinking for a while now that we should enter you in a competition, and this one is right in River City,” Coach Roberts said. “I think you could do really well in it.”

  Grace grinned. The idea of competing scared her, but it was also thrilling. At least it will give me something to work toward, she thought.

  Grace jumped up from the bench. “Let’s get going,” she said. “I already warmed up.”

  Coach Roberts laughed. “Okay, settle down,” he said. “I know you’re excited to get started, but let’s go over the competition requirements first.” He smoothed out the competition flier and scanned it as Grace impatiently shuffled her skates. “Since spins are your strength, let’s start your routine with a pivot,” he suggested.

  “Sounds good,” Grace said, grinning. She loved doing spins. They always made her feel so graceful and elegant.

  Grace stepped onto the ice and skated to the center of the rink to get into position. She placed the toe pick of her left blade into the ice and pushed off with her right foot. Then she pivoted around her left foot.

  “Great job, Grace!” Coach Roberts called.

  “Thanks,” said Grace. “Too bad we have to include jumps too.”

  Coach Roberts laughed. “I know you can do it,” he said.

  Grace appreciated her coach’s confidence in her. She knew she could do the jumps, but they weren’t her best moves. She was much better at spins.

  “Let’s start out with a mohawk sequence,” Coach Roberts said. “It will build off of the mohawk turn you learned when you first started skating. I’ll walk you through it.”

  “Okay,” Grace said, nodding. The mohawk turn was a pretty basic move. It let a skater easily change direction by shifting weight from one foot to the other.

  “Start on your left foot, and do a crossover,” Coach Roberts said.

  Grace started skating around the curve of the rink on her left outside edge. Then she crossed her right foot over her left and transferred her weight to her right inside edge. She crossed her feet again coming out of the turn, finishing on her left outside edge.

  “Very good!” her coach called. “Now go into a mohawk turn. With the mohawk you’ll be changing feet, but not your edge. Start with your feet in a T position.”

  Grace made her right foot the top of the T and held her balance. She always needed patience to learn a new move.

  I just want to get going already, Grace thought impatiently.

  “Now push off with the left foot, so you’re stroking away from your right foot,” Coach Roberts instructed.

  Grace put her arms out for balance and glided forward on the inside edge of her skate. She kept her other foot lifted off the ice.

  “Nice,” her coach said. “Now pull your left heel in close to the inside of your right foot. Careful not to touch the ice! Great! Don’t forget to keep gliding on your right foot.” Coach Roberts mimicked the steps with his own feet so Grace could see the movements more clearly.

  Grace brought her left foot up next to her right skate and turned it out at a 90-degree angle. The heel of her left skate was centered in the middle of her right.

  “We’re almost done,” Coach Roberts said. “Now, put your left skate down onto the ice, and pick your right foot up at the same time. Transfer your weight to your left foot and glide back with it.”

  Grace placed her left foot down on the ice and shifted her weight to her left leg. She bent her right knee and lifted her foot off the ice. Turning her body to face her foot, Grace glided backward on the inside edge of her skate.

  “Perfect!” Coach Roberts called. “Now put it all together and keep shifting the weight from one foot to the other.”

  Grace spent the rest of the practice working on the mohawk sequence. She had the start of her routine down. By the time practice ended, she was glowing.

  “Feels good to master something new, doesn’t it?” her coach asked.

  “Definitely!” said Grace. “I can’t wait to do more!”

  Coach Roberts laughed. “Keep up that attitude, and you’ll do great at the competition,” he told her.

  * * *

  That night at dinner, Grace was too excited to eat. “Coach Roberts wants me to enter the skating competition in River City!” she told her parents. “The winner gets a medal and her name on a plaque in the town hall. Coach really thinks I could win.”

  “That’s great news,” Grace’s mom replied. She pointed to Grace’s untouched pasta. “But don’t forget to eat, or you won’t have energy to compete.”

  Grace sighed and shoved a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth.

  “I saw a poster downtown about that competition,” Grace’s dad said. “It’s part of the River City Winter Festival. It sounds like it will be fun.”

  “I can’t wait!” Grace exclaimed.

  Grace’s mom smiled and pointed to the plate again. “Energy,” she reminded Grace.

  “Plus I learned a new turn sequence today,” Grace said, taking a bite of her pasta. “Coach said if I keep practicing, I’ll definitely have a shot at a medal.”

  “That’s good to hear,” her dad said. “But don’t forget to have fun too.”

  Grace laughed. How could I not have fun? she thought. Skating is my favorite thing to do.

  CHAPTER 2

  AN INTIMIDATING PRACTICE

  The next morning, Grace woke up early, as usual, but she wasn’t tired at all.

  I can’t wait to get to the rink and practice, she thought. I need to spend as much time on the ice as
possible before the competition.

  Coach Roberts was waiting for her when she arrived. He was standing next to an older woman and a girl about Grace’s age. The girl was wearing skating gear. Coach Roberts spotted Grace and waved her over.

  “Grace, I want you to meet someone,” he said. He motioned to the girl standing next to him. “This is Lauren. She’s going to be competing in the River City Skating Competition, too. And this is her coach, Patricia. She and I used to skate together.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” said Grace. But she couldn’t help worrying. What if she’s better than I am? Grace thought.

  “You too,” Lauren said. “I just transferred to River City. It’s nice to meet another skater. Maybe we can practice together sometime. It would be fun to help motivate each other.”

  Grace wasn’t sure she wanted to practice with someone she’d be competing against, but she kept smiling anyway. She didn’t want to be a downer. “Sure,” she said. “Sounds good.”

  “Well, we’d better get started,” Patricia said. “Have a good practice.” With that, she and Lauren turned and walked to one of the other rinks to practice. Grace and Coach Roberts walked to their ice.

  “Let’s warm up with backward glides and swizzles today,” Coach Roberts suggested.

  Grace nodded and headed to the bench. She slipped off her skate guards and stored them in her bag before heading to the rink.

  As she stepped onto the ice, Grace bent her knees and straightened her torso. Then she lifted her chin and held her arms out in front of her. She pushed back on her toes for the glide, then transferred her weight onto the heel of her skate to move backward.

  “Remember the fish!” Coach Roberts called.

  Grace smiled. That’s how she’d learned to do the backward swizzles when she first started skating. She imagined her feet making fish patterns in the ice. She picked up speed looping around the rink.

  Coach Roberts clapped. “Nice work,” he called. “Now let’s try a combination. Forward and backward glides and swizzles.”

  Grace spread her arms wide. She crisscrossed her feet as she skated around the rink. She made sure to check behind her on the swizzles, too.

  Everything is coming together, Grace thought. She slowed down to catch her breath.

  “Fantastic! Next we’ll try our spins. First the two-foot spin, then the one-foot. Sound good?” Coach Roberts asked.

  “Perfect!” said Grace. Spins were her best moves.

  Coach Roberts turned on the music for her routine, and Grace skated across the ice. She picked up speed in time to the music, moving faster and faster.

  When it was time for her spin, Grace circled her arms out in front of her like she was holding a beach ball. As she spun, she drew her arms tightly into her chest. She spun on the ice, lifting one leg up. Then she put her leg down and tucked her arms in tighter. In this position, she could turn even faster. Grace imagined herself spinning off the ice.

  “Bravo!” Coach Roberts cheered. “Spins are definitely your signature move.”

  Grace grinned. “Thanks,” she replied.

  “Let’s run through the routine again,” her coach said. “Take it from the top with the pivot and mohawk sequence. But this time, let’s add in a Salchow.”

  “Sure,” said Grace, but she winced at the thought of jumps. She wasn’t as comfortable with them as with the rest of her moves.

  Grace skated around the edge of the rink, psyching herself up for the jumps. Coach Roberts always had her start with the Salchow. It was the easiest jump. Grace did her turns, then swung her right leg around and spun in the air before landing back on her right leg. Her nerves calmed as she landed.

  Coach clapped. “Beautiful!” he called. “Now try a double Salchow.”

  Grace’s eyes grew wide. Sometimes she made the double, but not always. Taking a deep breath, Grace launched into the move. This time, she twirled twice in the air. Her skate caught on the ice when she landed, and she stumbled. Her fingers grazed the ice, but she didn’t fall.

  “Sorry,” she muttered.

  “It’s okay,” Coach Roberts said. “You just need practice. We’ll start fresh tomorrow.”

  Grace frowned. As much as she loved skating, she didn’t like making mistakes.

  “Cheer up,” her coach said. “You had a terrific practice. You’ll master the jumps.”

  Grace nodded. She sat on the bench to take off her skates and heard applause from the next rink. “Fantastic!” Coach Patricia yelled to Lauren.

  Grace had been so focused on her own routine that she’d forgotten Lauren was even there. She turned to watch Lauren’s moves. The other skater was doing not only single Salchows but doubles as well.

  She makes it look so easy, Grace thought.

  As she watched, Grace saw Lauren launch herself off the ice again and do another fancy jump.

  There’s no way my jumps are as good as hers, Grace thought nervously.

  “See you tomorrow, Coach,” Grace said. She swung her duffel bag over her shoulder.

  “Bright and early,” he replied. “And don’t worry. You’ll be fine. We have plenty of time before the competition.”

  “I know,” Grace said. But inside, she wasn’t so sure.

  CHAPTER 3

  FUN VS. WINNING

  At dinner that night, Grace barely touched her food. She pushed the carrots and chicken around on her plate. Her fork scraped noisily across her plate.

  Finally, her mom broke the silence. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” her mom asked.

  “Nothing,” Grace said. “It’s just that I met this new girl, Lauren, at practice today. She’s entering the skating competition, too. And she’s really good.”

  “That’s great news,” her dad said, smiling. “Maybe you can practice together. It might help you motivate each other.”

  Grace glared at him. “That’s what she said, too,” she muttered.

  “So what’s the problem?” Dad asked.

  Grace scowled. “Her jumps are perfect!” she explained. “There’s no way I can be that good.”

  “Hold up a second,” said her dad. “You don’t know that. Everyone has his or her own strengths. You’re a great skater.”

  “But I’ll never be able to do jumps like that,” Grace argued.

  Her mom shook her head. “Now, honey. I’ve seen how hard you can work,” she said. “When you put your mind to something, you can do it.”

  “But —” Grace started to say.

  “And who says you have to do those kinds of jumps?” her dad interrupted. “You’re great at spins. Do more of them.”

  Grace thought about that. I am great at spins, she realized. But will it be enough to win?

  “And I know you want to win, but didn’t we talk about having fun too? Don’t forget that,” her mom reminded her.

  “I know,” Grace said. Deep down, she knew her parents were right.

  But how can I have fun when I want to win so badly? she wondered.

  CHAPTER 4

  LOSING FOCUS

  The next morning, Grace’s mom woke her up bright and early. “Up and at ’em,” Mom said, walking into Grace’s room and opening the blinds.

  “What time is it?” Grace mumbled. She looked out the window. It was still almost completely dark.

  “Six o’clock. You said you wanted to wake up extra early today so you could practice more,” her mom reminded her.

  Grace rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Be right down,” she said, swinging her legs to the floor. Early mornings are tough, she thought, but it will all be worth it in the end.

  Grace got dressed and went downstairs. She grabbed her skating bag and headed out the door. She’d hoped to have the whole rink to herself so she could focus, but when she arrived, Lauren was already there.

  “Hey,” said Lauren, skating over to Grace. �
��I guess we both had the same idea. My coach isn’t here yet either.”

  Grace looked down and focused on lacing up her skates. She didn’t want to talk to Lauren. All she wanted to do was practice. “I have a lot of work to do,” she told Lauren, smiling tightly. “See you later.”

  “Sounds good!” Lauren said. She turned and skated away to practice.

  Why is she being so nice? Grace wondered. She pushed the thought out of her head and turned on her music.

  Grace stepped onto the ice and started her warm-up. She quickly ran through the glides, swizzles, and spins. They were flawless. Grace breathed a sigh of relief. At least I have those down, she thought.

  Next she readied herself for the jumps. The single Salchow went off without a hitch. Grace took a deep breath. Time for the double Salchow.

  She pushed off from her left foot and leaped into the air. Tucking her arms in close to her body, Grace spun twice in the air and landed back on the ice on her right foot. She stumbled slightly on the landing, but her hands didn’t touch the ice.

  “Much better!” she heard Coach Roberts call from the side of the rink.

  “Thanks,” Grace said.

  “I’m glad you’re here so early,” her coach said. “I know jumps aren’t your favorite, so I was thinking we could add more spins to your routine. They’re your strength, and I want you to be comfortable.”

  “Works for me,” Grace said. If it were up to me, I’d only be doing spins, she thought.

  “Let’s take it from the top,” Coach Roberts said. “This time, I’d like to see a camel spin. Then take that into the catch foot camel.”

  “No problem,” said Grace. She skated to the center of the ice. The glides and crossovers came easily. Then it was time for the camel spin.

  She raised her right leg into the air and made sure her knee was higher than her hip as she glided across the ice. For the catch foot, Grace grabbed her raised foot and pulled it to her head. She spun easily on the ice.