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Getting to the top in figure skating is one tough grind
Every year, someone is thrust into the spotlight and pushed towards becoming the next Kurt Browning or Liz Manley. A few of the wonderkids manage to hold their own, maintain their composure, keep their sanity and continue to progress. Others crack, fold and fall apart.
It's not hard to figure out why.
"The training every day and keeping everything going and competing, it's tiring," said 15-year-old junior pairs skater Keridawn Thomson after yesterday's morning practice at the Western Divisional championships.
"I skate from seven in the morning until 11 every day, except for weekends, then I go straight to school until five. This is the first time I've actually got weekends off. I've grown up like this, but I think it's easier now than it was before."
Thomson's schedule is clearly hectic and she manages it without the backing of her family in Calgary. To keep up with the competition, she and her partner Rob Davison train with several other pairs and dance duos in Montreal where there is a wealth of coaching expertise and available resources.
Worth the fatigue
But, said Davison, that edge and the grind that goes with it are well worth the physical and mental fatigue. It comes down to doing whatever it takes to realize their goal.
"Oh, everybody has days when they don't want to get up. We've got to get up at quarter to six and drive into the rink and it gets pretty tiresome, but we're in this because we love the sport and the early mornings and the hard training is part of it," said Davison, 20.
"It pays off every day. Sports is so much more than athletics - it teaches life skills. The benefits are unnumbered. It takes you so many places."
Off the ice, things are OK. In action, it's a gradual process but the highly regarded pair are getting into a groove.
"We're starting to see the payoff now. The hard times are in the summer and fall when things don't quite come together as well, but now once we're into December and January, stuff starts to come together and you start feeling pretty good about your skating."
Chad Kilburn is another name to watch down the line. The Royal Glenora Club representative has targeted major international competitions for later this year and the 2002 Winter Olympics at the age of 21. All that's provided his cranky back injury will allow him to land the dreaded triple Axel without the hint of a glitch.
"I hope I'm a guy to watch for," said Kilburn, who fits in morning classes at Ross Sheppard high school with his demanding workouts.
"I want to do well in the internationals and if you do well there, they send you to junior worlds and the goal for me would be top 10.
"I could stay in junior if I want but I'm not going to. I'm definitely moving up (to senior) next year. I think it'll be more exciting."
A source of advice for these up-and-comers would have to be Coronation's Dylan Bullick. Not that long ago he was at the top with major accomplishments on his resume and even greater glory awaiting.
They split up
In 1995, he and ice dance partner Tara Mettlewsky were crowned national junior champions, a grand culmination to countless hours of gruelling training.
One year later, they split up. Mettlewsky retired to concentrate on school while Bullick has been through a handful of mates, took a year off, and is now back on the ice with Ashley Abbs of Strathmore.
Bullick frowned at the word comeback. A whole new beginning seems just as appropriate.
"The toughest part is getting the same connection, knowing what the other person is going to be doing without really having to say a whole lot," Bullick recalled of the changes. "It takes a while just to know where the other person is going to go on the ice sometimes."
Bullick has only this year to hit it off with Abbs before he must move up to the senior level. There's a sense of urgency, but it's not enough to overpower the necessary growth the partnership needs.
"I want to do my best, but I don't know if it'll be on top this year. It'll be a long, slow road if I'm going to be going anywhere.
"It's a big step so we'll see when we get there."