Introducing Linnea Barrett

Hi, my name is Linnea Barrett and I am a member of ICE’Kateers senior team. I am currently a senior at El Dorado High School in Placentia, CA. I plan to attend a four-year college next fall; possibly majoring in psychology, while minoring in communications.

I started skating when I was about 5 years old. I had just moved to California from Connecticut the year before, and began to take an interest in the sport after becoming close friends with my next door neighbor, and DREAM alumi, Taylor Walker. I skated on several ISI teams growing up, and in 2002 I joined the ICE’Kateers; who I have skated with ever since. I also continued competing in singles skating over the years, and am currently a gold medalist in moves in the field and am trying to earn the same title in free skating as well.

My favorite synchro memory was a few years ago at the 2008 U.S Synchronized Skating Championships. This was the year the ICE’Kateers earned their first spot on Team USA. I remember standing with my teammates in the kiss and cry, seeing and hearing our scores, and being completely ecstatic when we learned we had qualified for the opportunity to compete internationally. I remember in the locker room, after we got off the ice, asking one of my teammates, “What does this mean, what does this mean?” and when they told me it meant we got to travel overseas to compete; I was overwhelmed with joy and pride in my team. We had come together and worked hard to create a product that earned us the honor of representing our country overseas, and for the first time in our organization's history! I truly cannot put together words to describe that feeling.

When I’m not on the ice, I'm generally pretty busy! Along with skating and school, I also work part time and am involved in various school clubs. I'm the president of my figure skating club's junior board and am a Link Crew leader at my school (a group that assists freshman throughout their first year of high school). I love spending time with my friends, as well as my younger sister; they have a way of making me laugh until I can't breathe. I'm obsessed with driving, something I can't really explain but I've been this way since the day I got my driver's license. You can usually find me driving around with my friends, listening to music, or having our own personal concert. I also love baking, traveling, and eating out with friends and family.

Looking forward to a great season!

Linnea

My Favorites:

Favorite sports team: New England Patriots

Favorite music genre: Country :)

Favorite book: The Outsiders, Harry Potter

Favorite movie: Pride and Prejudice, Slumdog Millionaire, She's the Man, and Tangled

Favorite TV show: New Girl

Favorite program I’ve ever skated: I actually really love our short program this season! The music is a tango piece; something I've always wanted to skate to.

Favorite place I’ve traveled for skating: Tennessee

Favorite quote: “If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” - Dr. Seuss

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

2011 - 2012 DREAM members

U.S. Figure Skating is pleased to announce the members of the 2011-12 DREAM Program:

Athlete (Hometown) - Team
Linnea Barrett (Plecentia, Calif.) - ICE'Kateers
Sennett Cooke (Pelham, N.Y.) - Skyliners
Dana Hall (Fond du Lac, Wisc.) - Starlights
Tessa Hedges (Grosse Point Farms, Mich.) - Haydenettes
Bianca Jackson (Glencoe, Ill.) - Starlights
Audrey McQuade (North White Plains, N.Y.) - Haydenettes
Ashley Mulhern (New Canaan, Conn.) - Miami University
Ashleigh Ostin (Farmington, Mich.) - Miami University
Katilyn Peterson (Dearborn, Mich.) - Crystallettes
Emmeline Weinert (Ann Arbor, Mich.) - California Gold
Annaleigh Yahata (Yorba Linda, Calif.) - California Gold

Please visit the DREAM section of the U.S. Figure Skating Website for complete bios of all DREAM Program Athletes.

A New Chapter

Hey Everyone,

This blog is long overdue, but I hope that it finds everyone well at the start of our 2011-2012 seasons. I just recently started a new chapter of my life as I moved out to Oxford, Ohio to start my freshman year at Miami University. One of the hardest things about this transition, other than moving 13 hours away from my mom, dad, and younger sister, was moving away from the other huge piece of my life, my 20 “sisters” and “family”, my team, the Skyliners. After skating with the Skyliners organization for the past 9 years, there were definitely a few tears shed as I had to say goodbye, but that being said, I was excited for the new opportunity that stood ahead of me. My Skyliners coaches, including Josh Babb, Jenny Gibson, and Sarah LeBlanc Blosat, could not have prepared me better as both a skater and person for the challenges that I face in college.

The first few weeks of college were surreal as I could not believe that after 10 years of attending Miami Summer Skating Camps and always dreaming of being a Redhawk, I was finally there. The week of tryouts took me by storm, with so many amazing skaters working for just 53 spots on the varsity teams. I was beyond thrilled when I was placed on the senior team, and it was clear that one of my life long dreams was really coming true.

So far, my experience on the team has been absolutely incredible. Being a varsity athlete at a division 1 university is something so special. Although each week is busier than the next, with classes, on-ice practices, off-ice practices, and much more, you always know that you have 52 other teammates standing behind you ready to support you and help you out whenever you may need it. The veterans on the senior team were so extremely welcoming and have really helped me get through these first 3 months of completely new experiences.

Although Miami Skating gets a much later start than many other teams throughout the country, we really hit the ground running right away. In just the second week of post tryout practices, choreographer Sarah Kawahara came in to piece together the senior free skate. This was a whirlwind experience for the rookies, but ended with a very fun, creative program and 20 extremely exhausted girls. Less than 4 weeks later, choreographer Scott Brown came in to to “Jazz up” our very enthusiastic short program. At the conclusion of fall break weekend, we had 2 programs that we were completely thrilled with and had gotten a great critique from 3 U.S. Figure Skating officials. In addition to all of our busy practice schedules, the Miami teams participated in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, supported other Miami varsity teams in their sporting events, held spirit days at practice for homecoming week, walked in the Miami University Homecoming Parade, and had a very successful skating Parents Weekend.

This past weekend was filled with skater-parent reunions, family skates, and crowd filled performances. I was so excited to see my parents after 3 months of not seeing them. I’m so grateful that they were able to make the trip out to see all 3 teams perform their 2011-2012 competitive season programs and be here for such a nice weekend. This coming weekend both the collegiate and senior teams are looking forward to our first opportunity to skate between the periods of the hockey games making the sport better known across the campus.

Best of luck to all teams in their last weeks of practice prior to the competition season. That’s all for now! Can’t wait to see everyone at Porter!

Love & Honor,
Ashley

October with the Haydenettes

October proved to be a very busy month for the Haydenettes. The first weekend in October, the Haydenettes and the Lexettes participated in the Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in downtown Boston. Both teams enjoyed spending our Sunday morning making a difference right in our hometown. We decked out in pink and maroon attire and walked alongside the Charles River. The Haydenettes enjoyed a nice team lunch before heading to practice that afternoon.

The following week, the Haydenettes spent Columbus Day rinkside at our monitoring session. The practice went very well, and we received great feedback from the officials. After monitoring we had a great afternoon of team bonding. We had lunch together after practice then went apple picking. The weather was beautiful and we picked some tasty apples!

The third weekend in October, the Haydenettes debuted the short program at a very special event at Harvard, An Evening with Champions. The Haydenettes have participated in this event for fifteen years. It was an honor to skate between Rachael Flatt and Oksana Baiul. Another featured skater at this event was Olympic Gold medalist Yuna Kim. The audience was very supportive and responded well to our skating. We were all amused bythe “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd when we stopped in unison at the end of our warm-up block.

The following weekend was the Hayden Synchronized Skating Teams Kick Off. All the teams skated their programs for friends and family. It is a great time of year to come together as a club and support one another. This was the first time the Haydenettes performed the long program for an audience. All of the teams looked amazing, especially for this early in the season.

The Haydenettes spent the final weekend of the month in New York City performing in the annual opening of the Citi Pond at Bryant Park. The Haydenettes love performing at Bryant Park. The audience was wonderful, not to mention the amazing rink-side scenery.

(All above Bryant Park)

photos: Mary Jane Hanlon, Ted Castro

The pre-season has flown by incredibly fast. It won’t be long until our first competition in December. We can’t wait to start the competitive season! We’ll update more as that time approaches.

-Audrey and Tessa

College Bound!

This past spring, I was faced with a major question. “Which college should I go to?” Being the indecisive person I am, I struggled with this choice for a while. I made pro-con lists and looked at numerous websites explaining the ups and downs of each college I was accepted into. I eventually chose to attend University of California Berkeley. Each minute I spent researching the schools, I got more excited about Berkeley and studied less of the other schools. I went up to visit the campus and fell in love with the location and just the feel of a college campus with a lot of school pride.

With all the gains that came with going to Berkeley, there were also sacrifices I had to make. One being the fact that there is no synchro team for me to skate on. This is what made it an unbelievably hard choice to make. However, I prayed about it, thought about how I have had some amazing times with my teams, and I decided that my education came first in this situation. Luckily, Cal has a figure skating club that competes in intercollegiate competitions, so I still have the opportunity to skate!

I wish the best of luck to all teams this season and also to all high schoolers in your college choices!

Annaleigh

Summer Update

Hey Guys!

This summer is much different than what used to be normal for me! I currently have an internship at Sonoco Products Company. The paper mill is located in City of Industry, California which is about 2 hours from my hometown in San Diego. This worked out really well because I am still able to see family and friends on the weekends while getting a great work experience in the paper industry, which is a specified field within my degree of Chemical Engineering.

At the mill, recycled paperboard is the final product produced. The paper machine runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To create the product, Sonoco buys recycled cardboard boxes, newpaper, mixed paper, and tubes from both vendors and local customers. Then these resources are essentially ground up, run through multiple cleaners and refiners, and used to make brand new sheets of paper.




(Recycled books used for production)

(Final products consist of large paper reels even bigger than people)

I wish I could say that maintaining a full time job and training go hand in hand but I'm sure few have found that to be the case. Luckily, early morning skating sessions are available and I usually head to the rink to skate before getting to the office at 7 and then I head back for weights in the afternoon. It can be a challenging and hectic schedule but it also proves one of the countless beauties of being a Varsity student athlete. At school and home, on and off the ice, not only are we training to be the best at our sport, but also for all our future careers and endeavors.

I have learned an unbelievable amount after 10 weeks of my internship at Sonoco. It's hard to believe that the summer has flown by so fast. I have met so many incredible people and industry contacts already, from people at my office to other plants within Sonoco (I'm known as "the ice skater from Miami"). I've even given a presentation for the VP! I am very excited to see the results of my projects. It has been such a great opportunity and experience and I cannot wait to see what comes next for me! :)

Enjoy the rest of summer! And get ready for another fantastic synchro season! :)

Lauren

Choosing a School- My Journey

The college selection process is an intimidating step in the lives of children and parents. Most people choose a school based on the academics and where they fit in best. I came into the process struggling with many questions, but most importantly, where could I go that fits me academically and will allow me to skate?

(photo: Boston College ice rink - Silvio O Conte Forum)

I started the process last summer via a long east coast tour with my parents. I visited Boston College, Boston University, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. I came out of this trip slightly more stressed because I could see myself at many of the schools I visited. These tours shed light on which parts to highlight on your application, and on how to go about completing it. Later on, I visited Northwestern University and Miami University, and of course ended up loving both as well.

I began the Common Application in August, which was a smart decision because if you wait until school begins, homework begins to take over your time. I wrote many essays (mostly about skating experiences- which make great topics) and was done by December. After I sent in my last application, I had to endure the wait until March.

I did apply to schools at which I could not integrate skating. Even though I knew in my heart that I could not leave the sport at this time, my head told me that I should begin to concentrate solely on academics. It was after the U.S. Synchro Championships and the Dearborn ice show that I knew I wasn’t done skating. It had been a part of me for too long.

(photo: some Crystallettes at the Dearborn Figure Skating Club ice show)

I was granted acceptance to University of Michigan, Boston College, and Miami University. Each university would allow me to skate, but all were very different. After a long period of contemplating and pro-con lists, I finally realized that what was important was that I was comfortable and happy. I ended up choosing Boston College because it was undoubtedly my favorite campus and location. It meant leaving a lot of my friends and memories behind, but if my years of skating had taught me anything, it would be to take risks and chase after your dreams. I am forever thankful for the ongoing support from my parents and my teammates over the years.

Next fall I will be skating for the Haydenettes and attending Boston College as a biochemistry major. I could not be more excited about my choice, but I know that I would have been happy with whichever college I chose.

(photo: My mom and I at a Detroit Tigers vs. Red Sox game-- not to worry Tigers fans, my loyalty will always be in Detroit ;))

My best advice for rising seniors (or anyone anticipating the college selection process) is to breathe and remember that what’s supposed to happen, will happen. It is ok to take skating into consideration when you are choosing a school, as you have to take many different factors into account when deciding what school will make you happiest. Balancing college classes and an intense skating schedule requires extreme time management skills, another skill this sport instills in its participants.

Skating is extremely close to my heart. I am very fortunate to be able to continue my love for the sport and integrate it into my college experience.

I hope I shed some light on the process! Have a great summer, and I will update shortly with summertime activities with the Haydenettes and the DREAM program.

Tessa