The Golden Boy

GOLD MEDALIST
Basic 4 Compulsories

BRONZE MEDALIST
Basic B Freestyle

Diamond State Autumn Skate
November 19th, 2006
Wilmington, DE

Luke has changed coaches since his last competition. In October, decided he wanted to switch to Roland. Yes, you remember an earlier entry correctly. Roland is the one who "made him work all summer." And yes, Roland continues to make him work. However, they are getting on very well (at least from Mom's point of view), and Luke enjoys his lessons with him. Luke has also expressed interest in being a coach like Roland, though he agrees he probably needs to practice "a little bit more" before he sets up shop. They have only been working together for just over a month, but there is a definite difference in Luke's skating. For the most part, it's much sharper than before, and Luke seems much more comfortable on the ice.

Luke has changed skates as well as coaches. He has "out-performed" yet another pair of skates. His new pair has a stiffer boot and more advanced blades. "All the better to jump with, my dear..." He has been working on his Waltz jump since summer, but now has added the Bunny Hop, Toe Loop, and Salchow to his repertoire. He's only just begun the latter two, but has mastered the basic mechanics of them fairly quickly. They're not the most graceful yet, but that will come with time (and more practice, of course).

Today, Luke competed in two events at the Diamond State Autumn Skate competition, sponsored by Wilmington (DE) FSC. He had originally planned to compete in the Showcase event as well, but decided that he'd rather do two great programs than three that he may not have polished enough.

His first event was the Compulsory skate, where he tied for first. He and the Co-Champion were both named Luke! This was a new program for him, as he had only competed at the Basic 3 level at Sun, Sand, and Skate in August. (Due to some paperwork mix-ups, he wound up skipping the Hollydell Open.) He had entirely new set of skills demonstrate his proficiency with--most notably three-turns. He did a great job with them today.



His other event was the Basic B Freestyle. He repeated his Basic B program from Atlantic City, with some changes and skill "upgrades." He did a great job with that program today. At his last competition, he placed 4th with it, so 3rd and a Bronze medal is certainly an achievement to be proud of. He held his reverse Chinese spiral (a one-footed gliding maneuver) for several seconds. It is a difficult move that involves catching the skate blade, crossing the caught foot/ankle over the supporting knee, extending the free arm, and holding the position while gliding backwards.



Next up is "Holiday on Ice" in December at his "home rink," the Vineland Ice Arena. It's a Holiday themed exhibition show on December 10th. He is performing two programs. One is a group program with the others in his Learn to Skate group, and the other is a "Solo Spotlight." Though his one program may be called "Solo Spotlight," he will have to share the overall spotlight with his brother. It will be Matthew's first skating performance. He is going to be skating with his Learn to Skate lesson group. Photos will follow, of course.