Benefit of Sports - Figure Skating
August 31, 2021
The benefits of sports and exercise on mental and physical well-being are clear. On the cusp of a new school year, we wanted to understand more about how sports can teach kids life lessons and skills including accountability, hard work, dedication, leadership, and more. This time, we spoke with our Marketing Manager, Paula who learned to skate at Sky Rink when she was just 3 years old. She skated her way up the ranks at Chelsea Piers and then started to coach aspiring skaters like herself. Now, 23 years since she took her first step onto the ice, we caught up with her as she reflects on how the sport has impacted her life on and off the ice.
Paula’s Reflections:
How did you discover your passion for skating?
I remember, it was Winter and I was 3 years old with my parents (Renee and Dominick) at the Southstreet Seaport in NYC. As we walked around, I noticed the ice rink that was set up in the middle of the Seaport and I begged my mom to let me try and skate. She laced up my rentals and before she even stepped onto the ice I was skating around the rink by myself. I instantly loved it and couldn’t wait to skate again.
After that day, my parents discovered Chelsea Piers and signed me up for my first Learn to Skate class. After one semester, I graduated to private lessons with my first coach Slava and the rest was history! My parents sacrificed a lot to allow me to fulfill my dreams. I practiced 5x days a week before and after school and started testing and competing year-round. I was determined to be the best figure skater that I could be. I definitely credit the early morning and afterschool practices for the time management skills that I have today.
That’s awesome. What did you love the most about skating?
I loved everything. I loved the feeling of my blades on the ice and jumping through the air. Every time I skated there was freedom when the cold air hit my face and it quickly became my happy place. Overall, I loved the challenge the most. Figure skating is a highly competitive sport that takes a lot of dedication, discipline, and repetition. I loved the challenge of learning and mastering new skills from edgework to spins and jumps. Another aspect that I loved was the storytelling. As a skater, every time you learned a new program you learned how to tell a story on the ice. I loved the process of picking the music ensembles, developing choreography, conveying emotion, and tying it all together with a costume. The entire process was creative and exciting. Now as a marketing professional, it taught me the impact storytelling has.
What else did figure skating teach you and how have you been able to take the lessons you learned with you throughout life?
Figure Skating has taught me the value of hard work, dedication, passion, resilience, and persistence. The sport has taught me that it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up. Being part of a very competitive sport has given me a “thick skin” so I think that I have been able to take constructive criticism very well either in school or the workplace so that I can work to become the best version of myself that I can be. I have learned a lot about myself and how I can achieve anything that I put my mind to. I credit my skating career to shaping me into the well-rounded person that I am today both on and off the ice.
Do you still skate for fun?
I stopped competing when I was 16 years old due to injury and getting ready for college, but I do skate whenever I can. No matter where life takes me, I will always be a figure skater and it will always be a part of my life whether skating or coaching. I now have a 9-month old daughter and I can’t wait until she can put on her first pair of skates and we can share the ice together. I look forward to sharing my passion for the sport with her in this new chapter of my life.
Thank you Paula for sharing your reflections and life lessons with us that have helped get you where you are today.