Headed to nationals to compete in novice pairs

January 10, 2010

Hello again!

Well, it’s just about National time!! I am getting very excited. My partner Jessica Calalang and I are skating very well, and we feel much more confident moving into Nationals than we did going into Midwestern Sectionals.

Sectionals was a disappointing competition for me as a singles skater. I placed 6th in the Junior Men. It was a disappointment, because in the weeks moving up to Sectionals I was skating the best I had all year, and was very confident going into the competition, but I did not skate very well during the event.

In Novice pairs, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise! We skated the best we could have as a team and placed fourth, qualifying for Nationals. My partner Jessica also qualified for Nationals in Novice Ladies.

I will update you all on what happens at Nationals! Wish me luck!

Danny!~!

Back from Colorado Springs, excited for the season

August 30, 2009

Hello again, 

I am back at home from training for four weeks in Colorado Springs. It was an awesome experience to train there!

I recently competed at both the Liberty competition and the Indy pairs competition. It was our first time competing pairs and was a great experience. I learned so much and can't wait for another chance.

Even though it is in my home rink, I took the DuPage competition off, to get some rest and have time for improvement.  My partner competed in DuPage though, and won novice ladies final round.  We are competing pairs and singles at a local competition called Wagon Wheel.  After that, my next competition will be regionals for singles, and sectionals for pairs. 

I have a great feeling about this season, and am really excited!

On a more personal note, I just started my freshman year of college last week at Loyola University Chicago. It is about an hour commute because I am living at home. But I am only going part time, taking four classes a semester, so that I am able to still train and compete at both singles and pairs. 

I appreciate all of your continued support!

Talk to you soon!

~Danny~

New skating adventure with Jessica Calalang

June 1, 2009

Hey guys!

Its been a while since my last post, but I just thought it would be smart to update all of you on how my life has been lately.

After Regionals last year, I switched coaches and it was a definitely a change of pace in my training and my life. I thankfully made it to the U.S. Championships again. And though it was a tough journey, I am very happy the outcome of my season. It was the first time I landed a triple triple in competition, and I skated a fairly good long program in Cleveland.

After Nationals I came home and got back to work. I also decided in the beginning of March to start doing pairs with my partner and friend Jessica Calalang. We are going to be competing novice pairs this year. I willalso continue to compete as a junior man as well.  It has been a lot of fun trying pair skating! 

I am currently training in Colorado Springs for four weeks this summer and will keep you updated on how the training goes.  Thanks again for all your support!

~Danny~!

Dad keeps promise of a puppy after national title

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Hey everyone!

This is Danny O'Shea.

I am starting my journal on my brand new Web site here.

I am 17 years old and I live in Gurnee, Ill. I am going to be a senior next year at St. Viator High School. I love school and I love all of my friends. My friends are amazing and are everything to me! I would not be able to be successful and be as happy in my life if it weren't for them. I am a very positive person and I always have a smile on my face!

I am going to be a junior level skater in the 2008-2009 season. In the 07-08 season I was a novice man, and I won nationals at the novice level in St. Paul, Minn. It was an amazing experience and has given me many awesome opportunities. I have been privileged to experience the press at a very minimal level of pressure.

I also got to go to the Netherlands for the Aegon Challenge Cup this March. It was a lot of fun, I had an awesome team, made tons of new friends, and got to experience the junior level before I had the pressure of my junior season. I have been so very lucky in my career so far, with many good friends and great experiences.

After my first Nationals in Spokane, Wash., in the 06-07 season, where I placed eighth, me and my dad were joking around and I kept asking for a puppy! He jokingly said "OK. Yeah, you can have a puppy… when you win nationals." I laughed and agreed. Then after I won the short at nationals I felt obliged to remind him of his promise, and then he reminded me that I still had a long program to skate.

After I won we started looking for puppies. Recently, I did get that dog. She is a Golden Retriever, and she is eight weeks old! Her name is Zoey, and she is so much fun!

Well there will me more to come, and I hoped you have enjoyed my first journal entry, and will enjoy all of the rest to come!

Always Smile!

~Danny!~

Team USA experiences success in The Hague

Originally posted at the Ice Network

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Hello again!... Danny O'Shea here from The Hague.

So far this has been an amazing experience! Team USA has been doing amazing, and we will continue to do so in the next two days, I'm sure!

Everyone has been amazingly nice to us here too! One of the waiters at the hotel has been teaching us some Dutch, so now we know how to say thank you, good morning, and your welcome!

On Thursday, our skaters did well. David Wang skated a solid short program and finished second behind a Japanese boy in the novice men's group. Kaylyn Patitucci and Karl Edelmann, our junior ice dance team, skated twice on Thursday and were first after both the dances. Marissa Secundy skated very well in the novice ladies short program and finished first!

On Friday, we continued to skate awesomely. In the junior men's event, Drew Gonzales skated great and was first; I missed my flying sit and finished fifth after the short program. The junior ladies event went well as Brittney Rizo skated clean and was in first place. Amanda Dobbs missed a Salchow but looked very good overall and was third after the short. Then Marissa skated her long and was first again, taking first overall in the novice ladies. Later in the night, Becky Bereswill skated her short in the senior ladies competition and was second after the short.

It has been an amazing experience so far, and everyone seems to be having a lot of fun! I know I am making great new friends, as well as getting to see old ones, and I cant wait to get to see more of The Hague, the city.

More to come, but so far it's been so amazing!

— Danny

Americans arrive in The Hague for the AEGON Challenge Cup

Originally posted at the Ice Network

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Hello! This is Danny O'Shea from The Hague, Netherlands.

It has been a ton of fun so far. We all got here on Tuesday, and on Tuesday night we went out to eat for our team dinner at a very nice little local Italian restaurant. The food was amazing, and the people are all so nice. It is very nice, because almost all of the people here speak English, so we are able to communicate pretty well. After dinner, we came back to the hotel, had our team meeting, and then everyone went up to bed for some much needed rest after a long day of travel.

On Wednesday, we all had practice, so after a delicious breakfast in the hotel, we headed over to the rink. It is a very cool rink if I can say so myself, unlike any I have ever seen before. It has a rock climbing wall, go-carts, and a skiing hill, all indoors, along with two ice surfaces, and a speed skating track around one. It was a lot of fun meeting all kinds of skaters from all over the world, especially the local Dutch skaters. After our practices, we each had a draw for the short program. I drew sixth, and Drew Gonzales, the other junior man, drew seventh.

After skating, some of us went for a walk in the town. It was very nice, and everything in the bakeries looked very yummy. We all decided to go back after we compete. Then we had the opening ceremony, where the head of the International Skating Union spoke, and then we came back to the hotel for some dinner and bed.

Talk to you later.

— Danny