Blog > June 9, 2007

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but I happen to be in the busiest time of my entire life. No joke! Every weekend I have had something going on and I can't wait for my schedule to finally die down.

If there are two words that best describe my Junior World experience, they would be new and intimidating. The whole trip was an eye-opening journey that I learned much from. The city of Oberstorf was very quaint and fresh. All the little houses were identical to the next, each manicured perfectly with beautiful window boxes and lovely gardens. My coach Ted and I walked through the city streets on our first day taking memorable pictures along the way. As usual, I was very anxious to take the ice for practice and even more so, for competition. I just get so excited!

To add to my excitement, I skated flawlessly in each and every practice, only making one mistake: falling on crossovers! We all make stupid fumbles like that…right? I love competing in international competitions and seeing skaters from all around the world. I wonder what kind of life they lead in their far off country and truly appreciate everything I have in the States.

Finally the short program rolled around. I skated great on my 20 minute warm-up in the morning, but things changed when I came back for the event. I was extremely nervous before I took the ice and desperately tried to shake off those bad feelings. During the 6 minute warm-up my legs felt really wobbly and weak and I even felt uneasy on some easy footwork. When it was time for me to start my program, all I could think about was my shaky legs.

I skated around tensely before taking my starting position. During the program I nailed my opening triple lutz-triple toe combination (probably the best one in competition all year), but unfortunately took a costly fall on my required triple flip. Ted said I looked like I fell out of the sky. True! My legs just didn't support me on the landing. I skated the rest of the program really well, landing my double axel and continuing with the mood of the program. Lucky for me the mood of the program was sadness so I really didn't have to do much!

Once I finished and sat in the kiss-and-cry with Ted I tried to compose myself while my scores were being read. As soon as I stood up and walked 10 feet, I began crying. They were tears of disappointment. I really wanted to come and skate another clean short program like I had done all year long. I had heavy questions zooming through my saddened head. Why was I so nervous? If I had competed so well 4 weeks prior, why was it such a drastic difference?

Much to my dismay I skated early in the group of 45, about 25th. My Team Leader, Shawn Rettstatt, told me that I needed to stay at the rink so I could draw for my starting number for the long program. I tried to watch some of the rest of the event, supporting Brandon and Stephen. As I watched skater after skater perform and get higher scores than mine, I decided I couldn't watch anymore. This was definitely a skating low of mine.

At the conclusion of the Men's Short Program I sat in 14th place, blowing my previous record for low placements out of the water. I drew to skate first in the second half of the Men's Long Program event the next day. I found it increasingly difficult to shake off my negative thoughts, but I eventually decided that I could either mope about what was done, or focus on my next task. I slept well that night (crying really tires you out!) and dreamt of skating a replica of my Nationals long program.

The next morning I woke up with a new outlook on the day. I skated a perfect practice and felt ready to dominate. When I came back for the event, I warmed up off the ice with butterflies in my stomach. I didn't think much of it because I was very nervous before the long at Nationals too and had skated just fine. I kept reminding myself of the times I had come back after not-so-great short programs to do amazing long programs. I wanted to do that again!

I skated 7th in the group of 24, or first in the second warm-up. What made me even more nervous was that my legs were just as jiggly as the day before. I let my head run away from me and I started thinking of what happened the last time my legs felt like this. When the announcer cleared the ice, I skated around a couple more times, then ritualistically looked into my coaches eyes and smiled before taking my opening pose.

My first double axel was very solid, even a little better than Nationals. On my triple lutz, I was very loose in the air and landed way too soon with my leg coming out wildly. I tacked a double toe onto the scary landing and tried to ready my head for the next jump. I successfully landed the following two jumps; a triple flip and a triple loop-double loop-double loop combination. My legs started to burn very quickly, and I consequently made the silly mistake of popping my second double axel. I regrouped and landed my remaining three jumps; a triple flip-double loop combination, a triple lutz, and a triple salchow.

All in all the long program was better than the short, but I still could have done much better. My first triple lutz was downgraded to a double, and I received negative Grades of Execution on many of my elements, resulting in another disappointing score. Oh how I wish I could do it all over again! I ended up 10th in the long and overall. Top ten was definitely my goal heading into this competition, so I wasn't upset about that at all. I was more upset with how I had skated.

I talked for a long time with my coach after I stepped off the kiss-and-cry podium. With tears in my eyes I listened to his words. He once again reminded me that I was still the same Eliot. Nothing had changed, no matter how good or bad I had skated. He told me to feel the pain I was experiencing. Truly feel it. When training for the next season I could remind myself of this pain, and use it as motivation to make me work even harder.

The rest of the week passed quickly as I watched Team USA collect numerous deserved medals. I felt so honored to be apart of this prestigious and talented group of athletes! I definitely want to compete at Junior Worlds again, except next time I will be more mentally prepared. Watch out!

Now that this season has come to an end, I want to thank every person who has supported me or wished me luck throughout the year. Without you, nothing would have been possible!

Much Love,

~Eliot