September 4, 2001

Hello Everyone.

I finally have sometime to sit down and write about my skating. With the move to California I have been extremely busy, and working hard on changing a lot of aspects of my skating.

I have recently started my competition season at the North American Challenge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was the first event I have skated in since the National Championships in Boston, which were held last February.

 I was not only starting my season with this competition, but I was also making my first debut with my new coach. This competition went very well, and I finished 2nd overall.

I then went back home and trained for two weeks leading up to my next competition which was the Golden West Championships, held here in California.

The competition had a lot of improvements compared to the NAC in Vancouver. Skating as a much more consistent skater, I came out of this competition in 2nd place also.

I am now gearing up to the Southwest Regionals competition which will be held the first week of October in Escondido, California. Leading up to this event, I am working on a new short program, and also adding some new elements into my long program.

Placing top 4 in this event will allow me to move onto Sectionals, which from there the top 4 finishers move on to the National Championships that are to be held here in Los Angeles.

Within the skating itself, everything is going right on target. My programs are going great, and I am working extremely hard. I feel 100% that this is the best I have yet to skate in my skating career.

Trying to focus and let nothing stand in my way such as injuries or anything that will prevent me to skate my absolute best, is something I have really been paying attention to.

I will be sure to post another journal right after Regionals, and let everyone know how it is all going.  Until then... take care, and best wishes!

With love,

Nick