figure skating

Inspiration from 1992 Olympic Champion Kristi Yamaguchi

June 24, 2011 By Deb Chitwood 4 Comments

You probably know Kristi Yamaguchi either as the 1992 Olympic Ladies Figure Skating Champion or the winner of the 6^th season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

Kristi continues to inspire as a philanthropist and founder of the Always Dream Foundation, a charity “to inspire and embrace the hopes and dreams of children.” I love what she said about helping others:

“All the athletic glory and honors are wonderful but sometimes I come face to face with a disadvantaged child or with a struggling mother or father and I am grateful for my gifts. And I rededicate myself to doing whatever I can to help someone in need. The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertville.”

Kristi recently wrote an article called “Life Lessons from Figure Skating.” Although it’s a sponsored post, the article contains some great tips, such as:

Give ‘em a show.

Find your balance.

Play well with others.

Be proactive about your health.

Commit.

Read the article to learn how you can use those life lessons in your own life, whether or not you’re an athlete. Kristi tells how she uses those life lessons today.

And, if you haven’t seen them, here are two YouTube videos with inspiration for which Kristi Yamaguchi is most famous.

1992 Olympics Long Program:

Dancing with the Stars – Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark Ballas – Season 6 Freestyle

Kristi Yamaguchi’s motto: “Always Dream.”

“Always Dream” Word-Art Freebie

Photo Credit: Photo by The Heart Truth at Flickr Creative Commons.

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: 1992 Olympics, Always Dream, figure skating, Kristi Yamaguchi, Life Lessons, Season 6 Dancing with the Stars

Build on Love and Skill at the Beginning of the Season

May 20, 2011 By Deb Chitwood 4 Comments

Each sport has its pre-season time to build. And I think we can look at almost anything as pre-season whenever we’re starting a new project or new time of our lives.

This is the beginning of the season for many in competitive figure skating. I always enjoyed watching how skaters go through the process of finding the right music, choreographing programs, and designing costumes. At the same time, extra emphasis is placed on developing and refining skating skills at the beginning of the new season.

I really like the quote: “When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” – John Ruskin

“Expect a Masterpiece” Word-Art Freebie

Even though the beginning of any new season or new project has some drudgery involved, love of the sport or job or subject or hobby is what can truly bring about great progress.

I was the guest poster at my daughter’s Christina Chitwood Performance blog this week, with a post “Follow Your Kids’ Interests through Summer Day Camps.”

My kids had lots of experience with summer day camps, including many summer skating camps to start the new skating season. My kids always found them a great time to add or improve skills through more intense training and to create excitement through classes that are only offered in the summer. For skaters, Xanboni has a helpful article on “Summer Skating.”

If your kids are wondering about a summer camp for skating or any other sport or activity, check it out now if you haven’t already. This could be the summer your child creates a masterpiece!

Filed Under: Encouragement, Parents' Role Tagged With: figure skating, John Ruskin quote, new season, sport, summer camps, summer skating

Transforming Wounds into Words of Encouragement

April 8, 2011 By Deb Chitwood 4 Comments

DChitwood_TransformYourWounds

“Transform Your Wounds into Words” Word-Art Freebie

In his post “A Question of Heart,” Terry said: “Transform your wounds into words. Write for the world.” I think I’m doing that. I felt called to start blogging a little over a year ago here at Raising Figure Skaters.

Figure-Skating Wounds

Although I also blog through Living Montessori Now (with my first blogiversary coming up on April 13), I can’t say that I have wounds from Montessori education or homeschooling my children – those were wonderful experiences for me! But I do have some wounds from figure skating – and those wounds have given me an extra voice and way to help families.

Follow me to Spring Snow Publications to read the entire article!

Filed Under: Blogging and Networking, Encouragement Tagged With: blogging, encouragement, figure skating, transform your wounds

In Student Athlete, Student Comes First

August 13, 2010 By Deb Chitwood 6 Comments

For families with athletes, it’s easy for sports to become a primary focus. I think involvement in sports is wonderful. Figure skating was obviously a huge part of my family’s life. Yet, it’s important to remember the words from the movie Coach Carter:

These…are student athletes. “Student” comes first.

As much as athletes would like to compete in the Olympics and be at the top of their sport, that may or may not happen. Injuries could stop or hinder an athletic career – or the highest level of success just may not be in the cards. And no matter what happens, there is life at the end of a competitive sports career.

My Family of Student Athletes

I was happy that my children, Will and Chrissy, kept up their studies throughout their competitive careers. They have never regretted it either. Even though Will only attended college part-time while he was competing in pairs, he still completed his BA with a 4.0 grade point average at age 24.

Chrissy had to go to school full-time to get a student visa to live in England. Attending university full-time while training and competing in senior ice-dance was a bit much. But it definitely paid off when Chrissy got her BA with First Class Honours at age 19. And the character traits Will and Chrissy developed by being successful student athletes were priceless.

Rachael Flatt

One of the best examples of a student athlete is the 2010 U.S. National Ladies Figure Skating Champion, Rachael Flatt. Rachael has been an inspiration for student athletes everywhere by training and competing at such a high level while maintaining straight As and taking a heavy course load of AP classes at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs.

Rachael graduated from high school in May and was accepted into a number of top-level universities. She is deferring college this year but plans to attend Stanford University in the fall of 2011.

As the school year starts, help your athlete be a true student athlete.

Here’s a lovely and appropriate video by Rachael and RIF:

What has worked for your family in keeping the proper balance between student and athlete?

Filed Under: Encouragement Tagged With: athletes, Coach Carter, families, figure skating, Olympics, Rachael Flatt, RIF, sports, student athlete, student athletes

Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success

July 30, 2010 By Deb Chitwood 4 Comments

Sports can be part of someone’s spiritual journey. In the book Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success: Gaining the Goal Without Losing Your Soul , Linda Seger, ThD, discusses the call individuals receive to use their God-given talents. Then she talks about the challenges and growth that result from maintaining integrity and a relationship with God while moving toward success in a field.

One of my all-time favorite movie quotes is Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire saying,

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.

A popular quote by author and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia says something similar:

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.

In Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success, Linda Seger discusses such a calling and how to meet the responsibilities and challenges that come with it. Linda uses numerous examples of successful individuals from different walks of life and considers the difficulties and rewards of combining faith and success. She shows that successful people can maintain a relationship with God.

One of her examples is actor Denzel Washington. In an excerpt from the book, she discusses Denzel Washington’s call and how he’s met it. She says:

Actor Denzel Washington recognizes that he has been called to do his work: ‘I understand that what I’ve been blessed to do is a part of God’s plan.’ He begins every film with a prayer he learned from his mother: ‘Heavenly Father, We come before thee, knee bent and body bowed, in the humblest way that we know how.’ Washington says, ‘I open the film with a prayer and end it with praise.’ When asked about his film, The Great Debaters, he said, ‘Every major decision I made, I made through prayer, about who I was picking to be in it, what it was I was trying to say, praying that the film was saying the right thing and that it would reach the right people … It’s how I start every day, and it’s how I end every day.’ (pp.41-42).

Linda Seger is an authority on screenwriting and a Quaker who lives her faith. The second part I know because I’m a member of the same Quaker Meeting as Linda. Linda interviewed my daughter, Chrissy, and her ice-dancer partner, Mark, while they were still competing. In the book interview, Chrissy talked about keeping God in her skating. She described the importance for her of focusing on “skating for God rather than on whether we win or lose.”

2006 World Ladies Figure Skating Champion Kimmie Meisner was recently interviewed for an article called “Faith and Figure Skating.” Not only did Kimmie say that her faith helped her get through difficult times in her skating career, but she described how her figure skating and faith are connected when she said,

I try to live my life the way God wants me to live it. By sharing my gift of skating, I become closer to God.

For many, it seems that success and faith can be connected. Although Linda’s book doesn’t emphasize one field more than another, it is a helpful guide for any athletes wondering how to follow God while following their sport.

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Faith and Sports Tagged With: Chariots of Fire, Denzel Washington, Eric Liddell, Faith and Figure Skating, figure skating, Kimmie Meisner, Leo Buscaglia, Linda Seger, Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success, talents

Self-Confidence Makes Everything Better

July 9, 2010 By Deb Chitwood 6 Comments

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.

-Samuel Johnson, British Author (1709-1784)

Chrissy (standing center) during a university performance.

Self-confidence is one of the commonly listed life skills gained from figure skating or from success in any sport. I remember walking through a mall a number of years ago and noticing a skater from a neighboring city in the distance. The skater was an intermediate-level skater and typically didn’t place first in competition. Yet, she had poise and self-confidence that made her stand out.

That was true for my daughter, Chrissy, as well. Chrissy found self-confidence to be a life skill that has helped her stand out in many areas.

When Chrissy was younger, her self-confidence gained from figure skating allowed her to perform in dance recitals without nervousness.
She performed confidently as a DJ and announcer.
She did numerous newspaper, radio, and television interviews with poise and assuredness.
She auditioned for a performing arts university place with no prior acting experience (other than figure skating) and was accepted, commended for her audition, and praised for being so self-confident.
With the least acting experience in the program, she was given starring roles in the plays for her bachelor’s degree and had a leadership role in ensemble pieces.
She was given a Creative Spark Award for outstanding work in the creative disciplines at Sheffield Hallam University.
She was given a Hallam Award at graduation as a student representative/academic affairs committee member demonstrating skills in public speaking, communication and time management.
She was a successful speaker and awards presenter for a sports award night at a college in England.
She started successful businesses.

This was all at age 19 or younger. Of course, my husband and I are very proud of Chrissy. And we realize that figure skating directly increased Chrissy’s self-confidence, allowing her to succeed in many areas.

Have you seen an increase in your child’s self-confidence from figure skating or another sport?