Continuing the story of the day Emily and Sergei met, here's Part II of the "prequel" to LIFE ON THE EDGE. If you haven't read Part I, you can find it here!
Sergei
With a nod and a raise of my hand I
signaled Emily to cool down, and I retreated to the bleachers while she circled
the rink. I bent forward and rested my elbows on my thighs, continuing to watch
Emily do easy stroking. My heart rate still hadn’t come down to normal level.
I had an incredibly tall task on my
hands.
Not because I thought Emily couldn’t learn
how to skate pairs. After seeing her body awareness, there was no doubt in my
mind she could do anything I taught her. No, that wasn’t the problem. The
problem was finding her a partner with just as much talent.
Emily exited the ice and snapped on her
guards as she sat next to me. Pulling a bottle of water from her bag, she took
a long drink and then recapped it.
“Are we going to start on the pair elements
now?” she asked.
One side of my mouth twitched upward.
I might have to actually rein in some of her eagerness. We couldn’t rush
through the fundamentals, and I could see her wanting to get to the big tricks
sooner rather than later.
“Let’s talk for a minute.”
I had to choose my words carefully. I
wanted her to know how much I admired her ability, but I couldn’t give her too
much praise. Not that she appeared to have a huge ego and wouldn’t handle it
maturely. From the few minutes I’d spent with her, I didn’t get that vibe at
all.
“You have an amazing connection to the
music,” I said.
Her workout-induced flushed cheeks deepened
to darker pink, and she looked down at her water. “Thank you.”
“And you must be a toe jumper.” I’d
noticed she’d done only the jumps with a toepick takeoff and none of the edge
takeoff ones.
“Yeah, Lutz and toe are my favorites. My
Sal and loop are…” She made a so-so motion with her hand.
I studied her as she took a sip of
water and slipped on her jacket. If I could find her a partner with the same
jumping skills, they could push the sport to a new place. I was already
envisioning the throw Lutz and side-by-side triple Lutzes, two elements no
other pair was doing.
Slow
down. You’re getting way ahead of yourself.
But it was hard not to with this
potential superstar sitting next to me. There was the issue of her anxiety,
however…
“Your coach told me a bit about your
competition troubles,” I said. “Have you ever seen a sports psychologist?”
She toyed with her necklace again. “I
didn’t want to ask my parents to take on another expense. They’ve put so much
into my skating, and I kept thinking I could get over the nerves on my own…”
She was too good to have nerves be her
downfall. I had to find some way to help her overcome them.
“I thought skating pairs might be good
for me because I’d have another person to focus on,” she said. “I think just
being alone out there and having my thoughts consume me is what causes me
trouble. If I have a partner to focus on, maybe I won’t get so bogged down with
the fear and anxiety. Maybe I’ll finally feel the freedom I do when I skate
without the judges watching.”
She lifted her eyes to mine, full of
hope, and my desire to help her kicked into overdrive. A million thoughts of
how to coach her through her issues ran through my mind.
There was something about her, not
just the talent she’d shown on the ice, but something else that stood out even
more. A brightness that hadn’t dimmed even after all the disappointment she’d
experienced with skating. Her energy was so positive, so engaging.
“If you decide to commit to pairs, I
promise you will have all the confidence you need to compete.” I tapped the
bleachers for emphasis. “After the work we do together, you will be the
strongest, most focused competitor you can possibly be.”
The light in her eyes grew even
brighter, and I couldn’t help but smile. I was making some big promises, but
she made me believe they would all come true.
“I have a really good feeling about
this,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if I was making the right decision coming here
and giving up school, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that this is where
I’m supposed to be. I know that might sound kinda silly…”
“No, not at all.” I paused as I
realized just how certain I was, too. Thirty minutes ago I didn’t know what to
expect from our meeting, and now my head was spinning with plans for the future.
“I have the exact same feeling.”
****
Look for the final installment next week. You'll get the rest of the story from Emily's point of view!
No comments:
Post a Comment