Ice Ice Baby

Junior Kayla Ongun's passion for fgure skating extends to her

by Summer Puterbaugh

ly encourage them to tweak minor things.

I fnd that I’m a lot more tient now when ing to achieve results, both outside ice break ev into sim not only for and nication with most of her students is “smooth,” Ongun claims the most chal lenging part of her job comes from miscommunications with parents, especially those who pressure their hesitant children onto the ice.

“There are some kids that clearly don’t to attend personal lessons before

“It’s really hard to have to skate after school knowing I still have homework to come back to when I get home and get it done [quickly] enough go to bed at a sonable hour. spending most of my time skating, but I do wish I could hang out with my friends more and go to bed [earlier]. I just want more balance in my schedule,” Ongun said.

Participating in level tests and skating competitions has also “gotten in the way” of Ongun’s social life and mental health. In order to advance, she must take part in “Moves in the Field,” a skating evaluation where skaters learn a certain set of moves and perform them in front of Olym- pic-level judges. Currently ranked at junior level, Ongun sees herself advancing in the future but fnds her anxiety often gets in the way of her progress.

“Skating is all about forcing yourself to do what you don’t want to do. You have to push everything out of your mind and force your body to do [difcult moves]. If you stumble when you’re younger, you fall down only four or fve feet, but since I’m a teenager, there’s a bigger [risk] in falling. I have more fears and anxiety that occasionally hold me back,” Ongun said.

Despite the challenges of ice skating, Ongun still fnds it to be a “beautiful” sport that she plans on continuing in the future.

“Skating has become such a big part of my identity. There's never been a time when I haven’t been skating or doing anything related, so I can’t imagine quitting,” Ongun said. “It’s rigorous, but I love it.”