For the love of the ice

What sets 13-year-old Madeline Smith apart, her figure skating coach said, is her drive. After all, it takes a special kind of person to end her school day, go to hours of skating practice, only to start her homework at 7:30 or 8 p.m. some nights.

“To do this six days a week and to sacrifice friends and dances and basketball games and all those things normal kids do, you have to really love it,” said her coach, Heather Mumper.

And Smith really loves it. The Chelsea resident, a rising eighth-grader at Chelsea Middle, started skating when she was 8 years old. Mumper recalls seeing the young girl in the “Learn to Skate” class at Pelham Civic Complex. All the signs were there for a potentially great skater.

“I tried about every other sport [first],” Smith said. “I really loved [skating] the first time I went.”

Smith began private lessons, then began competing three years ago. She now has practices at the rink five days a week, as well as additional off-ice conditioning. 

Many of her fellow skaters are home-schooled to allow them flexibility in practicing and traveling to competitions, but Smith continues to balance skating with homework, family and other responsibilities.

“It’s definitely worth it,” she said, adding that she does have frequent late nights to get everything accomplished.

The experience has taught her a lot about dedication. “The stuff that I do at skating, I find myself doing at school and even at home. I have to constantly persevere through skating. That’s something I think skating has taught me,” Smith said.

That dedication is essential as a skater. Not only are the practices physically intense, but Smith — like all skaters — will frequently fall many times before she nails a new move.

“I think you fall more than you land because you learn. It’s like trial and error. I think when they were little they thought falling meant failing, and I think they’ve learned as they’ve gotten older [that] it’s OK to fall. It’s part of the learning process,” Mumper said.

Lots of little factors, such as sleep and stress, can influence Smith’s practices day to day, and she said she has to build a “mental wall” to avoid beating herself up over mistakes. The feeling of landing a jump, she said, is one of the best parts of figure skating.

“I just love being able to be out on the ice,” Smith said.

Having coached skaters for years alongside her husband, Eric, Mumper said she has seen that level of drive carry skaters further than any amount of talent alone. Like any sport, figure skating takes time.

“It takes a long time to see the benefit of ice skating,” Mumper said.

Smith competes three or four times a year at the pre-juvenile level, though she has to plan carefully to avoid missing too much school. She said she continues to feel nervous before each competition, then feels the rush of relief as she leaves the ice knowing she put in her best effort. 

Later this month, she’ll perform at the Magic City Ice Classic at the Pelham Civic Complex July 29-31.

In the future, Smith said she wants to compete at higher levels and eventually qualify for regionals, sectionals or even nationals.

“I just want to be the best that I can be,” Smith said.

And Mumper has utter confidence in her.

“She’ll get there. She’s hardworking,” she said.