This month’s version of Tom Tom tries involved figure skating. The Tom Tom staff met at the Rec Plex ice arena in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Some staffers already had enough experience to learn new skills on the ice, but for some, it was a more slippery path.
Two experienced skaters joined us: Antioch Community High School junior Amerissa Kaliakmanis and Westosha Central High School junior Elana Schuett. Immediately when we stepped foot on the ice, they took off. Spinning, swerving, jumping, and showing off their skills. It shocked all of us with the talent they had. The Tom Tom staff began with just free skating for the warm-up. Making laps around the ice with no instruction. For myself and Maya Ryan, we had a bit of a harder start. We both went into ice skating without knowing how to skate. We had touched the ice a couple of times in our lives but never learned how to truly skate.
As everyone was skating around me, I could not get from one end of the rink to the other before they lapped me. My feet would not let me move. I felt like such a beginner, not even knowing how to properly move my feet. Maya seemed to pick up quickly, being able to skate with no assistance and beginning to look like a pro. I would say the biggest problem of mine was keeping my balance. I kept on stumbling and constantly showed the wobbles. That was the reason for my first fall, hunching my body over to save myself which came to no prevail. I was able to bounce back up, but I was still just as bad of a skater as I was before.
The first skill that the skaters tried to teach us was edges. Edges are where we sway back and forth with our feet staying close to each other. We would have to “rip” from inside to outside and slalom. The entire staff started slow with this technique but began to pick it up. But, of course, I struggled the entire time. The staff felt as if they were ready to move on to something more challenging. Besides me, I was still struggling. Staffer RJ Deguzman was determined to learn how to skate on one foot. He accomplished this skill…partially; not too impressive if you ask me.
The staff started to partner up and do some duo skating. Maya and Reese were paired together, and Matt and RJ were paired together. The other staffers, Mason Willis and Scarlett Carroll, were doing their own thing, constantly showing me up. It was at this point that I had enough and needed some reinforcements. That is when we broke out the plastic skating buddy. The things that little kids use when they do not know how to skate. Little Kids. After this addition, I felt like the fastest skater out on the rink. No one could catch me (I got passed by everyone). After this, I felt a surge of motivation. I think I gave one of the most influential speeches ever given. “In life, there are things in life that will prevent you from succeeding, but you just gotta trust the process.” After this, I got rid of my skating buddy and began to see progress. I was better than ever before.
We wrapped the afternoon up with a race; I did not participate for obvious reasons. It was the most entertaining part of the day for the staff. Scarlett took home the victory, with Mason coming in a close second. Despite RJ’s funny fall to start the race, he rounded out the podium. Overall, it was a very exciting day for all of us. We all enjoyed being taught new skills on the ice. I was happy to make some sort of progress.
We all left the rink in one piece, ready to take on the next Tom Tom tries. Hopefully, this next one will be something I am good at.
