insynch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Athletes applying for the DREAM program are asked to write several essays, and below is the reason Dana Hall gave for wanting to be a part of U.S. Figure Skating’s DREAM program.
My skating journey is filled with experiences to share
by DANA HALL B
eing a part of the DREAM program would give me the opportunity to give back to a sport that has meant so much in my life. I am the person I am today because of being involved in synchronized skating, and would love the opportunity to share that passion with younger skaters and parents. Filling out college application essays
last year, I had the chance to think about the experiences I have had and how much I have grown as a person through synchronized skating. As a younger skater, there were always older skaters I looked up to. Tey might be skaters in my own club or team, skaters in other clubs I had met at a camp, or someone I was lucky enough to trade pins with. Having role models to show me what was possible in this sport gave me something to strive for.
Te DREAM program would let me
step forward and be that role model for other skaters. I was not always sure that was the role I wanted to play until I worked with the preliminary team skaters in Beaver Dam, Wis., last year. I loved seeing their excitement for the sport. It was fun seeing them grow as a team, and I was thrilled for them when they medaled at Midwesterns. I was sad I was at my own team practice preparing for Austria and not there to share it with them, but was honored when they called me right away to share their great news!
Teir experience made me remember
how I felt when I won my first Midwesterns when I was 8 years old. And I hope that talking to them about my experiences and letting them get to know me, they feel like being a member of a senior team and Team USA is something that is possible for them, too. Tey were my inspiration to apply for the DREAM program. I also believe I can be a great ambas- sador for the sport because of my experience. I have never looked at synchronized skating as a “season,” but more as a journey that had all kinds of twists and turns. Tere was never a time I thought to myself that I wouldn’t skate the next year, regardless of how the sea- son turned out. Tat has gotten me through times when I wasn’t happy with something, my team wasn’t doing well, or when other things in life tried to take me away from skating.
DANA HALL
I feel lucky that I have been able to see this sport from so many angles. I have been the youngest on the team and, for the first time this season, the oldest on the team; had a full spot, an alternate spot, and a training skater spot; had winning seasons and been in strug- gling seasons. I’ve skated on teams with so many skat- ers that athletes were cut and on teams where there were not enough skaters and we had to change plans for the season. I’ve passed tests on the first try and had to retry the same one several times. Recently I had the chance to move from a skater role to a coaching role. I have learned about myself and the sport in every one of these experiences. I believe that would be helpful for other skaters to hear about as they move through their careers so they don’t give up and quit the first time something doesn’t happen the way they want it to. My hope is that skaters stay in the sport through college and as adults, so that they are able to experience as many joys as this sport has to offer. I’ve even learned that sometimes ice is
slippery, and you or a teammate falls down. Sometimes it is at practice in a quiet rink — and sometimes it is in front of lots of people! But whatever the case, life still goes on. More importantly, just like in life, it’s not the fall- ing down that defines who you are, but what you do when you get up. We have all been through ups and downs in our skating ca- reers, and those of us who continue to skate through it all have learned as much from the ups as we have from the downs. Tese are lessons we will carry with us throughout life. Synchronized skating is not just about skat- ing — it is so much more.
DAVID WANG USA
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