Unleash your superpowers
BY MIMI MCKINNIS
Imagine growing mightier with every glide. Learn to Skate USA gives its participants the physical and mental skills to conquer the day and take on life with confi dence. Through a progressive curriculum designed to equip skaters with the fundamentals to meet any goal they set, Learn to Skate USA can help you unleash your superpowers.
It all started for Sugar Todd when she was 8 years old.
“I actually saw a fl ier for the Omaha Speedskating Club and decided I had to give it a try,” Todd said. “One of the fi rst things they asked me was if I had ever been in Learn to Skate classes. Before you learn technique, you have to be able to get around. You have to be comfortable in skates.”
At the recommendation of the speedskating club, Todd enrolled in Learn to Skate classes where she quickly realized she had found her passion.
“I loved it right away,” Todd said. “I knew I wanted to go really fast. I knew I wanted to be an Olympic champion.”
At age 9, Todd asked her parents to move to Milwaukee so she could pursue a higher level of training. Just three years later, she won the midget girls (age 11–12) division at the national championships, and set national age-group records for the 300-, 400-, 500-, 600- and 800-meter races. In 2012 Todd relocated again — this time to Salt Lake City to train at the Olympic Oval as part of the National Training Program.
“It defi nitely wasn’t always easy for me,” Todd said. “I remember being in seventh grade, and I had lost the fun in skating. We lived 45 minutes away from the rink, so my life was go to school, drive, train, drive, homework, sleep, repeat. But I remember my mom saying I had a decision to make. These were my goals. The bottom line was that I wasn’t ready to stop dreaming.”
In 2012, Todd made her fi rst World Cup Team. In 2014, she competed at 40 APRIL 2017
the Olympic Winter Games. Now, at age 26, she hopes to cement her standing as a two-time Olympian, training for the trials less than one year away.
“When I look back at my career, it’s just a series of small steps,” Todd said. “I had to start with my fi rst steps in Learn to Skate. Then it was ‘How fast can I go?’ Then it was competitions and races and next steps. I made my way to the Olympics, but every day wasn’t about that. When I fi rst started, I didn’t check my stats. I just wanted to go faster than my friends. It’s a process. Thankfully this sport has made every step a lot of fun.”
In addition to her training, Todd also serves as an athlete mentor for Classroom Champions — an organization devoted to helping kids recognize their potential, set goals and dream big.
“Pursuing a goal with intensity gives you a sense of what it takes to accomplish something,” Todd said. “Skating taught me to be fearless. It taught me to see things that are diffi cult as challenges — challenges that I can take on with confi dence. It’s been amazing to convey that message to kids and show them the impact that things like sports can have, and how those moments can empower you in life.”
When you learn to skate, you learn to fall — but more importantly, you learn to get back up. Anything’s possible once you gain the power you need to do good in the world. For Todd, going fast became a dream, a dream that will carry her long after she’s hung up her skates.
“Skating has given me a sense of confi dence that I’ll carry with me way beyond my on-ice career,” Todd said. “I’m not afraid of life after skating, because I know what I’m capable of doing. If I can learn to skate forward, I can learn to go a little faster. I can make it to the Olympics. I can do whatever I put my mind to.”
All dreams start somewhere. Start yours today at
www.LearnToSkateUSA.com.
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