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October 20, 2008

Deck

By ROBIN CAUDELL The Press Republican Mon Oct 20, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH -- Luke West warmed up on the ice at Lake City Stars in Plattsburgh.

He was soon joined by Olympic Center Skating School Director Gilberto Viadana. And recently, at the North Atlantic Regional Figure Skating Championships at Jamestown, the school represented.

West placed third in Juvenile Boys. Allison "Alli" Shultes placed first and Alexandria Southard, eighth, in Novice Ladies. Alyssa Mahatme ranked sixth in Intermediate Ladies, and Kendall Wyckoff placed first in Junior Ladies. Ethan Amaral placed first in Intermediate Men.

"For us, the most important thing is the determination and motivation that these kids demonstrate," said Viadana, a native of Italy who participated in World and European figure-skating championships.

"It's not like other sports where athletes have to be flexible or strong. There's not one kind of proper skater "¦ They are completely different physically and in attitude.

"Like any sport if you want to be (at) the top, you have to work a lot. It has to be inside."

Viadana's staff includes choreographer Michela Boschetto, physiologist John Underwood, strength-and-conditioning expert Kyle Meadows and coach Trina Graham Erhard.

The school instructs students from novice to senior levels.

"Obviously the later you start, the harder it is for you to reach the top," Viadana said, adding that it's ideal for students to begin training between ages 4 and 6.

"A couple of kids started later. With their determination and drive they will reach a very good level though they started late."

The Olympic Regional Development Authority contacted Viadana and his wife, Boschetto, to come to Lake Placid for a three-year commitment.

And after a couple of seasons of transition, meeting with the kids and building a relationship with the management of ORDA, the Viadanas proposed to build a figure-skating program, which they have been directing since July 2006.

The school has 21 students from across the United States including Vermont, California and Florida.

West, a seventh-grader at Stafford Middle School, started skating competitively a year ago.

"I want to be a professional skater, and I wanted to skate," he said.

West has Olympic dreams and admires Evan Lycasek and Scott Hamilton. For two hours per day, six days a week, he skates; first warming up then perfecting elements of his program. Stars-on-Ice was a catalyst for him and for Amaral, who has skated competitively for four years.

"My mom was into figure skating," said Amaral, who lives in Lake Placid. "She was skating just for fun."

He enjoys being around his friends at the school.

"It's a good environment for training," he said. "Both of my coaches are very good."

Watching figure skating on television was the "a-ha" moment for Mahatme.

"I liked Michelle Kwan, and I thought it was beautiful," said Mahatme, who has skated competitively for five years. "I also liked the costumes."

In kindergarten and first grade, Wyckoff begged her mother to take her skating every day.

"It was a seasonal rink, so I had her take me to a real rink," she said. "I started to have lessons."

Like Wyckoff, Shultes began skating outdoors -- on a pond at a Queensbury golf course.

"Our parents wanted us to learn how to skate," Shultes said, so they put her in a skating class at age 6 or 7.

"My goal is to make nationals one day."

These young, focused skaters advance rapidly. At age 25, most skaters are ready to retire.

"You're supposed to be like a professional athlete at 15 or 16 -- at the same time they are just a teenager," Viadana said. "This is the biggest challenge of the sport of figure skating. You have to mature very early in the right way. You have to be able to handle yourself in a very mature way."

Figure skating is a solo sport. Whether an athlete is participating in a small competition or before 20,000 at the nationals, he or she stands alone.

"The coach is behind the barrier watching you," Viadana said. "Judges watch your arms, legs and performance. It's very short and very intense. During the competition, anything can happen. The skater has to be able to handle the situation and act in the best way he or she can in the moment. This is the big challenge of our sport."

rcaudell@pressrepublican.com