JDCHS sophomore excels as a figure skater

Friday, Sep. 02, 2016

DRAPER — When she was 3 years old, Sydney Ross started skating in a recreation center program and glided into a sport that keeps her on the ice six days a week as a competitive figure skater. 

A sophomore at Juan Diego Catholic High School,  Ross  maintains a 3.99 GPA, as well.

“Sydney is an outstanding student here at Juan Diego. She challenges herself in all aspects of her academic coursework, including participation in the AP Capstone Program,” said Lena Puro, JDCHS school counselor. 

This year, Ross is taking three advanced placement courses, two honors-level courses and Spanish III, Puro said.

Ross has been growing professionally and academically since she began skating.

“When I was in early elementary school I tried all kinds of sports: soccer, gymnastics, swimming, lacrosse, skiing, dance, basketball and tennis. I have always been pretty athletic but I was continually getting bored in the sports I was trying – except for skating,” she said.

After trying all these sports, she found herself in love with figure skating.

“It just turned out that the more time I spent on the ice, the more I wanted to be on the ice,” she said.

 Skating takes practice, persistence, precision, timing and drive, Puro said. “If you want to be a successful skater, you need to have all of those qualities. Sydney has all of those and more – she has love of the dance, and the interpretation in her skating allows us to see her desire to continue to grow.”

Ross holds a gold medal (the highest level) in Moves in the Field, she is at the novice level in Freeskate (two levels away from a gold medal), and a Pre-gold ice dancer with only two dances left until she gets a gold Ice Dance medal. She also works as a learn-to-skate instructor in her home rink in Bountiful. Her plan is to earn three gold medals before she graduates from JDCHS.  

“Most skaters at my level are homeschooled or get out of school two or three hours early. I believe being in school, dealing with homework, presentations, group work, and lectures are all huge things you need to learn how to do, and you just won’t get these things by being homeschooled,” said Ross.

Most figure skating competitions are practices for regionals, which are the first level of qualifying competition for United States Figure Skating Association events, Ross said, adding that the top four or five skaters from each of the country’s nine region advance to sectionals and from there the top four or five skaters advance to national competition.

“It is extremely difficult to advance, but I train every day, trying to do everything possible so I can put out the best skate possibly on the day it counts,” Ross said. “The rest I really can’t control.”

 “Practice and persistence in her academics in making sure her assignments are correct and turned in on time have allowed for excellent grades. Precision, timing and drive all work together to promote a successful academic learning environment which allows for practicing her skating, homework to get done, and social networking to happen,” said Puro.

For Ross, who practices six days a week, afternoons and weekends are usually spent on the ice.

“I also usually have to be home early and in bed before most people my age because I have early ice on the weekends. However, I really try not to complain. I skate because I want to and I love it. If I think about trying to skate and manage my classes I get overwhelmed, so I just take it one day at a time and be as productive as possible,” said Ross.

Her family always told her that if she looks in the mirror and all she sees is a skater, “I have a really big problem. I agree with this and try to stay involved in school as much as possible. I always see myself skating, hopefully coaching someday. However, I also see myself either with a career in medicine or biomedical,” said Ross.

Puro considers Ross a tremendous representative of JDCHS and of the values that the school holds, such as  love of community, and developing and sharing personal talents.

“She is such a terrific example of light and love and talent. Sydney is a standout student. If there is something standing in the way of making a dream like skating come true, she will find a way over and around it to make it happen. Work hard. Practice more. Study differently. Do whatever it takes to get the move down, get the spin right, lift the leg higher, put the arms in just the right position,” said Puro adding that “she is a true hero to take on this personal challenge to skate and maintain a rigorous academic schedule.”