Holly Harris performs in her first Junior Ladies title attempt at the 2016 Australian Figure Skating Championships Holly Harris is unlike any other 14-year-old.
While some teenagers avoid their homework and watch television, Harris is dreaming of a spot in an Olympic team.
The aptly nicknamed ‘pocket rocket’ made her junior debut at the Australian Figure Skating Championships tonight after training in Colorado Springs for most of the year with Olympic coach and former USA Winter Olympian Christy Krall.
Harris backed up her hard work with a brilliant start in the short program tonight, scoring a 48.79 to lead the 20-strong field as the junior ladies head into tomorrows free program.
A spellbinding performance, Harris skated into the hearts of a large crowd with passion beyond her years and a captivating program, one she's trained long and hard.
“I do four programs a day for cardio, so I’ve been focused on getting really fit so that I’m not tired in my programs,” Holly laughed.
Krall is the technician behind Harris’ unbelievable training program, who says in depth planning goes into each day’s activities.
“Every month we sit down and plan an analysis and a program for every day that we skate,” she said.
“They are very well regulated sessions and her nutrition is also monitored so she has the energy to carry them all out.”
Structured programs and intense conditioning aren’t normally associated with a girl about to finish Year 8. Couple that with continuous travel periods and you’d expect such a young girl to struggle to stay awake, let alone glide around on the ice with ease and glamour.
However the beaming Harris has taken it all in her stride, staking her claim as one of the most talented youngsters in the Junior Ladies internationally, taking Silver at the Volvo Cup in Latvia in October.
Krall says that Harris’ determination come from her self-driven nature and belief in her ability.
“It burns within Holly, she has this own little flame that burns deep inside, and growing up in that environment gives her the passion in her eyes,” said Krall.
“Holly learns directly from former Olympians about how to skate, jump and spin as well as the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, so she definitely gets the full circle.”
Krall is aware herself of the reality of the sport and how despite all that Harris has given up for her ultimate dream, a gold medal can be the deciding factor for success.
“In the Olympics, they tell you 99% of it is getting a medal, so you have to have the brain behind you and the will to do it at that moment.”
None of that is on Harris’ mind as yet, for now she is just happy to be back in Australia home in front of her passionate team.
“I have some really good friends and everyone’s been really supportive. I’ve missed them a lot so it’s really exciting to be here,” said Harris.
If you can’t get to the O’Brien Group Arena, catch the livestream tomorrow at 1:15pm to watch Harris and the other girls in the free program, as they make their mark on the national stage.
https://livestream.com/iceskatingvictoria/
While some teenagers avoid their homework and watch television, Harris is dreaming of a spot in an Olympic team.
The aptly nicknamed ‘pocket rocket’ made her junior debut at the Australian Figure Skating Championships tonight after training in Colorado Springs for most of the year with Olympic coach and former USA Winter Olympian Christy Krall.
Harris backed up her hard work with a brilliant start in the short program tonight, scoring a 48.79 to lead the 20-strong field as the junior ladies head into tomorrows free program.
A spellbinding performance, Harris skated into the hearts of a large crowd with passion beyond her years and a captivating program, one she's trained long and hard.
“I do four programs a day for cardio, so I’ve been focused on getting really fit so that I’m not tired in my programs,” Holly laughed.
Krall is the technician behind Harris’ unbelievable training program, who says in depth planning goes into each day’s activities.
“Every month we sit down and plan an analysis and a program for every day that we skate,” she said.
“They are very well regulated sessions and her nutrition is also monitored so she has the energy to carry them all out.”
Structured programs and intense conditioning aren’t normally associated with a girl about to finish Year 8. Couple that with continuous travel periods and you’d expect such a young girl to struggle to stay awake, let alone glide around on the ice with ease and glamour.
However the beaming Harris has taken it all in her stride, staking her claim as one of the most talented youngsters in the Junior Ladies internationally, taking Silver at the Volvo Cup in Latvia in October.
Krall says that Harris’ determination come from her self-driven nature and belief in her ability.
“It burns within Holly, she has this own little flame that burns deep inside, and growing up in that environment gives her the passion in her eyes,” said Krall.
“Holly learns directly from former Olympians about how to skate, jump and spin as well as the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, so she definitely gets the full circle.”
Krall is aware herself of the reality of the sport and how despite all that Harris has given up for her ultimate dream, a gold medal can be the deciding factor for success.
“In the Olympics, they tell you 99% of it is getting a medal, so you have to have the brain behind you and the will to do it at that moment.”
None of that is on Harris’ mind as yet, for now she is just happy to be back in Australia home in front of her passionate team.
“I have some really good friends and everyone’s been really supportive. I’ve missed them a lot so it’s really exciting to be here,” said Harris.
If you can’t get to the O’Brien Group Arena, catch the livestream tomorrow at 1:15pm to watch Harris and the other girls in the free program, as they make their mark on the national stage.
https://livestream.com/iceskatingvictoria/
RSS Feed
