​Jordan Graham

I have been figure skating since I was 5 years old. I am almost 22 now, so as you can tell, this sport has been a part of who I am for my entire life. I did not have the smoothest career though, with multiple injuries inhibiting me from moving forward at different points in my life. I spent over 10 years competing, testing, and training until I quit the summer before I started college due to another injury. I woke up at 5:00 am to be on the ice by 6:00 everyday before school and in the summer so I could do what I loved. When I turned 16 I started coaching group lessons for the rink, and later on started coaching private lessons, which I still do to this day. I set a goal after my Olympic dream crushing injury (broken leg) to test through my senior levels so I could have a gold medal status and be able to coach for the rest of my life. I did just that my senior year. Figure skating for so long has been one of the most valuable experiences I ever had as it taught me the importance of setting goals, perseverance, commitment, and taking care of myself by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

 

Ability to manage and cope with change and uncertainty.

I started competing when I was 7, travelling all over the state for competitions. I was on a pathway towards greatness with a hard fall took me off the ice for a year with a broken leg (ok, this actually was a big deal, I broke my leg in three places on the same bone on just one fall). When I was cleared to go back to skating, it took me 4-5 months to actually get back on the ice, because I was so afraid of what would happen if I hurt my leg. I trained for about 3 months, but when I got to relearn the jump I injured myself from, I quit again and didn’t go back for another 3 months. When I finally re-committed myself to becoming a skater again, I reevaluated my goals and decided that I didn’t want to focus on competing at that time, and just wanted to focus on my testing plans. I tested through all of my tests by my senior year in high school after years of training 5 days a week for 3-4 hours a day. Being able to complete long term goals after so much time was the most rewarding feeling I ever had, and I was inspired to continue my goal into becoming a more established instructor. After finally getting shoulder surgery on a nagging injury I had gotten three years earlier, my competitive dreams were out the window, but I pursued a path toward coaching private lessons, which I still do today. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control, but the ability to adapt and succeed in these environments is the only way we can survive.

 

Throughout my 16 year skating career, I have accomplished many tasks that have led to where I am now. As a competitive skater, I made it to the regional and sectional competitions (road to Nationals essentially). As an athlete, I was able to create a work ethic that allowed me to accomplish my goals, but still being able to maintain a healthy lifestyle both physically, socially and emotionally. I gained insight to what it means to be a good teacher and mentor, and the importance of goal setting all of the time. As an instructor now, I run my own business, recruiting new students, working with them and their parents on how to successfully work together to form a skating pathway. I set my own rates for my lessons, and develop my own schedule of when I am teaching at the rink.

 

Work ethic that allows one to accomplish goals while maintaining personal health and wellness

To be a figure skater, you must have a work ethic that allows you to accomplish your goals while still maintaining personal health and wellness. I have never worked so hard for anything in my life other than skating and passing my tests. It is hard to balance such a dominant sport with other aspects of life since it takes up so much time and energy. Skating is not like other sports where you only have to practice a few times a week and only for one season. It requires everyday practice all year long, so you can see where personal health and wellness could falter after a while. When I was injured, I made sure that I gave myself enough time to recover before going back on the ice. When I broke my leg, I had to take almost a full year off before I was even cleared to go back to the ice, and then I had to mentally prepare myself before I let myself train again. When I tore my shoulder, I had to make the difficult decision to get surgery, essentially ending my skating career after I had passed my tests. When I was sick, I usually went to practice anyways, but there were certain points in time (like having strep throat) where I just had to stop and sit back and allow myself to get better before I skated again.

 

Display choices and behaviors to maintain a healthy way of life

There is a strong stereotype of figure skaters being tiny little girls who don’t eat anything but carrots and apples, and who workout so long every day that they sweat their own weight in a session. I didn’t want to be those girls, even though that was definitely a common thing. The first thing that worked against me though was that I was tall, so loosing 10 pounds would make me look like a stick. I also had muscle; I naturally have an athletic body, so fueling it with healthy food was already a given. I went the extra mile as a figure skater to make sure that I had a healthy way of life in terms of my diet, exercise, and personal choices. I made the same food every day for myself, took Pilates classes to relax almost every night and de-stress from all of my training, and never got myself into situations where activities that could harm my body were taking place. I carry on that discipline in my daily life now, and maintain a very healthy way of life. This is all about balance. You don’t need to only eat organic fruits and green beans everyday; you can have some cake or chocolate when you want it. You can eat a cheeseburger, go on a run, and have a drink all in the same day as long as you maintain a balance, which gives you a healthy way of life.