Photos from Busch Garden

Emily, Lauren, Nick, Addison, and Aleesha gobble up Dippin'Dots while waiting for the train

So many hats, so little time! Maksim has fun in the hat store

Shea, Addison, Christina and Sasha wait in line for the log ride....it is hot , hot, hot!

Maksim loves dragonland!

Saturday, June 5th: Adventures at Busch Gardens

Our campers thoroughly enjoyed their day off at Busch Gardens, despite the extreme heat and humidity! Shade and air conditioned shows were appreciated, as were icy refreshments.
Here is Coach Alexei Mantsorov at the beautiful entrance of the European themed amusement park.

These were a few of our favorite things:

MISHA: Alpengeist rollercoaster and cookies and cream fudge

SHEA: the big rollercoasters and the themes of the countries

NATHAN: the food was awesome, I stuffed myself, and I rode the Griffon(biggest rollercoaster)
five times

CHRISTINA: Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist rollercoasters

HARPER: the fudge and chocolate cake and the Lochness Monster rollercoaster

EMILY: the Curse of the Darkastle and spending the day with friends

SASHA: the rides were so much fun, the lines were short and the people nice

LAUREN: the theme park is beautiful and I liked the Lochness Monster rollercoaster

SAJYA: the Alpengeist rollercoaster and hanging with friends

ALEESHA: Escape from Pompei and Dippin' Dots

NICK: the Griffon rollercoaster was fun, but I spent $15 on jellybeans in bulk, by accident,
and wished I could return them

ADDISON: the rollercoasters and the relaxing train ride

MAKSIM: the Elmo ride, the purple dragon my Dad won for me, and trying on hats

Small and Mighty

Imagine training to imitate the endurance of a marathoner, the strength of a weightlifter and the precision of a dancer in the blazing sun, three times per day, for many successive days . . . and then imagine doing that as an 8-year-old.

It is easy to be amazed by the power pack of Christina Mantsorov, Lauren Moor and Addison Dunbar. These three, spunky young girls, comprise the youngest of our camp participants and have poured their hearts and souls into performing at a high level this past week.

Christina Mantsorov is 9-years-old. She has skated since she was 4. As you may have guessed, Christina is Coach Alexei's daughter. When asked how that impacts her skating, Christina said that she appreciates having her dad involved in teaching her and that she is happy that he is helping her to be successful in the sport. She likes camp an awful lot and appears to be particularly skilled in the distance running portions of training, having finished in a tight third place during a training run ahead of considerably older runners a few days ago. While the trainings are somewhat painful for Christina, she stated that she likes the pain as it reminds her that she's working hard. For her, the best part of camp has been working out with friends and those whom she views as extended family - the members of Premier FSC. She is motivated to continue on in her training and keep a good attitude as she progresses. Christina currently skates at a preliminary level. She definitely wants to skate until she is in high school and would like to become a senior-level skater, like her teammate Irene Pullum. Christina feels pulled about her future career plans, stating that mom and dad would like her to investigate a medical profession, such as becoming a doctor, and she would really like to become a pop music singer. Who knows? There may be a good niche for a singing doctor in the future . . .

Lauren Moor is, as she says, basically 9-years-old. She began her skating career at age 6 and has enjoyed all aspects of the sport, from practice to competitions. Lauren has really enjoyed camp and has aspired to keep up with the older kids. While her legs hurt her early on, she has adjusted to the endurance portions of training and is now feeling great. She believes that having the opportunity to train with Coach Valentin is truly a special experience. Lauren knows that Valentin expects a lot from her, but she is up for the challenge. Her near-term skating goal is to land her axel sufficient to qualify for regionals this fall. She currently skates at a high-beginner level, but is edging into pre-preliminary. Lauren likes to learn new things and spend time with her Premier FSC friends. She aspires to become a country singer, much like Taylor Swift, in the future.

Addison Dunbar is the baby of this group at 7-years-old. From 4-years-old on, Addison has been training with Coach Alexei. For Addison, the biggest challenge of this camp is keeping up with the older kids during the endurance portions of training and she views the running portion of camp as the root of evil. Addison is most proud of the now "large" bicep muscles she has developed as a result of the strength exercises. While she has enjoyed the training, her favorite parts of camp have been the times where she has gotten to swim in the ocean and the backyard pool. Addison is consistently the last one in the door from the pool and there are times some of us thought that she might just turn into a fish. She is motivated to continue skating by thinking about the many jumps she hopes to learn. Addison is skating at a high-beginner level and aspires to go to the Olympics, which was originally suggested to her by her Grandma Cyndi. Following her Olympic experience, Addison would like to be an architect and design buildings and cities, much like the kind she makes in her room with Legos or saw from the window of the plane on the way to camp.

These small, but mighty, girls have provided energy, vitality and spunk to our group this week. Their enthusiasm keeps us on our toes. Their drive is an example for us all.

Sibling Support

Being the sibling of a figure skater isn't always easy, well, unless you get to travel along with that sibling to Virginia Beach for training camp!

Aleesha Singh, Emily Moor and Maksim Mantsorov have been busy providing sibling support and soaking in the sun this past week here at camp.

Aleesha is the 7-year-old sister of Sajya and Nathan, both camp participants. Besides playing and swimming, Aleesha has had fun writing about her experiences at Virginia Beach. She and participants Addison Dunbar and Lauren Moor, have come up with the concept of holding a "writing competition" detailing their camp and vacation experiences.

Emily's siblings are Nick and Lauren, also both camp participants. Emily, a bright and kind 12-year-old, has been helpful in many ways, assisting with meal preparation and babysitting. Emily has most enjoyed swimming and taking walks along the beach with her mom, Kelly.

Maksim's sister, Christina, is a camp participant. Maksim is a crazy little man who just loves spending time near the pool, just not in it. His favorite activity is throwing items in the pool and then telling Aleesha to "go fish."

Both Emily and Aleesha find the ocean to be a fun playground. They love the waves and think it is really fun to collect seashells. Both have also found opportunities to spend quality time with their moms on the seashore, something that is hard to come by in our busy lives.

All three kids are enjoying their time here. The older two, Emily and Aleesha, were very excited to become a part of the blog so that their dads could see that they are doing okay. They (and we) hope that their dads are doing okay in their absence!

The siblings seem to be most excited for their trip to the amusement park on Saturday and their trip to Coldstone Creamery tonight. These sweet kids are ready for a sweets break with their siblings and friends.

Jacks of the Trade - Our Middlers

Figure skating is the sport that requires…

the elegance of a royal court

the grace of a ballerina

the speed of a sprinter

the balance of a tightrope walker

the agility of a high diver

the endurance of a marathon runner

the coordination of a juggler

the strength of a high jumper

the rhythm of a dancer

and the performance of a mime . . .

(author unkown)

Tonight's discussion with our "middlers," our kids that are in the middle age group, provided more insight into the chameleon that they become to move from beginner skaters to more advanced competitors.

It seems that most skaters start in the same fashion . . . learn to skate classes that turn into lessons that move to off and on-ice club classes that eventually become competitions and finally become full-fledged dreams of success. And our middlers are no different in their experiences.

Nathan Singh, Misha Mitrofanov, Sasha Serebrenikov and Shea Lundgren are aspiring athletes. Nathan is not a skater, but his sister Sajya is and is participating in our camp to improve his strength for swimming and tennis. Misha, Sasha and Shea are competitive skaters who are transitioning into ever higher levels of competition. My conversation with them was delightful, mostly because I could see their dreams in their eyes and feel their passion toward the sport in their voices.

Shea Lundgren has been skating since she was 6 years old and is now 11. Shea has participated in camp before and was excited to return to work with Coach Valentin. She finds his exercises difficult, but believes that he brings out the best in her. She stated that you must "try with all of your heart," when training with Valentin. She believes this week's work has helped her to gain more endurance and feel better about her strength and stability. She wants to continue to work on her jumps and stick her landings. Ultimately, she looks forward to moving up from her current pre-juvenile level to compete in higher levels.

Misha Mitrofanov currently lives in Houston, but was a student of Coach Alexei for over five years. At 12 years old, Misha has been skating for the past 9 years, and currently skates at an intermediate level. Misha is also very intrigued by Coach Valentin's abilities to train skaters and stated that receiving coaching from Valentin is largely the reason that he is attending our camp. He reasons that, since Valentin has trained other Russian Olympians, he has the capability of training a young aspiring guy from Houston to compete, also.

Sasha Serebrenikov hails from New Jersey. Her coach is a friend of Coach Alexei's and she admires Alexei's coaching capabilities and desired to join our camp to learn more from him. Sasha skates at the pre-preliminary level, is 11 years old and began skating at 4.

Nathan Singh is a competitive swimmer and tennis player. A gregarious fellow, Nathan has enjoyed making friends and improving his strength this week. Nathan began participating in his chosen sports at age 6. He is 11 years old.

The interesting thing about being a "middler" at camp is that you must be the jack of the trade. Not only do you have the pressure of keeping up and gaining the acceptance of the older, more experienced athletes, you have the pressure of serving as a role model for the younger athletes. The chameleon they must become and, as far as I can see, they've done this well.

Earlier today, Shea was asked to assist my 7-year-old daughter in her distance running. Shea served as a fantastic mentor to Addison and for this, I am grateful. The first words out of Addison's mouth after returning to the beach house following practice were, "Shea helped me to run much faster this time!" What the younger kids gain from their role modeling, they, themselves, gain in confidence that they have grown to a level to be modeled.

All of the kids stated that they enjoy the challenge of continually working toward higher levels, but are honored to serve as role models for the younger kids.

All four kids have ambitious goals. Nathan came to this camp to get into the "best shape ever." He has learned that, in order to get anything you really want, you have to put forth a lot of effort. Misha believes that the personal sacrifices to chase his dream of becoming an Olympian are worth the effort. Some days are hard, but when the good days come, they prove that all the work was worth the time. Shea also dreams of being an Olympian and believes that the time she puts in adds to her self-confidence and helps her to better define who she is. Shea added that it is simply enough for her to go to the Olympics. Once you've made it to that level, you've made it in this sport.

Nathan wishes to swim competitively for years to come and become a pilot. Misha would like to join the army after his stint as an Olympian. Shea also plans to represent the U.S. in the Olympics and become an architect. Sasha wants to become an actress or a skating coach after her Olympic debut.

All agree that figure skating is unique because it is emotionally stirring and can be used to inspire others. I look forward to being inspired by these kids for a long time to come . . .

Experience Tells You What to Do . . . Confidence Allows You to Do It

A quick glance at our campers shows a wide variety in age. Their ages range from 7 yo 15 years. For the next three blogs, I will interview our campers by age grouping, to better describe their camp experiences and goals, both long and short-term related to skating and other aspects of their lives.

Tonight, I spent time with our most senior participants, Sajya Singh, Harper Lundgren and Nick Moor. Both Sajya and Harper have skated for many years and compete often. Nick is not a skater, but his sister Lauren is and she is amongst our campers, also. Nick is active in karate and looks forward to joining the cross country team in the fall.

The commitment required of the skaters at the level Sajya and Harper skate at is highly intense. According to Sajya, waking for and attending early morning skating practices and off-ice training is as natural to her as breathing. Harper finds the sport addictive and that once you get a taste of all the sport can provide both physically and mentally, you do what it takes to continue. Both girls indicated that it is an honor to be able to compete at a high level. It takes an awful lot of time, commitment and talent to improve to more senior levels and, since not many can do it, when you can do it, you feel very empowered.

Nick was excited to participate in this camp experience to get into excellent shape for fall sports. All three enjoy the mental toughness that the camp is providing them. They feel that, if they can endure these two weeks, they can endure most anything related to their sports. The days are long and the workouts are hard, but they feel as though each day is becoming more manageable as their endurance and strength grow.

As the girls explained the intricacies of the camp experience as it related to skating, Nick chimed in that he really enjoys the great food (Thanks Nick! We moms needed that!) Both stated that their favorite camp exercises are those that concentrate on jumping technique. Nick enjoys the challenge of the warm-up runs, however, the running has collectively been both the most dreaded and most intriguing exercise of camp for all three runners.

Each practice, the older campers run approximately 3.5 miles, from their camp site to a hotel and back, making for 10.5 miles of running daily. Sajya, Harper and Nick all shoot to better their previous times, but each finds different motivation to accomplish the goal. Sajya plays music in her head to avoid thinking about the activity. Nick is motivated to improve his time and endurance specifically for fall cross country and for his ultimate goal of joining the military. Harper envisions a large doughnut on the side of the hotel that she is running toward. Yum-O! I personally like Harper's coping mechanism. :)

Regardless, both Sajya and Harper commented that there is no room for complaining. Premier FSC skaters are trained to own their success and that hard work will bring them to their goals. The expectation is to do what is asked. Period. Additionally, these older participants are proud to serve as role models for the younger skaters, and they want to provide a good example for them.

All three commented about the role that their families have played in their skating experiences. They are doing well here, but do miss their parents and siblings - even their pets. They view their participation as quality time spent honing their skills and, despite the grueling schedule, are happy to be here.

Sajya's goal at camp is to run from their camp site to the second hotel and back without getting winded. She would like to go as far as possible with her skating, but recognizes that there are some aspects of the sport that are out of her control. She is comfortable with being the very best that she can be as a skater. Sajya would like to do a little coaching someday and eventually become a marine biologist.

Harper wants to become more comfortable with the endurance exercises, specifically the distance running, while here at camp. She wants to go to the Olympics to represent the U.S. as a figure skater. She has a desire to coach and become a journalist or magazine writer.

Nick desires to keep trying his hardest to reduce his splits for the endurance runs. He looks forward to participating in cross country and possibly lacrosse this next year. He plans to join the military, perhaps the Marines or a military academy.

It is obvious that our older campers' experience has helped to lead the younger skaters to develop the confidence necessary to follow in their footsteps.

Dreaming Gives Us a Goal . . . Effort Allows Us to Reach It

Today for the blog narrative update, I have opted to provide you with a "day in the life" of the Virginia Beach Training Camp Participant. Today's blog pictures are just a collection of some of my favorites, to date.









Coach Alexei Mantsorov graciously sat and detailed the workouts from today's training. The following is an account of the day's activities.





We wake the kids at 6:15 a.m. in preparation. They eat a very small amount of food like half of a mini bagel with some cream cheese and a Dixie cup of orange juice. They then dress in swimsuits and dry-fit workout gear and are then covered, from head to toe, in very high SPF sunblock prior to heading to the beach for their first workout at 7:00 a.m.

Workout 1: 7:00-9:00 a.m.

Warm up run of approximately 3 miles (taking the kids, on average, 35 minutes to complete)

Stretching and balancing exercises emphasizing skating positions while balancing in the sand - extra strengthening comes from doing any exercises in loose sand

Core body work - stomach and back exercises specifically targeting the obliques and additional side muscles creating strength for rotation

Stretching for recovery and multi-revolution jumps in both directions

Following the first workout, the kids typically come back to the house, jump in the backyard pool to cool off, and then proceed to run through the shower, dress and eat a larger breakfast at 10:00 a.m. Today's breakfast was egg and sausage casserole and fruit.

After breakfast, the kids seem to be surprisingly full of energy. They typically watch television together in the loft or play in each other's rooms. All of the camp participants are either rooming with another camper or their parent.

At 11:30 a.m., the process begins again to return to the beach for the second workout. The following represents the activities of this workout.

Workout 2: 12:00-2:00 p.m.



Warm-up run of approximately 3 miles, but aiming for negative splits (starting slower and finishing faster)

Jumping exercises that imitate the track and field triple jump with the goal being in creating as much height and distance as possible in the jumps, adding rotations with the jumps and then performing these jumps and rotations backwards

Straight, 2-foot jumps forward with 2, 2-foot jumps with rotations and then covering the same distance with a double axel

Balancing exercises, including running in place with heads back and staring to the sky, then moving to landing position while maintaining balance

Stretching for recovery

Combination double and triple jumps in the sand

The kids return from the noon practice at approximately 2:15 p.m. They jump in the backyard pool for a few minutes, shower quickly, eat lunch, which today consisted of chicken and rice soup, salad and fruit, and then head immediately to their rooms for a nap.

At 4:00 p.m., the kids are awakened and, for the last time of the day, dress, apply sunscreen and ready for their beach workout.

Workout 3: 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Warm up run - approximately 3 miles at an even pace

Stretching for balance and flexibility

Specific technical exercises on sand to replicate what is done on ice

Jumping exercises with emphasis on execution in both the jump and the landing position

Strength training for balance

Generally much harder strength and balancing exercises than in previous two workouts

Alexei felt very good about the kids' efforts today. Yesterday was much harder on our campers. The weather was much cooler today, which resulted in less complaining. There are a few blisters and sore ankles, but generally, the only physical ailments for which there has been much complaining has been sore muscles, particularly calves and shoulders.

The most encouraging comment from Coach Alexei involved the kids' cohesiveness. He stated that the kids seem to be really encouraging and taking care of each other. It is gratifying to put forth the effort to reach our goals, but ultimately rewarding when we can grow friendships in theprocess.