Stepping onto the ice, freshman Ellie Cribb’s eyes widened with excitement to bright show lights and a crowd of cheering friends and family. They were watching one of Ellie’s most significant moments that she'd been practicing for all year, for countless hours each week.
As the speaker blares, and music enters Cribb’s ears, she’s now locked in the moment. As she twists, turns and glides across the ice, she can hear her friends and family cheer from the stands; holding big signs and shouting words of encouragement.
One of the highlights of Cribbs' season is the spring annual “Big Show," which features themed performances and costumes. This year’s theme is “Gliding Through the Eras,” with each level choreographing to a different Taylor Swift song.
Since joining the Carriage Club five years ago, Cribb discovered her new passion for
figure skating and is now at the Diamond level — one of the many high-skilled classes.
Like any high-level athlete, Cribb faces nerves, stress and the pressure to perform flawlessly from other competitors and mental blocks. Her family helps her navigate these moments often by talking through mistakes and reminding her that errors are part of the learning process.
“I feel so free on the ice,” Cribb said. “I love how it makes me feel; it makes me challenge myself to learn new skills and get up when it gets hard.”
Cribb’s mother, Megan Bubb, is one of Cribb's many supporters. When Cribb is dissatisfied with her performance, the two talk through the mistakes. Knowing Cribb’s past mistakes, Bubb encourages her to watch other competitors to help Cribbs realize she's not alone with their mistakes.
Cribb’s teammates also help support her through sharing their personal stories after having a bad skate or overall doing poorly at skating competitions.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” Bubb said. “There are times when you fall during a competition, and there are times when you just don't have your best days, and so it's walking through those and realizing you're not alone.”
Cribb is at practice for over four hours at the rink each week, managing private lessons, group practices and rehearsals while adjusting to her first year of high school.
She spends her time preparing before the performance by rehearsing choreography, completing makeup and ensuring her skates are ready for the ice by getting them sharpened. But she wouldn’t be as successful if she didn’t have her mentor and coach, Kelsey O’Neil.
O’Neil started figure skating around the age of 12, and quickly fell in love with the sport, competing at a high level in college, and has now coached for over 20 years and coached Ellie for five years.
Her approach to coaching centers around repetition and muscle memory, helping skaters like Ellie build the mental preparation they need for longer and theater-styled routines.
O’Neil helps athletes with hardships as well, guiding them through challenges such as limited ice time injuries, growth spurts and pushing them to stay persistent and adaptable, teaching them life lessons along the way.
“A lot of these skaters start when they're really young, so we really have to kind of start fresh with some of the moves that they've learned and mastered when they were younger,” O’Neil said. “We just have to kind of work from the ground up with some of those things, and just stay persistent.”
Ellie broke her wrist from falling after a skill in 2022. After feeling discouraged and upset, O’Neil helped Ellie bounce back from her injury, practicing the basics and rebuilding her skills, becoming stronger than before and rebuilding her confidence.
Over the years, Ellie’s journey in figure skating has brought her lifelong friendships and has given her a better insight into her passion for performing. Even in Ellie’s most challenging moments, skating fosters a calm, resilient mindset.
Whether it’s falling in a competition or meeting new people, figure skating will be with Ellie forever, on or off the ice.
“It reminds me that when it gets hard that it’s okay,” Cribb said. “And when I fall, I have to get back up and try it again to progress.”
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