Years of practice give skater an edge on ice

<p>Most teenagers would do just about anything to avoid waking up at 4 a.m. to venture out into the cold.</p><p>For Petaluma figure skater Shelley Miller, those early morning hours are the time to perfect the art to which she has dedicated herself for the past decade. Now a student at Santa Rosa Junior College, the 18-year-old freshman can't imagine giving it up.</p><p>"I just love everything about it," she said. "I don't think I can imagine my life without skating."</p><p>Miller's early-morning skating lifestyle began when she was at Meadow Elementary School. Cory Gilman, a figure skating coach at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena (now named Snoopy's Home Ice), approached the 9-year-old's family and asked if she could work with her before school.</p><p>This training required much dedication by both Miller and her family. To arrive on time, Miller woke at 4 a.m. to get ready for practice and school and to make the daily commute from Petaluma to Santa Rosa. After skating for 90 minutes, she would change in the car on the drive back to Petaluma for school.</p><p>After school she had five hours to socialize before her 8p.m. bedtime so she would have enough sleep to practice again the next day.</p><p>Miller and her family decided to give the schedule a try at the urging of Gilman, who predicted Miller would thrive at the sport if she remained dedicated. She was right. The United States Figure Skating Association has awarded Miller gold medals in the freestyle and moves-in-the-field categories.</p><p>"Freestyle is jumps and spins, what you see on TV," Miller said. "Moves in the field is edges (how the skater rides the blades of the skates) and footwork."</p><p>Skaters spend years learning and mastering these categories, and few ever reach the pinnacle and receive gold medals.</p><p>"It's a rare feat to earn that level of achievement," said Choeleen Loundagin, a senior coach at Snoopy's Home Ice and Miller's current coach. "The judges expect perfection at that level."</p><p>The gold medal in freestyle was especially sweet for Miller.</p><p>"My coach (Gilman) waited to retire until I passed that test," she said. "It was the last thing she ever did as a coach. It was very special for me."</p><p>Loundagin became Miller's coach after the retirement, and found much to like in her new student.</p><p>"She is one of the hardest working students that I have," she said. "She is very disciplined and just loves skating. She interprets music very well, and can skate to many different types of music. Some skaters get stuck performing to one type of music."</p><p>Miller plans to skate through college, and hopes to pursue a career in physical therapy and coaching.</p><p>"I've always wanted to be a figure skating coach," she said. "I'm already volunteering to work with younger skaters. I'd also want to be a show skater. That would be a lot of fun."</p><p>She plans to transfer to a four-year school, but hasn't made up her mind where she wants to go. One thing is certain: it needs to be near a good skating rink.</p><p>"It's one of the number-one priorities," she said.</p>