Since the age of nine, Isabel Jung (‘25) has practiced ice skating at 5:30 A.M. every day at the Dublin Iceland Rink, preparing for the Excel St. Moritz Competition.

“I went to an ice skating birthday party back when I was in fourth grade and saw a couple of skaters getting lessons. Seeing how pretty their lessons were and how fun skating was, I wanted to be just like them,” said Jung.

Jung’s passion for ice skating eventually led her to compete in high-level events. There are many levels of ice skating and Jung is currently a Junior Moves, the second highest rank.

“My main goal for her is to complete her Senior Moves. Isabel has many strengths. She is a dream student who works very hard, trusts her coaching, and is very respectful,” said level-testing coach Alex de Groot.

Jung has four coaches to help her prepare for upcoming competitions in different categories, which includes spin, jump, program, and skating level test preparation. 

“It is really frustrating when I am stuck on jumps and feel like I’m not improving. It makes me lose my motivation and ruins my day,” said Jung.

Through continuous persistence, Jung won silver in the U.S. Figure Skating St. Moritz Ice Skating Club Competition. The competition is a club for figure skaters in each area of the country and is hosted once a year.

“I don’t think skating is an easy sport waking up at five and constantly being tired at school. Practicing after school all the time with my added extracurriculars is definitely not easy,” said Jung.

Ice skating requires a good diet, plenty of sleep, and exercise. Jung performs stretches and cardio after school while eating high amounts of protein meat to build up muscle.

“Eventually when we qualify in competition, we will look back to the early-morning practices and be grateful for the time and lessons learned before school,” said teammate Anaya Doshi (‘26).

Jung has made many friends like Doshi through ice skating and they believe morning practices are the key to success in competitions. Ice skating allows these students to express themselves in a sport they are truly passionate about.

“When I’m ice skating, I have no outside worries and it feels like I’m living a different life where nothing else matters. Skating relieves a lot of my stress from school and home and even though it’s so early, I always look forward to it,” said Jung.