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| Friday, 25 July 2008 00:00 | |
 More than 200 boys and girls make up the Sioux Falls Figure Skating Club. For most of those members, the 2007-2008 season is over, but 18 other skaters are still on the ice preparing to compete against some of the best figure skaters in the world. 18-year-old Emily Miller has spent most of her life on skates and is now preparing for another appearance at the World figure skating competition, one of the most prestigious events of the year. "It's almost like the Olympics," Miller said. "We have opening ceremonies and we have closing ceremonies. You compete with a bunch of different skaters and it's a good friendship thing, you get to meet a lot of neat people." Miller has skated at Worlds before, and finished an impressive second in 2004. 18 members of the Sioux Falls Figure Skating Club are preparing for Worlds.  Competing in this event is a dream come true for many figure skaters. But when the opportunity arose for this 18 year-old veteran figure skater, Miller almost passed. "Originally I wasn't planning on going to World's but then my students talked me into it and I'm really excited," Miller said. Along with her own skating, Miller teaches private lessons, judges competitions and also coaches for the Sioux Falls Figure Skating Club. “I really do enjoy coaching a little bit more. It's so rewarding to see the kid’s faces light up when they do well," Miller said. Miller’s father, Donnie, says his daughter loves kids and it shows through her coaching. “If she has a passion, she does love to skate, but the little kids out here - that’s her passion," he said. Along with her full schedule on the ice, Miller volunteers countless hours for the skating club and her community, and her commitment hasn't gone unnoticed. Miller was recently awarded a national scholarship from the Ice Skating Institute of America. "We're extremely proud of her and she worked hard and this scholarship is just icing on the cake," Donnie said.  She's a pretty smart kid too. Miller graduated from high school with a 4.0 GPA, and earned multiple scholarships along the way. "She's done really well, she's got a really good work ethic, where she got it I really don't know but we're extremely proud of her," Donnie said. While this national scholarship is one of Miller's proudest accomplishments so far, her top performance on the ice may be yet to come. A first place finish at Worlds would be the highlight of her young skating career so far. Although she's been skating for about 15 years now, Miller says she still gets nervous before a competition. But when the music starts it's all business. "It's easier if I don't look at the audience and block everything out of my mind," she said. "I concentrate on one element at a time and I use the things my coaches tell me." Miller's students help her prepare too.  “More of my nerves are from adrenaline because as it's ended up in previous competitions there are two sheets of ice and I might have a student on one sheet and then I have to race over when I skate so the adrenaline from their event is still going thru me so I don't have time to get too nervous," she said. Especially when you’re skating against some of the world’s best. She's a student, a teacher, a mentor and a judge. After next weekend, we may be calling Emily Miller a World Champion, too. Worlds begin July 27 in Denver and run through August 3. Miller will study electrical engineering at South Dakota State University. She hopes to continue her skating and coaching career while living in Brookings.
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