A 14-year-old girl from Geneva has been picked with her skating partner to represent our country in the Youth Olympics.
Sarah Rose is just like your average 14-year-old girl. But, instead of going to school for 8 hours a day, she laces up her skates and practices, training for the Youth Olympics.
“Honestly I don’t know what else would be normal,” she said. “I don’t miss going to school, ‘cause I’m skating everyday.”
Rose and her partner Joe Goodpaster are the only U.S. pair chosen to compete in Norway this February.
“She’s being forced into an adult situation at a very young age, so that’s matured her a lot,” said Goodpaster.
Their daily routine is of one dedication. In the early morning, the two head to the rink. Their morning is filled with off-ice lifts and warm-ups, plus hours of skating. Then, after a lunch break, it’s time for fitness, ballet or strength training. Each afternoon, both Rose and Goodpaster work on homework before heading home.
“I always try to help her with her math or science,” Goodpaster said. “Stuff I’m good at.”
But, getting to this point -- on track to become a professional skater -- was many years in the making for the Geneva girl.
“Even as a little girl, she’s always been very driven and focused,” said Scott Rose, Sarah’s dad. Standing in front of the RDV in Maitland, Rose reminisced about the first time his daughter discovered her love of skating, at a birthday party at the ice rink. She was 5 years old.
“Next thing you know, she wanted to come here in the morning and skate, before she went to school,” he said.
By 10, she was competing, then training at a facility in Ellenton, south of Tampa, that specializes in pairs skating. It was a huge sacrifice for Sarah’s entire family.
“When I first moved here, my mom and I lived here in a one-bedroom apartment,” the ice skater explained, adding that eventually her sister moved to be with them as well. Her dad, she said, is still stuck making the drive each weekend from their family home by Orlando to Tampa.
“He’ll drive here and back to Orlando so many times, it’s such a long drive," she said. "I don’t know how he does it.”
It was fate, perhaps, that brought Sarah and her future partner together. They both came to the Ellenton ice rink looking for partners and decided to audition. They both had distinct memories of one another.
“She was very shy when I first met her,” Goodpaster said of the young skater.
“I remember being really nervous, like a good nervous,” Rose recalled. “[Goodpaster] was like, ‘Hi, I’m Joe!’ and it made it really comfortable.”
That comfort showed to coaches: Not long after the audition, the decision was made that the two would be skating partners.
“It was almost as if things happened naturally for Sarah and Joe,” said Amanda Evora, who coaches Rose and Goodpaster.
An Olympian herself, Evora skated with her pairs partner in the 2010 Olympics. She now offers sage advice to her students, including the 14-year-old skating star.
“She is one of the best students you could ever have,” Evora said of Rose.
Dedication of one skater is important, but, when it comes to pairs skating, factors from age and height, to talent and commitment, all matter. During last year’s run at Nationals, Rose and Goodpaster skated to the Harry Potter soundtrack and grabbed a silver medal. The experience also solidified the skaters’ partnership.
“How well they did at Nationals helped them get selected for Youth Olympics this year,” said Evora.
Rose’s dad takes comfort knowing his daughter is in good hands. “They’ve got to feed off of each other, be there when maybe they didn’t have a good skate.”
“We have great trust, we are best friends, we laugh so much,” said Rose, chuckling.
“I try to look at her as a little sister,” Goodpaster added.
But, they’re also a pair who share a special bond. Trust, friendship and a goal: to one day, make it to the Olympics.
“The longer we stay together, the better chance we’ll have at medaling at the actual Olympics,” Goodpaster explained.
“I can’t wait for that day,” said Rose.