411111816. 1411~11 0 1 .1.11101.01.11111190-
4111111.11111011411111111111111111111111111111..
GUTS, GRACE AND GLORY
page 33
FURNITURE OUTLET
$1399
5 pc. King
WATERFALL BEDROOM SET
$299
36 X 36 RADIUS TRIANGLE COCKTAIL
Set Includes: 72" dresser or 72" armoire
$409 60 X 18 X 30
CLASSIC CREDENZA
$309 36 X 18 X30
WATERFALL DESK
$1299
72" X 72"
TRIO WALL UNIT
$329
45" Diameter
ROUND DINING TABLE
-
$329 24 X 48
$259 36 X 36
SQUARE-COCKTAIL
INSIDE WATERFALL
COCKTAIL TABLE
Includes: 72" dresser or 72" armoire
"Your
Precioion
Team Award -.t1
healer
WHY SETTLE
FOR LESS?
WHEN YOU
CAN AFFORD Af
TO DRIVE THE
BEST!
iii %4W:i
AllIMmommom
MEW
411111111
THE DETRO IT J EWIS H NEWS
NEW1996 Acura mil-emium Sedan
34
2.5 TL Premium
3.2 TL Premium
$369*mo
1996 SLX 4 Whl.
$399*mo
1 1,I11 '1,;1
$1299
5 pc. QUEEN
OMEGA BEDROOM SET
al hour to either aerobics, ballet,
weight training, ballroom danc-
ing or conditioning. The evening
is left for Ms. Chalom to do her
homework.
"Sometimes I get tired," Ms.
Chalom said of her daily regi-
men. "But then I try to think
about how much joy I get out of
skating."
Skating competitively is an
expensive venture. Mr. Hollan-
der's yearly expenses run be-
tween $25,000 and $30,000 for
ice time, coaching, costumes and
related costs. Ms. Chalom's par-
ents pay about $80,000 a year in
skating costs for their daughter
and Mr. Gates, whose parents
also contribute to those expens-
es every month.
Ms. Chalom said her family's
lifestyle has changed as a result
of the costs associated with her
skating. For example, her moth-
er, a teacher at Wayne State
University, had to return to
work.
"We used to go to Europe in
the summer, but we don't do
that now," she said.
To help offset his skating
costs, Mr. Hollander spends
about six hours a week teaching
at the St. Clair Shores Civic Ice
Arena to earn some money. Al-
though Ms. Chalom is two years
shy of being able to teach skat-
ing, Mr. Gates provides lessons
at the Detroit Skating Club.
Mr. Hollander wasn't always
enthusiastic about his decision to
devote himself to figure skating.
He tried going to school at
Oakland University and prac-
ticing at the same time, but di-
viding his time made him suffer
in both areas.
He constantly questioned his
commitment and his ability to
skate, until last year.
He said placing seventh at the
1994 nationals in Detroit hap-
pened at what was an all-time
emotional low for him.
Mr. Hollander did a lot of soul
searching, and with the help of
a psychologist, the skater began
to believe in himself
"When I was going to school,
nothing was going right," Mr.
Hollander said. "I was sort of
bummed that a lot of my friends
were going on with their lives,
until I thought, 'Wait, this is
what I love.' Embracing skating
was the best thing I've done."
During last month's competi-
tion, Mr. Hollander was the only
skater to perform a triple axle,
double-loop jump combination
and he hopes to do a triple axle,
triple loop, a move his coach be-
lieves no skater has done during
competition.
"Eight years ago, he had nev-
er been to Nationals, he wasn't
doing triple jumps and he didn't
even see himself at Nationals or
on the podium," said Diana Ron-
ayne, Mr. Hollander's coach and
the director of skating at the St.
Clair Shores Figure Skating
Club.
Skaters say succeeding in
their sport is 90 percent mental.
For 14 years, Mr. Hollander
went to a psychologist to master
the art of total mental focus.
Years of practice and training
come down to a few minutes of
hopefully flawless skating dur-
ing competition.
"Figure skating is a very fine-
tuned sport," Ms. Ronayne said.
"Skaters use the same fine-mo-
tor skills as gymnasts and the
artistic expression of ballet. It
takes focus and getting accus-
tomed to performing on a blade
that is one-sixteenth of an inch
wide."
The thought of falling used to
bother Mr. Hollander. "Now, if
I fall, I will get up, log in my
mind what the error was and
continue on with the story line."
Ms. Chalom and Mr. Gates
did fall in the National compe-
tition. The ice was rough and
they tripped in the compulsory
round.
"When I'm competing, I try to
remember everything I was
taught," Ms. Chalom said. "I try
to relax, let it happen and keep
a cheerful outlook. Sometimes I
worry about messing up, but I
try to push those thoughts out
of my head."
Mr. Hollander wears a ring
on his right hand with the words
pil sung, a martial-arts term
that means certain victory.
"This will never go to my
head," Mr. Hollander said of his
recent success and potential for
future victories. "That's not how
I was brought up and that's not
the kind of person I am. I'll al-
ways remember where I came
from."
Mr. Hollander jokes about the
cold shoulder he received froin
the media covering the Nation-
als because he wasn't expected
to win. He finds it ironic that the
network broadcasting the event
completely overlooked him.
"During the short program an
ESPN cameraman almost
knocked me over trying to get to
(skater) Michael Weiss," said
Mr. Hollander, who uses come-
dy and his witty sense of humor
to help him overcome some of his
shyness. "But right after (the
competition) I was taken into the
press room, so I guess they had
to pay attention to me." ❑
N
CN