Hi everyone,

Let me just say this before I go any further...I LOVE MY NEW SKATES!!! I went into them about two weeks ago and they were just so perfect. My old ones were so broken down that I would bend and keep bending and bending because they were so flimsy, and I couldn't get any height on my jumps. So now everything is so much better and my back and knees aren't hurting any more since I actually have support from my skates.

So, anyway, I guess you can call me the Queen of Changing Programs. As you recall from last year, I changed both my short and my long right before Regionals. Well, I got a head start this year on the program switch. For the past month I just really haven't been doing my short. I just couldn't feel the program and skate it with the heart that I usually can put into my run throughs. So, I decided about two weeks ago that I needed to change. I had no idea what I wanted to skate to, but I knew that whatever piece I chose was just going to come to me eventually. Last weekend I went to Spiderman with my friends, and as the main titles and opening credits began to roll and the theme started to play, I turned to my friend and said, "This is it, this is my new short program music!" It's strong, powerful, and mysterious...definitely my type of music. The next morning, I got the music, cut it, and started working out a program on the floor. That Monday I took it to the ice, and my coach Steven [Rice] said that it was really cool. Tracey [Poletis] hasn't seen it yet, but she's agreed on the music. I'm really glad I have both my coaches' and, of course, my mom's, support on this. I would probably still skate to it even if I didn't, but this way makes it a whole lot easier.

I won't be debuting the short until the Liberty Summer Competition [July 17-20 in Newark, DE], but I'll be doing New Jersey Councils, which is a local competition for New Jersey residents June 7-9 [in Hamilton, NJ], and that will be the first time I'll be putting my long out. It will be a more watered down version of what I have planned, but the idea for me is to get comfortable skating this program and to have a chance to compete more, because last year I only did one competition leading up to Regionals. I don't want that again this year because at Norths [Atlantic Regionals] I was way more nervous that I like to be, lol. I don't have my dresses yet, but I can't wait to see what designs Brad [Griffies] comes up with for me this year.

Besides finishing my programs, my skating is going really well. I've been able to get down to [the University of] Delaware to see Tracey [Poletis] once a week. ( I'm so happy that I can manage that because she's a great coach and I love working with her so much.) I've gotten more comfortable with a lot more speed into my jumps. This is also giving me much more height and flow through the air. I'm working on incorporating more interesting positions into my spins instead of just doing the basic ones, and I'm paying a lot more attention to the in-between stuff in my programs and trying to improve my flexibility even more. I'm going to have a pretty busy summer this year, between skating and coaching. I'll also be taking a class in Health and Nutrition at Brookdale Community College. I'll try my best to update you all on my summer competitions. Talk to you soon ...

Love,
Stephanie