The Hudson Valley Figure Skating Club is so happy to announce our May Skater of the Month: Lisa Crespo! Lisa has been skating since she was six years old, but recently after quarantine has a new fire burning inside of her to become the greatest figure skater she can be!
Lisa began skating at six years old in the Learn to Skate Program. Her mother, Zhanna, lived in Ukraine as a child and loved watching figure skating. When they both saw how in love with the sport she was, they decided to continue on to private lessons with her first coach, Jillian Smith.
After her coach Jillian left for Graduate School, Lisa switched to Jillian's long-time training partner and best friend Larí Estridge. Lisa quickly found herself a group of friends and began to be even more interested in the sport. One of her favorite things about coming to the rink is seeing all of her friends there. Lisa loves to talk– so she'll talk to everybody at the rink! Before the virus, Lisa did not know how seriously she wanted to take skating. She bounced back and forth between dance, skating, and other school activities. At times, Lisa would have to take long breaks from the ice in order to fulfill the other activities in her life. It took a few years of deciding, but after the quarantine was lifted it was clear that all she wanted to do was skate.
When she returned to the ice, Lisa had a mission to work as hard as she could in order to achieve her goals. She began taking more lessons each week and made sure to practice for at least two hours each time she was at the rink. She eventually added in more coaches to her team to improve specific areas of her skating. In the time that she has been back, she has passed two Moves in the Field tests and has mastered a bunch of new elements.
Before, Lisa was afraid of trying new things because she thought she would fail. Now, Lisa throws herself into double Salchows because she wants to land it so badly. Her drive is unlike before after she realized her biggest obstacle in skating was her own mind. The constant fear of failure, the never-ending doubt, and the immense pressure to be perfect that she put on herself were holding her back from being the amazing skater that everyone knows she is. Now that she has a new mindset, she is progressing like never before and everyone can notice!
Congratulations on this accomplishment Lisa, we are so proud of you!