Community Corner

Lake Minnetonka Figure Skater Headed to Junior U.S. Championships

Wayzata's Coco Kaminski is headed to Michigan next month.

It’s not often that you hear of a high school freshman wanting to go to East Lansing, MI, but that is exactly where Coco Kaminski determined she wanted to go about a year ago. Over the past 12 months, Kaminski has been training hard and has earned a chance to compete with 41 other top intermediate ladies in the 2012 Junior U.S. Figure Skating Championships, taking place this year Dec. 10-14.

Kaminski, who lives in Wayzata and goes to The Blake School, captured 4th place in intermediate ladies at the 2012 Upper Great Lakes Regional Figure Skating Championships in October. She finished 7th in the short program and 3rd in the long program.

At Junior Nationals, Kaminski will skate her long program in the preliminary round with sights on being among the top 18-20 intermediate ladies advancing to the final round, where skaters complete both their short and long programs.

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Kaminski has recently been altering both of her programs, making them more technically difficult.

“You can’t sit still," her long-time coach, Judy Bouts, said. "You have to keep moving and improving.”

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Kaminski's short program features music from the smash-hit musical, "Momma Mia!" with her long program set to Manuel de Falla’s "Ritual Fire Dance." Her Colorado-based choreographer helped select music for Kaminski’s long program to showcase her as a more mature, sophisticated skater.

“We try different things and keep progressing,” coach Bouts said.

Kaminski has been skating since she was four years old, and Bouts says she has fond memories of watching her skate with her older sisters, Kylie and Kit, and her mother, Brenda, in the “Mommy and Me” tots classes at Minnetonka Ice Arena.

Kaminski has been skating with the Edina-based Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club for a number of years and says that while she loves the thrill of competing and improving, what sparks her motivation “is getting new dresses and beading them.” She goes to Junior Nationals with significant hardware from the last two years at the Minnesota State Figure Skating Championships. Kaminski was a silver medalist in intermediate ladies back in August and juvenile 2010 ladies champion.

When Coco competes at Junior Nationals in East Lansing, she hopes to have some family members there cheering her on.

“Coco’s family is the most supportive I have ever seen," Bouts said. "They go through the highs and lows of skating with her.”


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