”Nice to meet you,” James said, ”Its been a while since Elise has had anyone here to watch her practice. I’m glad to see she’s got someone here to support her…besides me of course!” Coach James barked out a laugh.

Ellie blushed at her coach’s comment. ”Thanks Kevin!”

”Why don’t you get started with your stretches Elise while I put my skates on?” James asked. Hiking his bag up on his shoulder he headed over to one of the benches near the rink.

Ellie nodded and took ahold of the side bar for stability as she stretched her legs, holding each position for about 20 seconds before moving on to the next. As she pulled her leg up behind her back it was clear that she was extremely flexible. After a few minutes her coach joined her on the ice and helped her finish her stretches.

”You seem a bit tense today Elise, are you nervous about the competition?” he asked.

”A little bit…” Ellie answered, though in truth she was more nervous about performing for Kevin, she wanted him to see her at her best.

”Alright, why don’t you warm up a bit and then we’ll go over your routine until you feel confident about it?”

Ellie nodded and pushed back from the sideboard, her skates cutting through the ice as she took a few quick laps around the rink before slowing to practice some basic spins to warm up her muscles and get a feel for the ice. As she moved on to the jumps, her coach occasionally gave her suggestions for improvement or praise.

"Looking good!" he said at last. "Let's move on to your routine now. Do you have your music with you?"

Ellie nodded and took her phone from where she had left it on the sideboard and handed it to her coach. Despite the cool temperature of the rink there was a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead which she wiped away with her glove. Ellie looked up at Kevin and flashed him a smile. She hoped he wasn't too bored or cold sitting there watching her.