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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Marshall.
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Gloria Marshall skates at the Pelham Civic Complex.
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Marshall competes about five times per year, with her next performance at the Magic City Ice Classic at the Pelham Civic Complex July 29-31.
It’s easy to love some parts of figure skating, such as the pretty costumes and graceful routines. But for Gloria Marshall to reach the level of skating talent she has, she also has to love the hours of grueling training behind the scenes.
And falling. A lot of falling.
“We have the bruises to prove it,” Marshall said.
A Hoover resident and home-school student entering her junior year of high school, Marshall began skating at 10 years old in a “Learn to Skate” class at the Pelham Civic Complex. She had tried other sports, such as soccer and dancing, but figure skating held a special allure.
“Skating is a combination of being an athlete and being a dancer, and since then I’ve been hooked,” she said.
Coaches Eric and Heather Mumper also noticed something special in their young student. “She started like every little girl starts and learned to skate. And I went to the mom and said, ‘She really loves it. Can we do one day a week of private [lessons]? That’s how it all started,’” Heather Mumper said.
Now, Marshall is on the ice six days a week, several hours per day. She also has off-ice conditioning several days. It’s a difficult schedule, even more so because the smallest factors like sleep loss or outside stress can affect her performance.
“You can go from one day being able to land a jump to the next day not even to do things that were simple. And those are the days where you really have to take a step back and take a deep breath and go through the process. Those are the harder days,” Marshall said.
Heather Mumper added that many students don’t stick to the sport like Marshall has. It can be a slow process to build up the strength and the talent to compete well, as well as to see through the tough days.
“It’s a two-way street. [Eric] expects them — and I do, too — to be hard-working and do what they need to do, but we’re there with them the whole time because skating is a lot of peaks and valleys. They’re going to be really hot and then they’re going to be hurt, and they’re going to be down. You need your coach through all that,” Heather Mumper said. “It takes a long time to see the benefit of ice skating.”
Before Marshall nails a jump in front of judges, there may be dozens or even hundreds of times where she doesn’t land it.
“I think you fall more than you land because you learn. It’s like trial and error. I think when they were little they thought falling meant failing, and I think they’ve learned as they’ve gotten older [that] it’s OK to fall. It’s part of the learning process,” Heather Mumper said. “It takes so much core strength and leg strength to be able to do what they do every day.”
There’s also personal sacrifice. Marshall has been home-schooled since she was in middle school, partly in order to make room for skating.
“We never had time. If I would come in I was always late from staying up working on school projects… so being home-schooled gave me extra time to practice,” Marshall said.
In addition to the skaters themselves having to balance practice, schoolwork, family and friends, Heather Mumper said behind every serious skater is a committed family. From getting to practice, traveling to competition and paying for lessons and gear, she said young skaters couldn’t make it far at all without a support system.
Four years since she began competing, Marshall is now skating at the novice level. There are only two levels — junior and senior — above her in American competitive figure skating. Marshall competes about five times per year, with her next performance at the Magic City Ice Classic at the Pelham Civic Complex July 29-31.
Depending on her performance throughout the year, Marshall can qualify for regionals, sectionals or even nationals. She said her ultimate goal is to continue improving and compete in nationals. Heather Mumper said Marshall ’s dedication and talent make her a role model for many of the younger skaters at the rink.
While pulling off a difficult move — Marshall’s favorites are toe jumps — and competing are things she always looks forward to, Marshall said she just enjoys being on the ice.
“It makes you feel powerful, strong. I used to love when we’d do the Learn to Skate classes, just gliding … taking one push and being able to go all the way around the rink,” Marshall said.
