By Holly D’Addio, Source Sports Writer:
During a time of
year when hardly anyone has ice skating on their mind, that’s just what Zach
Donohue thinks about day in and day out. The Madison
resident, now living in Colorado
while training as an ice dancer, spends six out of seven days at the ice rink
from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. with minimal breaks throughout the day. Zach is training
at the Junior level in ice dancing and is trying to work his way up to making
the Olympics, gaining recognition and winning medals along the way.
Zach, who has been
home-schooled since sixth grade and is entering his last year in the fall, has
been ice skating since the age of 10 and competitively since 12. In a sport
that requires dedication and skill, he has certainly seemed to pick it up
quickly and been a natural since day one.
“My cousin and I
were doing a public skate in North
Carolina when I was younger,” says Zach. “A few
freestyle skaters came out to warm up and I started copying them and my cousin
said I was pretty good. I thought he was kidding, but he said I should really
try skating so I asked my mom to sign me up for lessons.”
Zach’s first lessons
came at East Haven
High School with the
learn-to-skate program, which he did for about a year. The coaches recognized
his ability and pushed him through to the next level and he began taking
private lessons with a freestyle coach at Champion Skating
Center in Cromwell. Six
months later, Zach skated in his first competition—and won.
“It’s definitely not
an easy sport to pick up, but thankfully I seemed to take naturally to it,”
says Zach. “I only did freestyle for about three years though before I grew
about a foot-and-a-half in a year and couldn’t take the bruises so I switched
to ice dancing. I guess my body decided to grow up and I wasn’t a good jumper
and wanted to make the switch.”
Zach went under the
wings of Michael Sklutovsky—a world champion ice dancer himself. He also was
matched up with his first partner, Sara Bailey, in the intermediate level.
“Having a partner
was a whole different experience,” says Zach. “You make each other work
together and the timing has to be right. We hurt each other a lot because you
really have to get used to doing everything little move together in time.”
Zach and his partner
medaled in each competition they competed in, their highest medal being a
silver. During that first year of ice dancing, Zach made it to Junior
Nationals—an incredible feat for a beginner skater. In Nationals, he and his
partner placed fifth out of 23 teams.
After that
competition, Zach parted ways with Sara and gained a new partner under Coach
Mathew Gates in New Jersey.
He and his partner placed fifth at Eastern Sectionals and qualified as first
alternates for the US Nationals before parting ways.
“I had my third
partner by the time I was 16,” says Zach. “I had a good season with her and we
just barely missed a chance to go to Nationals.”
Zach’s next move was
to Colorado after being matched up with partner Piper Gilles under Coach Patty
Gottwein. He is currently living with his partner and her family and works with
choreographers Tom Dickson in free dance and Christopher Dean (of Torvill and
Dean fame) in original dance.
“This is the best
situation I could possibly be in right now,” says Zach. “I am with the best
partner and coach I could train with and Colorado is the best place to train.
The facilities here are phenomenal—we have the US Figure Skating Association
out here and Olympic Training Center. It’s a great place to be.”
Zach and Piper’s
first competition together at the Junior level (one level below Olympic
training level) was at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships last month
where they received the gold medal in Compulsory Dance, the gold medal in the
Compulsory Dance Super Final, the gold medal for Original Dance, and the bronze
medal in Free Dance. The pair has also been chosen for the US Figure Skating
Team and have been assigned their first international competition in the Czech
Republic next month.
Despite rising to
the top very quickly, Zach keeps his goals short-term.
“Obviously my dream
is to go to the Olympics someday,” he says. “But right now I just want to do
well in the international competitions we have coming up and thinking more
long-term, make it to Nationals this year.”
To make a tax
deductible donation to the fund set up for Zach’s continued training and
assistance in training, contact icedance4ever@yahoo.com.
Sidelines with Zach
Donohue
What hobbies do you
enjoy?
Playing guitar,
listening to music, playing golf, dancing, reading, going to the movies, and
hanging out with friends.
What is your most
memorable sports moment?
This year when Piper
and I medaled in every single event and won our compulsory in Lake
Placid—it’s the best I’ve ever done.
Who would you like
to thank?
First and foremost,
God—He gave me the ability and talent to be able to do this. I’d also like to
thank my mom because she practically kills herself for the sport and spends so
much time and money every year. I also want to thank my partner, Piper Gilles,
for putting up with me, and my family and friends for their prayers and
support. I have to thank my partner’s mom as well because she has helped me out
so much—she is providing me with a place to live and helping out with costumes.
Pictured: Zach Donohue, shown here with his partner, Piper Gilles, has been an ice
dancer since the age of 14, winning numerous medals along the way as well as
competing at the Junior level.
Photo courtesy of Daphne Backman