About Us

KIDS' QUESTIONS

January 2006

Kids' Questions with Morgan Matthews & Maxim Zavozin

Q: Morgan and Max, how do you manage to skate and still have time to do other things? I would never be able to do that with my school work.
Erin McCoy, 11 Mustang, Okla.

Morgan: Max and I were both home-schooled through high school. Now, Max goes to college and I have a busy work schedule, but we help each other out and keep our priorities straight.
Maxim: Erin, I actually don't really know how I do it myself. It seems like there is no time at all, but education is very important so I manage to find time for it after skating.

Morgan Matthews & Maxim Zavozin

Q: What are your hobbies outside of skating?
An Vuong, 14 Redding, Pa.

Morgan: My hobbies are always changing. Yesterday it was acting classes. Today, probably poetry. Tomorrow, definitely painting.
Maxim: I like traveling. Also, I am interested in sports such as tennis and soccer.

Q: What are some of your pre-competition rituals?
Brittany Pence, 17 Middlesex, N.C.

Morgan: Focus, focus, focus and, oh yeah, definitely chocolate.
Maxim: I don't really think we have any, except for getting Starbucks at the airport before we leave.

Q: I used to ice dance a few years ago, and our partnership did not work out. I was wondering when you guys knew you were the perfect team, and what made you decide that it was a perfect match?
Mirielle Chambers, 15 Wichita, Kan.

Morgan: Max and I both came to each other wanting the same thing – a long-term partnership. That, along with the obvious size, weight, style etc., made it a perfect match. But don't get discouraged. We both went through a lot of trial and error before we found each other. If it doesn't work out the first time, it just might work out the next.
Maxim: I think we knew that we were a good match from the very beginning just based on our connection and how we looked together.

Q: If you do not make this year's Olympic Team will you continue to practice and compete and try for the 2010 team?
Georgina Oliveira, 13 Ludlow, Mass.

Morgan: Absolutely. Max and I have a lot of goals and so much passion for what we do. As our coach always says, we are still “fresh cucumbers.”
Maxim: Making the Olympics is of course a big goal in our careers, but if we don't (qualify) we will definitely keep trying.

Q: Are you girlfriend and boyfriend? You'd make a good couple.
Kelly Dias, 11 Massachusettes

Morgan: We are just very good friends, but I am glad we look so good together.
Maxim: No, but we are really good friends. I don't know, we might.

Q: I have been skating for two years and was having some problems with my jumps. I am seriously considering ice dancing. Did either of you skate singles first, and then switch to dancing, and if so at what level did you stop?
Johanna Tramm, 13 Los Angeles, Calif.

Morgan: I competed both freestyle and pairs through the novice level before I made my final decision. It is possible to do both freestyle and dance at the same time, but make sure you have a passion for dance before switching. A few bad weeks working on your jumps is not enough reason to change disciplines.
Maxim: I never skated in singles competitively. I started learning it at the age of 14 and my parents just told me to switch to ice dance because they were professional ice dancers and they coached it as well.

Q: Maxim, how difficult is it waiting to get your citizenship, knowing that with it you could potentially go to the Olympics?

Maxim: I try not to think about it because I really can't do anything about the issue. Sometimes I get anxious, but I don't have the power to get it sooner.

Q: When did you start skating together, and how old were you?
Emily Bartky, 10 Livingston, N.J.

Morgan: We started skating together in March of 2001. I was 13 and Max was 15. We first skated together at the Professional Skaters Association tryouts in Boston.