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KIDS' QUESTIONS

December 2006

Kids' Questions with Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris

Themi, what is your favorite part about working with Naomi? Do you have a signature move? If so, what is it?
Julie Xu, 13 Salt Lake City, Utah

My favorite part of skating with Naomi is that she brings such an upbeat and fun attitude to practice every day. Our signature move is our illegal lift that we did last year during our free skate and can't do in competition. We don't have a name for it yet, but we are open to suggestions.

Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris

Do you get nervous at competitions? What do you do to relax?
Taylor M., 11 Colorado Springs, Colo.

Naomi: Yes, of course I get nervous, but I just try to take deep breaths and focus on what I've been practicing up to the competition. I also try to think that it's like a normal practice day.
Themi: Yes, but it's a good nervous. I just take deep breaths and run through clean programs in my head.

What aspects of your skating programs do you think you need to work on in order to earn a spot on the podium at U.S. Championships?
Tara Wegner, 17 Mankato

Naomi: I think we just need to work on getting higher grades of execution on every element and maybe adding a level three triple twist.

Themi, where did you start skating and how old were you? Naomi, you guys just missed out on qualifying for the 2006 Olympics in Torino. Do you plan to try and qualify for the next Olympics in 2010?
Laura G-M, 14 Orlando, Fla.

Themi: I started skating in Tampa Bay, Fla., when I was 12 years old.
Naomi: I definitely want to go to the Olympics in 2010. There are no ands, ifs or buts there.

Naomi, how difficult was it to make the transition from singles to pairs? Do you ever miss skating singles?
Heather Spoelstra, 17 Wayne, N.J.

It took a lot of hard work and dedication to switch from singles to pairs, but that is exactly what I wanted to do in coming back to skating. Pairs is a lot different from singles because there's another person there who you have no control of. I do miss singles, but I never really think about that because I feel like pairs is what I was destined to do. Having Themi as a partner really makes me enjoy skating pairs that much more.

Themi, when choosing music for your short program and free skate, who usually picks? Your coaches or one of you?
Rachel Watson, 13 Marietta, Ga.

If Naomi, our coach or I have music that we want to skate to, we all sit down together and listen to the music and decide. This year one of our good friends, Amy Evidente, suggested our short program music to us. We instantly loved it and had our coach, Peter Oppegard, listen to it. Our free skate music was picked by Peter. Peter is an amazing coach, and we trust him on any decision that needs to be made for our skating career.

Naomi, what is it like to see the crowd when your partner lifts you in the air?
Samantha Scarpa, 11 Bayonne, N.J.

Doing lifts, throws and twists makes me feel like I'm floating and flying across the ice. It really is a feeling you have to experience firsthand.

Do you have any ritual that you do before you step on the ice when you compete to conquer your nerves? And what keeps you motivated?
Christine Guanzing, 11 Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Naomi: Themi and I have an inspirational book we read out of together in our hotel rooms. It really helps and leaves us with a positive attitude heading into our competition.
Themi: Naomi and I know that if we work hard enough we have the potential to be the best. Looking forward to the 2010 Olympics is definitely our motivation. Being in and winning the Olympics has been both of our dreams since we were young, and we know each minute, day and year we are closer and closer to that dream.

What are your goals for the season? What do you do to stay focused through your program? By the way, I love your great smiles and personalities.
Ashlynne Ragasa, 13 San Diego, Calif.

Naomi: Our goal this year is to medal at U.S. Championships, make it to Worlds, and make our skating known internationally. Thanks for the compliment, Ashlynne!
Themi: We stay focused by thinking about one element at a time and not rushing into things. Even if we make a mistake, we try not to think about it because we still have the rest of the program to do.

Naomi, how difficult was it for you to come back after your serious injury, especially when there were so many expectations after winning the silver medal at the U.S. Championships?
Chiaki Oda, 18 Yokohama

It was very difficult coming back to skating after an injury. There were a lot of times that I thought I was never going to be able to skate. Little did I know how much I missed and wanted to skate; I made great efforts to come back strong and as a pairs skater. When I earned silver in 1999, I was only 13, and, yes, there was pressure and a lot of expectations but I was too young to even think about all of that. I just really wanted to skate and was really disappointed when I wasn't able to.

Naomi, what is the biggest difference between training as a singles skater and training as a pairs skater? Is it any harder or easier?
Maureen Regan, 16 Hopkinton

Training in general is always going to be hard no matter if you are a singles or a pairs skater. Themi is a really hard worker, so I enjoy his company at practice every day. You just have to have a lot of discipline and think about how much all the hard work is going to pay off in competition. That feeling is so addicting and amazing.