Gliding along the ice, she picks up speed, pushing herself off the ground and into the air. Twirling and spinning, she lands the axle flawlessly.

For sophomore Olivia Hamilton, this is her normal.

Five years ago, Hamilton was introduced to the sport of ice skating by a family friend and coach.

“This lady was talking to my mom and was like, ‘I coach ice skating out at this ice skating place — I think you might like it,”’ Hamilton said. “I started doing lessons with her and really enjoyed it. I kept doing lessons with her and now I have a different coach, but she’s who got me originally interested in ice skating.”

Because she trains in Liberty, Missouri, a minimum 45-minute drive, Hamilton said she is only able to train once a week.

“I work one-on-one with my coach every Saturday,” she said.

While starting her ice skating career performing in competitions, Hamilton said she prefers focusing on individual training for personal gain rather than for a team or an organization.

“I’ve never liked being the center of attention,” Hamilton said. “I always had to perform by myself or with one other person. Sometimes, there are huge teams of 10 to 20 people that perform, but we never did that. The dresses were really expensive, and you had to do your hair and wear so much makeup for every performance — it wasn’t my style. I enjoy learning and training by myself for my own personal benefit.”

Her favorite part of ice skating, she said, is the feeling of finally conquering a technique after working hard on it for extended amounts of time.

“One of my favorite moments is when I land a jump for the first time, or when I start spinning and keep going and going and going and going,” she said. “When I spin, we count how many revolutions I do — sometimes I get up to eight or nine. I just love ice skating — everything about it is so much fun.”

While planning to become certified to coach younger girls pursuing ice skating as their sport, Hamilton said she knows ice skating will forever be a part of her.

“To become a coach, there are tests you have to take,” Hamilton said. “You have to go through and show you are able to do specific types of jumps, moves, edges and other skills. I want to be able to teach my children how to ice skate — I will always love ice skating and will continue it for the rest of my life.”