By Dave Woods
dwoods@OfficialKidsMag.com
Ella Aprea comes by her love of the ice honestly.
"My mom skated when she was little and my dad
always played hockey," the 12-year-old figure skater
said. "I guess just seeing how my mom used to skate
made me want to do it. I remember my grandpa
would show me pictures of mom on the podium and
I would always watch the Winter Olympics when they
came on. I would always watch the figure skaters."
You can bet that during the Olympics last month
Ella was glued to her television and mobile device
catching every moment of figure skating she
could.
"I love to watch Mirai Nagusa and Ashley
Wagner," she explained. "I like watching Ashley
Wagner because she really has attitude and shows
who she is. Mirai Nagusa really flows across the
ice and is really graceful."
Ella, a Brightfield Middle School student, is
already developing a style of her own. "I think I
attack the ice more than I am graceful," she said
with a laugh.
Ella works out and skates several times a week
at The Jones Center where her mom is the
skating coordinator.
"I have a trainer," she said. "We really work
to make my muscles strong so I can get up in
the air better. I really just run a lot, too. You
never know how you are going to do until you
get out there. "
Top of her field
Middle school student
skating for a dream
44 • Off icial Kids Mag • MARCH & APRIL 2018
