Most students try to get as much sleep as possible before the school day starts, but not Carlmont sophomore Anne Nakao, who wakes up at 6 a.m. most mornings to skate at the ice rink.
Nakao started ice skating in second grade and has been accustomed to waking up early since childhood.
“I was surprised when I first met Anne; she was so dedicated to her sport and also to the team,” said Rachel Li, an ice-skating teammate of Nakao.
The sport comes very naturally to Nakao, as she took roller-skating classes before learning to ice skate. Nakao was ahead of all her peers from the start. Her coach was very surprised at her skills and offered Nakao private lessons.
“She needed something that was specific for her because she already knew how to do all of this stuff because of roller skating, but she didn’t really know how to do it the ice-skating way,” said Casey Litz, Nakao’s private coach.
Nakao passed all the skating skills tests early on with flying colors. Now she and Litz are working on the free-skate tests, which combine technical skills with artistic expression.
When she was younger, Nakao consistently thought she wasn’t good enough and had a narrow-minded mindset, to the point where she considered quitting. But with the help of her dad, her coach, and most importantly, herself, Nakao was back on track and found other ways of looking at ice skating.
“I think that’s really important to me that all the decisions that I’ve been making in my skating journey are only about me. It’s not about being like others and doing what everyone else is doing. And I think that’s kind of the toughest thing I’ve had to push through for skating,” Nakao said.
Nakao is also part of the San Francisco Ice Theatre team, and through being on the team, she has learned more about the artistic side of her skating. Nakao has also gained more experience in a team environment and has become more confident in her own skating abilities.
Nakao has severe competition anxiety, so she often sings to herself to calm down before a competition. Despite this, she supports her teammates by cheering the loudest and shouting encouragement.
“She always likes to go the extra mile whenever problems in the team arise; she really is a committed person to ice skating. She wants to bring out the best in the team,” Li said.
