Caleb Lofgren, 15, is a KEYS sophomore who has begun competitive skating this year. Despite having only recently begun, he has progressed quickly, passing 10 U.S. figure skating tests within six months. His coaches have included Tammy Gambill, who has since moved to Colorado Springs to lead the U.S. Figure Skating Olympic Team to Beijing in 2022.
Caleb became interested in figure skating two years ago when he began watching skaters online. He took a lesson at IceTown sports center in Riverside, and was “shocked to meet many of the competitive skaters I had seen online from all over the world training there.”
He continued, “I enjoy figure skating because it’s challenging to work hard at learning new elements, like jumps or spins, and then finally developing the ability to do them. It is really satisfying to skate clean through a program, not falling or messing up.”
His achievements in his first year of competitive skating include:
- All Year Figure Skating Club Open 1stPlace Juvenile Boys Champion
- Cactus Classic 1stPlace Juvenile Boys Champion
- Cactus Classic 2ndPlace Intermediate Men
- Glacier Falls Summer Classic 1stPlace Juvenile Boys Champion
- Orange County Open 1stPlace Intermediate Men Champion
- Interclub Invitational Series 3rdPlace Intermediate Men
He trains every day except Sunday up to five hours a day. He admitted, “It is challenging to manage and keep up with my training and academic schedule. It is hard to have patience and realize it takes a lot of time and hard work to practice and perfect artistry and technique. There is a lot of falling and some pain involved which takes courage to push through, but there is nothing more exciting than landing a new jump!”
Without the KEYS program, he said, he would not be able to participate in figure skating at his current level. He explained, “KEYS has provided flexibility and weekly accountability, so I don’t fall behind.”
He describes his ES, Jennifer Vogel, as his “academic coach,” who “keeps me motivated and encouraged about my academics.”
Besides skating, he enjoys his family, pets, cooking, fictional writing and learning new languages, like Thai and Korean. He is also a volunteer coach for the Riverside IceTown Learn to Skate Academy and a member of the All Year Figure Skating Club Junior Board. He hopes to continue to coach figure skating in the future.
Caleb concluded, “I am so grateful to have found figure skating and the KEYS program.”
