Name: Leah Benoit
Major: Journalism with a concentration in Editorial Journalism and Communication with a specialization in Public Relations
Graduation Year: 2014
Hometown: Royal Oak, MI
How long have you been skating?
I have been skating for 17 years. I started when I was about 5 or 6-years-old.
How long have you been a part of MSU’s sport team?
I’ve actually been a part of three different skating teams while I’ve been at MSU! My freshman year I was on the Collegiate Synchronized Skating team, which is the most high-level team and had the biggest time commitment and the most travel. My sophomore year I was captain of our Open Collegiate Synchronized Skating team, which was similar to the Collegiate level but less pricey and with fewer practices, travel, and competitions. My junior year I assisted with the Open Collegiate team while competing on the MSU Figure Skating Team, which had individual competitions and events so I wasn’t skating with 15 other girls. This year I decided to exclusively focus on the MSU Figure Skating Team!
So the short answer to your question is: I’ve been involved with the teams all four years at MSU!
What inspired you to be a skater?
Honestly, I really have no idea how I got into skating. My parents signed me up for lessons when I was really young and I decided to stick with it. I also did dance and gymnastics but skating was my favorite. Over the years I think I continued with it because I’ve had such great experiences competing and performing in shows. All of my best friends have been made through skating.
What sort of work goes into being a skater and being apart of the MSU team?
A lot of time and money! Skating isn’t a cheap sport by any means, so I’ve had to work multiple jobs in order to finance my time with the teams. (Though scholarships from the United States Figure Skating Association and some funding from MSU has helped!) The time commitment varies by team, and each skater really gets out of it what they want to put into it. My freshman year I had practice sessions as long as 5 hours and as early as 5:30 a.m. I’ve had to do some shuffling of my class and work schedules to accommodate skating as well. Individually, I set my own practice times. I usually skate at least two times per week, sometimes up to five.
Being a part of a team at MSU has been a great experience. I’ve loved getting to wear green and white at competitions to represent our school. Our skating skirts this year had a really cute glittery Spartan head on them that we got complimented on a lot by other teams! During synchro, before we competed we would always do our team call-out, where the captain would yell “Who do you skate for?” and the rest of the team would yell “M! S! U!”. Getting to do that as captain was really fun.
As I’ve mentioned before, the friends I’ve made skating have been probably the best part. You spend so much time with your teammates that you naturally become really close to them. Plus, traveling to competitions let me see friends of mine who went to other schools, which was always fun.
What has been your most memorable moment of being on the team?
I have a few! It would have to be a three-way tie between placing second at Nationals in California my freshman year when I was on the Collegiate synchronized skating team, my entire season as captain my sophomore year (it was just a really great year and our team got along really well), or winning one of my last competitions as a senior skating to James Bond, where my parents and best friends came to watch and I got straight first-place marks from the judges. There have been a lot of great memories!
What has been your most embarrassing moment of being on the team?
There are two that stand out the most: my freshman year, we used to go through choreography in groups of 4 to while the rest of the team watched. I completely mixed up the choreography in front of everyone and it was super obvious. My sophomore year, we were at our biggest competition of the year and when I went to do the “Who do you skate for?” callout my voice completely cracked like a 12-year-old boy’s. My teammates were laughing so hard they couldn’t even do the response.
What do you feel being apart of this team has taught you?
I think it has taught me a lot about time management, my own personality, and what I really love about the sport. Obviously time management has been a huge thing for me to deal with over the past four years. I’ve learned about how I handle pressure and deal with accomplishments and failures, as well as how to skate with other people (I’d never done synchronized skating prior to coming to Michigan State!). Finally, it helped me focus on the parts of the sport that I love and how to avoid the ones I don’t, as well as how to motivate and coach myself since the MSU Figure Skating Team does not have a coach.
How do you balance school and sports?
Again, lots of time management! In addition to two majors and a minor, I work three jobs, am editor for three publications on campus and produce a student news show. My junior year I was somewhat balancing two teams as well. It’s a lot of prioritizing goals and tasks. Weeks I have a lot of exams I might not skate as much, while weeks I have competitions I might have to get all of my work done in advance.
What’s your advice for those thinking about being on the team?
For skaters in high school who are considering skating in college or for any skaters just looking to get back into it, I cannot recommend it enough. Not only is it a good way to work stay in shape and stay involved with the sport, but it’s a great way to really feel at home at your university. You meet people with similar interests as you and you get to experience the sport in an entirely new way than you would as a competitive skater outside of intercollegiate skating. Many schools offer more than one team, so you can really decide how much you want to put into it and what level you want to take it to. It also gives you the chance to try new disciplines – prior to skating collegiate, I had never tried synchronized skating or ice dance. Now I’ve medaled in both!
Where do you see your future as a skater?
I just had my last collegiate competition, so I’m now entering the adult ranks! I’d love to compete at the adult level. My goal would be to make it to the U.S. Adult Nationals. I’ve also considered joining an adult synchronized skating team once I’ve settled into post-grad life. Additionally, I’ve taught Basic Skills lessons to kids since I was 16, so I might continue doing that on the side. I’m sure skating will be involved in my life for many years to come.