Going for the gold

Monroe - Being a competitive figure skater for twelve years, Nicole Prestia has always set her sights on “gold.” However, on April 5 at Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh, Nicole was going for a different kind of “gold - her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. This award is earned by girls ages 14-17 and recognizes the time, leadership, efforts and impact young women have in their communities. Nicole has been a Girl Scout for as long as she has been a figure skater. Since many hours of planning into the project it helps for the project to be something the girl is interested in. Skating has been Nicole’s passion since she was five. She has competed up and down the Eastern seaboard, both individually and on a synchronized skating team, and now she coaches figure skating. Nicole wanted to bring her love for skating to others in the community. Children today spend so much time on computers or in front of video games, so she wanted to teach them a fun way they could get good exercise. Knowing first-hand how expensive skating could be, she wanted everything to be free. For her Gold Award project, Nicole decided to have a free boys and girls ice skating clinic. The rocess started for Nicole in June 2006, with her troop leader Pam Ford. The actual planning for the event started back in November 2007, when general manager Lou Lombardo of Ice Time Sports Complex agreed to donate the use of the ice, admission for all of the skaters and skate rentals. Both he and Nicole’s skating coach Deirdre Bonanno agreed to mentor her on this project. Skating coaches Deirdre Bonanno, Diane del Olmo, Stephanie Plantamura, Rachel Lustbader, Alexis Morgan and Louis Lombardo did not hesitate for a moment when asked to volunteer their time to help her coach at the event. She also enlisted in her skating friends Kristin Garfinkel, Katy Weber and Arielle Cabin, to help the coaches on the ice. Nicole advertised the event by word of mouth, the internet and posting fliers in various places. She received more than 100 phone responses, of which she spoke to personally, and re-confirmed all of the calls. On April 5, you could hear the excitement of the kids as they entered the rink as Nicole greeted everyone. The skating clinic began with coach Deirdre Bonanno doing off ice conditioning activities with the kids to the music of Hanna Montana and the Jonas Brothers. She had them jumping around and loosening up their muscles, getting ready for them to skate. Then it was time to take to the ice with the kids who Nicole had already grouped by age and ability. There were seven different levels, ages ranging from 2 to 14 years old. By the end of the hour-long lesson, Nicole had the youngest group of skaters actually being able to skate around “beanie babies” she had placed on the ice, while skating coach Diane del Olmo had the older advanced skaters doing spirals and lundges. Rink manager Lombardo even did a science experiment with his group of kids, showing them how deep the ice on the rink really is. Both Deirdre Bonanno and Stephanie Plantamura had their skaters learning some of the fancier moves. Most of the skaters in Alexis Morgan and Rachel Lustbader’s groups had never put on a pair of skates before, but by the end of their lesson, they had the skating from one end of the rink to the other, playing games and having a great time. When the lessons were over many parents took to the ice with the kids for an open skate. Even Nicole’s father Michael Prestia, who hadn’t put on skates since he first introduced Nicole to skating when she was five years old went on. Girls in troop 425 helped by working the skate rental booth and baking cookies that they gave away free at the end of the day. Nicole Prestia is a junior at Monroe-Woodbury High School. She is also on the High School Varsity Ski Racing Team and is currently in her college planning process. She has already been to the University of Delaware for a synchronized skating recruitment weekend where she hopes to skate on their collegiate team.