Timothy Dolensky Focuses on Love for Skating

The alarm clock goes off around 6 a.m. He doesn't have to get up that early, but he likes to have his coffee before breakfast. With a packed lunch, fit to prepare an athlete for the second half of the day, a good book and a pair of skates in tow, he's off to the rink.
 
For Timothy Dolensky, most of his days are planned in order to get the work done.
 
"I'm pretty efficient," Dolensky said. "I do all of the things I need to do in two broken up hours."
 
His two hours of on-ice training may seem short compared to what many envision for an athlete of his maturity and capability, but he's confident in his plan.
 
"I have learned pretty much everything I can maintain, especially this point in the season," Dolensky said. "And I am not as young as I used to be either."
 
Dolensky, 26, has been skating for roughly 20 years. He has competed at the men's senior level since 2012, and debuted on the world stage in 2010 at the Junior Grand Prix Great Britain. To kick off the 2018-19 season, the Georgia native competed at Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy, from Sept. 12-16, and at Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany, from Sept. 26-29.
 
The two international competitions were just 10 days apart, but the schedule didn't phase Dolensky.
 
"I'm pretty okay as far as jet lag," he shared in between the two events. "I've just been training like normal, running my programs and doing minimal off-ice at the gym."
 
Dolensky placed sixth at Lombardia Trophy, with an overall score of 197.37, and fourth at Nebelhorn Trophy with an overall score of 209.02. It's still early in the season, but with each performance, the Texas-based skater has been focused on several goals that are within his reach and a few that are more personal.
 
"Of course, having two near-clean, solid programs is one of my goals," Dolensky said. "And I would love to land a quad in competition."
 
Quad jumps have been the primary focus on the men's senior-level events in recent years, and many frontrunners are landing them with consistency in every program. But Dolensky reminds himself, and wants to remind others, of their innate difficulty.
 
"People are so quick to criticize, but they forget that (quads) are still really challenging even though people are starting to do them," Dolensky said.
 
Quads have started to make their way into the international ladies' events as well, making an appearance with Miki Ando of Japan back in 2002 at the junior level. In March 2018, Alexandra Trusova landed two fully-rotated quads in her free skate, earning her a world record score of 225.25 overall at the 2018 World Junior Championships.  
 
"It's hard not to get carried away with a goal like that when you have a whole program to do," Dolensky said.  "But yes, landing a quad in competition is definitely on my bucket list before I decide to quit because I'm capable of one."
 
Dolensky also said that competition fever, especially with two international competitions back-to-back, can cloud your thinking and dominate your perspective. That's why he's been focusing even more on making the most of the season before him, regardless of the podium pressure.
 
"You get so wrapped up in wanting to win these competitions," Dolensky said. "So this season, I just really want to be enjoying it enough, and bask in the feeling of it."
 
That's one of the reasons his personal schedule has been so important. He makes time to rest, relax, read and even coach other skaters a few times a week.
 
Dolensky also wanted to freshen up his programs for this season. He revamped his free skate set to "Faux" by Novo Amor, choreographed by Ryan Jahnke. But his real passion is within his new short program, choreographed by Daniil Barantsev. Barantsev is also Dolensky's new primary coach for the season.  
 
"Spark" by Amber Run was Dolensky's choice for his new short program even before the 2017-18 season ended. It is a rock-based piece that begs to "let the light in" throughout.
 
"It is a lot of fun," he said. "I just happened to skate last in the practice order at Lombardia, and everyone else's music was classical this, classical that, the same old stuff. And then my music started and I remember thinking that people were going to wonder, 'What is he skating to?'"
 
But putting aside the clean programs, quads and competitions, there is one thing that will never change about Dolensky: staying true to himself.
 
"What you see is what you get," he said.
 
The word "genuine" comes to mind when he tries to describe himself both on and off the ice, and he hopes the fans can see that for the 2018-19 season.
 
"A lot of times you forget why you do this," Dolensky said. "I just want them to know that I love to skate."