First after the warm-up gets a little extra time to spend calming their nerves on the ice. A deep breath, a heel click and… wait.
Amber Glenn waited for a brief pause before an overhead announcement told her to "relax for a moment," just before her free skate music, a cover of "Bang Bang" by Lady Gaga, was supposed to start blaring through the SportONE Parkview Ice House's speakers for the 2019 Midwestern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It didn't.
"So I'm skating around, everyone is making weird faces, the judges are looking at each other," Glenn said, via phone just a few weeks after the event. "Then, we try to go again, and I'm waiting there for a good 15 seconds, and then, 'You can relax again, Amber,' and I just busted out laughing."
Glenn didn't want her nerves to get the best of her, so she continued laughing, making light out of the stress-inducing moment. But sure enough, the third time was the charm. Her name was announced about five minutes later, with a smooth transition into the music, and Glenn's performance led to her first gold medal at a sectional championships.
In a way, this experience culminated how Glenn has been looking at the 2018-19 season, and often views seasons past.
"I have had my ups and downs with my career," Glenn said. "Even this season, I have had some really high points and some really low ones, but I enjoy what I am doing."
Glenn placed sixth at Lombardia Trophy competition held in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, in September earlier this season. But with a newly-earned gold medal at sectionals, Glenn's eyes are on the
2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Detroit, Jan. 18-27.
When Glenn speaks about "lows" in her season and career, she doesn't just mean a fallen jump or a hard competition. She is also referring to the mental challenges of sport.
Glenn has taken to social media to use her voice and occasionally post "daily reminders" to followers that they're important, loved, capable and worthy, just to name a few.
The 2014 U.S. junior champion, who started skating at the age of five, is now 19 years old, and has found that her experience and maturity in the sport allows her to embody strength and honesty to other skaters, as well as herself.
"Everyone around me knows if someone is not feeling good about themselves that day, I will come down and I will give them a speech," Glenn said. "If someone is not feeling good about their body, I will try to cheer them up, let them know it's only temporary. It's just so important."
But it's not just those who train alongside of her in Texas, it reaches far beyond the walls of the rink.
"I feel like so many young skaters look up and think, 'Oh, this person is absolutely perfect, why am I having these issues if they don't?' but in reality, we do. We have the same problems, it's just the way you handle it that is important," Glenn said. "Especially on Instagram and Twitter, our lives all look perfect and so great. And sure, things can be going wonderful at some points, but everyone has their lows and has their own issues."
Aside from using her platform to speak out about her struggles, and that of others, she is also deeply passionate about skating and the constant it has been in her life.
"I truly love it, I always have. I enjoy the day-to-day routine and I am lost without it," Glenn said. "I have other things in my life that I do, but without skating, I'm bored. I have been doing it for so long that it has become such a part of my life, but I also need to make sure it doesn't control it entirely."
She doesn't back down from the strong emotions that pull her back into her love of skating. For instance, back in November at sectionals, she found herself moved to tears throughout her short program to "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles.
"[My short] builds up at the end. It's something I really feel when I'm doing it, especially after my jumps are all done, and I have my footwork and some spins left," Glenn shared. "Two years ago, my aunt passed away at this time and she was my biggest fan. She passed away from cancer, and it was just all of these things at once, and I started crying through my footwork because it was just so emotional for me."
Glenn hopes to feel that same power at the U.S. Championships, where she hopes to build consistency. It's a reminder to herself that her goals are attainable, despite them getting higher at each step.
"I made a promise to myself when I was a young kid that my goal was always to skate on TV, and now that I've done that, I just continue to make goals and reach them, and I want to make more and more and more," Glenn said.
Her dream is to ultimately be named to the World Team, about which she admits, "I would actually cry."
Whether there are highs or lows, announcement errors or gold medals, Glenn looks forward to the remainder of the season, but the first stop is in Detroit for the U.S. Championships.
"I'm really excited and I can't wait," Glenn said.
