Despite the obstacles brought on by COVID-19, junior competitor Joseph Klein anticipates a season of opportunity.
The optimistic 15-year-old, who is celebrating his sweet 16 next week, spent his summer training for the International Selection Pool (ISP) Points Challenge at the Skokie Valley Skating Club outside of Chicago and The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs. While his second season at the junior level looks drastically different than his first, Klein remains determined to achieve his goals.
"Especially when everything's chaotic, I find that if I have a positive mentality, things tend to go better," Klein said.
Klein says his outlook helps him remain calm and flexible, even during uncertainty. He balances hours of intense practices with a full academic schedule and wakes up at 5:15 a.m. so he can skate before he logging onto school at 8 a.m. When classes wrap up at 1:30 p.m., it's back to the rink to train until 4:30 or 5 p.m.
And so far, Klein's adapted skating regime has proved successful. He placed second in the first opportunity of the ISP Points Challenge, but described his mental preparation for virtual competitions as "completely different." Klein also competed in the virtual Novice and Junior Challenge Skate where he took the top spot in the junior men's competition.
"A lot of times in competitions, I draw my energy from the crowd and my competitors," Klein said, reflecting on how he felt before his performances. He said otherwise, it wasn't as hard as he expected to adapt to the virtual format.
The ISP Points Challenge invites athletes to send in proctored performance videos of their short programs and free skates through two separate opportunities. The performances are then scored and combined by ISU-level officials and ranked among other competitors in the same level.
"I had to self-motivate differently, but other than that, it [felt] really similar," Klein said. "I wore my costumes, skated my programs and my coaches were there — except, there were no judges, which was less scary."
This year, Klein is focused on skating clean programs and gaining confidence in his triple Axel — but he is also looking forward to performing the strong storylines that weave through both of his programs. His short program is to "Don't Speak," while his free skate is set to the soundtrack from the film 1917.
"I like to choose music that I feel can convey a story," Klein said, noting he admires Jason Brown's narrative skating style. "I like to have one program with lyrics and one without, and I make up a plot for each of them. When music is more fun to train with, it's a lot easier to get through a program because you're enjoying what you're doing."
While Klein is known for always having a smile on his face, he said he has battled many "ups and downs" through his skating career. When rinks shut down in the spring, he used his time off the ice to recover from a persistent ankle injury.
"Skating has given me a sense of determination. It can be hard to get up and keep going, but I think that's factored into other parts of my life." Klein said the more persistent he is in the classroom, the more consistent he is on the ice.
To get past injuries and other barriers, Klein relies on support from his family and skating friends. He's been a member of the Skokie Valley Skating Club since he started skating and describes its community as "home."
"Skokie Valley is a really supportive club," Klein said. "It's like a comfortable family of skaters, and we all work together."
Of all of his skating accomplishments, Klein is most proud of his pewter medal as a novice skater at the 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships and representing Team USA in the Junior Grand Prix Series last year. To push his skating career to the next level, Klein is moving to Colorado train at the World Arena.
"It's a big step toward where I want to be with my future in skating," Klein said. "There are a bunch of great skaters to train with, so I'm excited to have those experiences and opportunities."
Outside of the rink, Klein speaks Italian, is a talented baker and aspires to become a doctor — but his greatest asset as an athlete, chef or student is his commitment to his goals. His pursuit of excellence has yet to waver, as he keeps his chin up through the pandemic and toward his future.
"One of my biggest goals for this season is to medal at junior [U.S. Championships]," Klein said. "I've always wanted to make the World [Junior] Team, and since I've started skating, that's been on my mind. It seems like I've gotten closer, but I know I have to keep training my butt off to get there."
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