NT_011719

30 | January 17, 2019 | The Northbrook tower Sports
northbrooktower.com
Klein ready to make mark at nationals
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
Joe Klein didn’t stumble
when he faced adversity.
Instead, he turned a difficult
moment into a saying
that’s helped the Northbrook
Junior High School
eighth-grader return to ice
skating nationals for the
third straight year. The fall
came when he appeared in
his second regional competition
and started his skate
in what seemed like would
turn out to be a clean skate,
until it didn’t. Klein fell on
his face later in the skate
and went back to his coach
Agata Czyzewski, who had
said something that would
become a phrase between
the two.
“It was good, until it
wasn’t.”
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That phrase has helped
keep Klein focused no matter
what he faces during a
practice or a competition,
which helped him return to
the national skating level
when he skates at the 2019
United States Figure Skating
Nationals that will be
held in Detroit from Saturday,
Jan. 19, to Jan. 27. It’s
etched onto Czyzewski’s
coffee mug, reminding the
two of what they try to
achieve with every competition.
His trip to Detroit might
not be his first to a major
competition, but that
doesn’t take away from the
thrill of competing in front
of thousands of people and
the country’s best.
“It’s really fun to go to
all the competitions and
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it gives me a lot of confidence
that I’m able to keep
improving on myself and
able to keep taking all of
these great opportunities,”
Klein said. “It’s a lot of
fun.”
The fun began when
he and his brother started
skating because their older
sister already skated. His
brother quit after a year, but
Klein continued to skate,
even after his mother asked
him if he wanted to switch
over to hockey. Klein resisted,
loving the thrill of
performing and the different
elements that came
along with it.
But the thrill doesn’t
come without a cost. The
eighth-grader probably
works a longer day than
most adults. Klein skates
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three times a day during six
days of the week, skating
twice the other day of the
week. During the week, he
wakes up early in the morning
for his first practice before
he goes to school. He
takes a break in school in
the middle of the day to go
to another practice before
he comes back to school.
Then Klein finishes his day
with another practice.
The juggling act can be
hard to balance at times,
but Klein doesn’t try to escape
from skating. When
he gets too stressed with
everything going on, he
watches YouTube videos of
figure skating to continue
to grow. “It’s extremely impressive,”
Czyzewski said.
“A lot of boys have spurts
of going really well and not
so well. It’s hard to juggle
school too. A lot of boys
are home schooled and he
has a pretty much normal
schedule. So for him to
do morning practice, then
late-morning practice then
afternoon practice, staying
focused after all of that is
really impressive.”
His road to repeat trips
to nationals didn’t come
without obstacles, though.
Klein came off a year
where he missed a month
to a concussion and missed
time to a broken finger and
a hurt back. In September,
he competed in the U.S.
Challenge Skate in Salt
Lake City where he committed
minutes before a
clean performance on the
ice.
Klein will be competing
at the novice men level of
the national competition after
he placed first at USFS
Upper Great Lakes regional
championships and third
at the Midwestern sectionals.
This is his first year
Northbrook resident Joe Klein will compete at the 2019
United States Figure Skating Nationals that will be held
in Detroit from Saturday, Jan. 19, to Jan. 27. Photos
submitted
skating novice, though his
third time at nationals —
he competed at intermediate
in 2018 and at juvenile
in 2017.
The bright lights don’t
scare Klein.
“I’m a very competitive
person, so being able to be
at these high-level competitions
is very exhilarating
for me,” he said. “I love
the feeling of flying when I
jump. It’s the best feeling I
ever had.”
Both Klein and Czyzewski
are hoping for a clean
skate. That’s been the thinking
they’ve had since they
started working together
six years ago: as long as
Klein does the best he can,
there will be no regret after.
The pair have been preparing
the past few months for
his moment in Detroit, now
it’s just time to skate.
“Nationals is always different
because this is what
you’ve worked for all year
Klein and coach Agata
Czyzewski will look
forward for a clean skate
at nationals.
long, throwing more stuff
in, trying to see what works
best,” Klein said.
As long as that phrase
is in the back of his mind,
he’ll be alright.