SHE'S NOT KIDDING `NORMAL' 12-YEAR-OLD SERIOUS ABOUT '06 GAMES.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Cathy Kahle had no idea she was funding the beginning of a possible Olympic-caliber career when she bought her daughter Danielle a $100 used pair of ice skates as a fifth-birthday present. ``She just wanted to go up and down the ice as fast as she could,'' Cathy Kahle said. ``It was so cute because it was just an old pair of skates I bought from somebody at the rink, and she was like, `Oh, wow!' She was so excited.'' Danielle Kahle Danielle Kahle (born April 9 1989 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) is an American figure skater. She has been competing in Seniors since the 2004/2005 season. In 2002, she was the US Nationals Champion in Novice and 3rd in Junior the following year. inspires a lot of excitement these days because of her skating. Now 12 years old, Kahle is one of the United States' top female novice figure skaters, and her first step toward a possible spot in the 2006 Winter Olympics takes place this week at the U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating (USFS), officially called the United States Figure Skating Association or USFSA, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. Championships. Kahle, a Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. resident, finished first in Sunday's short program and skates her long program this afternoon at the Sports Arena. ``I think she has the makings of another Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10 1982) is an American figure skater and celebrity. At the age of 15, she won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and remains the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. , I really do,'' said Nadine Graziano, a Westlake Village resident who has coached Kahle for almost two years. ``I've coached a lot of skaters, and I've seen a lot of skaters from other rinks, and I wouldn't just say that about anyone. ``She's just the focus of every competition, and everyone talks about her. I mean, 2006 is our goal.'' Recent performances suggest that it might be a realistic goal. Since coming under Graziano's guidance, Kahle has blossomed from a local standout to a national sensation. She finished first in the Pacific Coast Sectional Championship in November, which earned her a trip to the U.S. Championships. After this competition, Kahle will move up to juniors, and hopefully a year after that move up to seniors to take on the best in the world. That would leave her about three years to prepare at the Olympic level. ``I think she likes to skate in front of a lot of people,'' Cathy Kahle said. ``Saturday night is her favorite time to come to the rink because of all the people on the ice during the public sessions. That's when I find that her personality really comes out the most. She likes to perform in front of people.'' Danielle Kahle, the middle of five children, first skated at age 3 in a rink in Dublin, a small town southeast of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , but because the rink was up to a two-hour drive away from their home, Danielle went to the rink only two or three times a week. But from the beginning, Kahle was aggressive, always wanting to learn moves beyond her years and experience level. ``I took lessons when I was really little because my favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. skater was Kristi Yamaguchi Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American figure skater. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Biography Kristi Yamaguchi was born on July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California, to Jim Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole Doi, a ,'' Kahle said. ``I remember always wanting to try my axel Axel: see Absalon. (jump) and they were like, `You're going to get hurt.' I always thought figure skating figure skating Sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform various jumps, spins, and footwork. The figure skate blade has a special serrated toe pick, or toe rake, at the front. was so cool. I thought, `How do they get down so low and spin like that?' '' Kahle participated in several competitions but didn't begin to take the sport seriously until a move to Thousand Oaks brought her just a few miles away from the Easy Street Arena in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . In March 2000, the Kahles hired Graziano, and in their first major competition together, Kahle finished 11th in the 2000 Southwest Pacific Regionals in the intermediate division. In 2001, Kahle moved up to the novice level and finished ninth in the same competition. ``I told her mother that I really felt I could make a difference in her skating,'' Graziano said. ``I wanted to get away from negativity and really give her a lot of positive reinforcement positive reinforcement, n a technique used to encourage a desirable behavior. Also called positive feedback, in which the patient or subject receives encouraging and favorable communication from another person. besides just working on the jumps. And then once she started getting the jumps she became so much more confident.'' What's far more reassuring about Graziano's teaching is that Kahle seems to be a well-adjusted girl who doesn't stress out about her skating and has friends and interests outside of the rink. Kahle is a seventh-grader at Chaparral Middle School Chaparral Middle School could refer to
``She's a normal, all-American girl,'' Graziano said. ``A lot of skaters, especially at this level, are skating five or six hours a day, and she only skates a maximum of two hours. It's a very healthy situation. They don't bring it home with them and obsess ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. about it, but she loves to skate. ``She has her days when she's cold or tired, of course, but she loves to skate, and she's very self-motivated. Some of the kids are here (at the rink) all day, but I think you can get so much more out of giving 100 percent for two hours than you can from giving 50 percent for five hours.'' As Kahle works her way into the figure skating elite, she has plenty of support from her family. Cathy Kahle is a constant compan early-morning practices, even as she juggles a budding world-class athlete with the activities of her four other children. ``It's hard, because the other kids are involved in baseball and basketball and guitar lessons and drum lessons and tennis lessons,'' Cathy Kahle said. ``It's a lot of running around, but every day I think that I have these five kids and I'll do whatever it takes so they can be whatever they want to be. That's worth the sacrifice.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Figure skater Danielle Kahle of Thousand Oaks has confidence, along with lofty aspirations. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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