Do you remember what you enjoyed doing when you were 4 years old? Was it a hobby that would eventually lead you to representing your home country in an international spotlight, all before you turned 21?
That's what James Koszuta, 20, and Jocelyn Haines, 16, are doing right now. Or Jimmy and Joci, as they’re more commonly known.
The young ice dancing duo, who skate out of Lockport's Cornerstone Ice Arena, are about to get their first taste of international competition.
For these two young ice phenoms, success has come early.
"We jumped into the season pretty fast, like halfway through the season our first year, so it was just like a wild ride," said Jimmy, who was an established hockey player living in Eden before he committed to figure skating and ice dancing full time.
Their first ever event: a 2nd place finish.
Eastern Sectionals: 1st place overall.
U.S. Nationals: 1st place overall. Again.
And that was just their first 6 months of skating together as a pair.
"I'm vividly remembering this moment,” said their coach, Bianka Szijgyarto, who represented Hungary in a national champion ice-dancing team when she was only 15 years old. “I got emotional standing behind them at the podium, we didn't have friends or anyone there with us, just me myself and them, and it was just so special."
Szijgyarto says she can feel the weight of the world on her prized pupils, watching Jimmy and Joci and their respective families sacrificing time together so the two young phenoms can pursue their dreams.
Jimmy and Joci spend 40 hours a week training—whether its skating, yoga, weight-lifting, or working on their musicality on the ice.
Jimmy’s mom works three jobs to support his passion. Joci’s mom works two. Her father drives her from Marietta, NY each Monday to live with Jimmy as they train, and he picks her up again on Friday. For Joci, time with both of her parents can be precious.
"I'll see [my mom] maybe a couple of hours, for every two weeks, so not much time,” she says. “It's a sacrifice we're all willing to make for this."
And this August is rewarding those sacrifices in a big way: Jimmy, Joci and Coach Szijgyarto are heading to Linz, Austria between August 29 and September 1 - their first international assignment, a dream none of them could have possibly imagined.
They’ll be the first ice skating duo to represent the USA originating from the Cornerstone Ice Arena.
And before they go, the duo is skating one last time in Lockport, to show their stuff.
Tuesday afternoon at 3:30, Jimmy and Joci will skate in full costume, performing parts of their routines that brought them to Austria in the first place.
It’s a way to say thank you to the Western New Yorkers who supported them, they say, and to introduce themselves to the Western New Yorkers they’ve never met before. The event is free and open to the public.
If you’d like to support this pair of locally grown ice prodigies, you can check out their Go Fund Me page - the two say they'd appreciate any help they can get in relieving their travel and training expenses.