Local kids to be on ice with nation's best

Madelyn Nowak-Roddy

Madelyn Nowak-Roddy and her sister, Natalee, haven't started competitive ice-skating. But, next month, they'll be on the ice with the nation's best figure skaters.

Max Pepple and Julie Brown also will be with such nationally known figure skaters as Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen.

But, the local kids won't be competitors at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships here January 7-15. The championships are at the Savvis Center in St. Louis and The Family Arena in St. Charles.

Max Pepple

The four are among 48 young skaters who will serve as "ice sweepers" at the nationals.

But, what are "ice sweepers?" Think about ball boys and girls at the Wimbledon and U.S. Open tennis tournaments.The "sweepers" will pick up flowers, presents and other things thrown on the ice after a skater finishes a routine.

The "sweepers" are ages 7 through 13.

Another 26 older local kids have been selected as "presenters" who will help hand out the trophies to winners. Among the "presenters" is an Illinois girl who was profiled by Young Saint Louis.com two years ago.

Julie Brown

Rebecca Cacioppo of Glen Carbon, Ill., was featured in an article about her Olympic skating goals. (To read the March, 2003, article, click here.)

Skaters in next month's U.S. championships will be competing for a berth on the U.S. team to represent this country at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. (To learn more about attending the nationals here, visit www.stlouis2006.com.)

Natalee Nowak-Roddy

Seven-year-old Natalee Nowak-Roddy of Shiloh, Ill., is one of the youngest "ice sweepers." She's a 1st grader at Shiloh Elementary School and has skated for two years.

Natalee is pretty sure that being a "sweeper" in the national championships will be her best skating experience. Her parents have kept Natalee and Madelyn out of competitive skating until they get more skilled.

But, they are getting good coaching. Former Russian skating star Igor Lisovsky has been giving them lessons at the Brentwood Ice Arena. It's not surprising that 11-year-old Madelyn's favorite skaters are Russians Irina Slutskaya and Evengy Plushenko.

Madelyn is a 6th grader at Shiloh Middle School. She started skating more than six years ago. Her first lessons were a birthday present for her 5th birthday.

Ten-year-old Julie Brown is from St. Charles and a 5th grader at Harris Elementary School.

Like Madelyn, Julie got her first skating lessons as a birthday present when she was five. "And I've been skating ever since," she said.

Julie has been skating competitively. She's the captain of her synchronized figure skating team. She's competed for three years in the Skating Institute tournaments and has been to Anaheim, Calif., for one meet.

At 13, Max Pepple from Webster Groves is one of the older "sweepers." The 7th grader goes to Hixson Middle School.

Last July, he won a gold medal in a Games of America tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. His medal came in the basic graduate boys division. He also competed in mixed-pairs skating with Eliza Heerboth at the Spring Fling tournament in Fairview Heights, Ill.

Max said his best skating skill is crossover skating. He's now working hard to improve his jumping and spin moves.

He said he'd like to be a professional ice skater and then be a skating coach.

Julie credits her smile for getting one of her "sweeper" shifts when the senior women skaters compete. "I think I got that shift because I smiled at judge and she smiled back. I'm a smiley person," she said.

She wants to be a writer when she grows up. She's already written two books, "Twisted" and "The Dragonfly Lived." She said "Twisted" is "based on Cinderella with a twisted plot." Her other book "is a realistic fiction book about a girl named Dragonfly," she said.

Natalee Nowak-Roddy wants to be a "good ice skater" when she grows up. She said she's going to be looking for any tips she can find at the national championships.

She and her sister, Madelyn, take lessons at Brentwood once a week. Then, on Fridays and Sundays, they skate at the St. Louis Mills shopping center in north St. Louis County. That's where the St. Louis Blues hockey team practices.

Natalee said, "I don't like hockey. It's too boring."

Madelyn hasn't competed yet. But, she's working on complicated moves. Her best is the "illusion." That's a one-legged spin move and she can complete 16 revolutions.