By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Michelle Deych and Ryan Hu are getting ready for the 2024 U.S. Prevagan Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 22-28.
Deych, a Clarkston resident and a sophomore in Clarkston Community Schools’ Virtual Program, and Hu qualified in mid-November.
“It’s really cool,” Deych said about qualifying, noting the top five teams get to go. “We haven’t been skating together for long and we achieved all this – it’s really great.”
“It’s really exciting,” Hu added. “I’ve never really done any like a national type of event.. This year was my first sectionals actually so it’s really amazing to be able to go to nationals as well.”
Deych and Hu will compete in the Novice Ice Dance level, which the team described as being at the middle level.
“We are the third highest level,” Hu said. “We are at the lowest level that gets to go to nationals.”
They have two dances they will do which are like short programs at a minute and 40 seconds in time. The third dance is longer in the length of three minutes.
“There are two dances that everyone has to do,” Deych said. “Then, the free dance is one that we completely make up and choose their own music.”
They shared their head coach, who is also an Olympic coach, Igor Shpilband makes up the steps based on their abilities as they practice at Novi Ice Arena.
“It’s a long process,” Deych shared. “Remembering the steps and getting them to work with the music and making the connection do the steps. It’s a lot of training, a lot of hours on ice and a lot of stamina is involved.”
She added it’s been great to train with their coaches.
“It’s really cool to train with Shpilband,” Deych. “Just being in the atmosphere in general with all the other teams and the coaches. It’s nice. Not everyone gets to experience, but we get to.”
Deych began skating when she was four-years-old starting with free styling like jumping.
“Later on, I wanted to do dance and I had my first partner,” she said. “I got deep into it.”
Hu began skating during third grade and it became a way for his dad and him to bond during the week.
“From there, it spiraled into private lessons,” he said.
Deych had parted ways with her past partner and found Hu through one of the coaches she and her family had contacted.
“We tried out in Pennsylvania and then our partnership was final,” she said. “I lived there for about four months. Then, we just decided to come here to skate because I wanted to be with family, and he liked the coach.”
The duo practice from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., which makes going to school for in-person sessions difficult. Each looked at different programs to suit their needs. Then, Deych remembered CCS had a virtual program.
“It’s really nice,” she shared. “It’s easy to work with because of the flexible schedule, and it’s really cool that I even got to experience this. It worked out really well.”
Deych and Hu’s goals right now are to win and international assignments.
“That’s always a goal,” Hu smiled. “The next one we are hoping to get into internationals. Hopefully next year when we move up to junior level, we will also be able to place well.”

  figure skating