{"id":29749,"date":"2022-11-30T00:13:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T05:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=29749"},"modified":"2022-11-30T12:56:44","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T17:56:44","slug":"shadid-siblings-return-to-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/shadid-siblings-return-to-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Shadid Siblings return to competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman<\/em><\/p>\n

Junior ice dancers, Juliette Shadid (18) and Lucas Shadid (20) recently qualified for the 2023 U.S. National Championships. The brother-sister team has competed together for over a decade. However, since the pandemic, they have also struggled with injuries and illnesses that have kept them off the competitive ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Covid, they didn\u2019t see other teams. Also, they\u2019ve not shared their story. They kind of disappeared for a while. No one knew what happened to them. Because we\u2019re on the West Coast, we\u2019re not in the mix all the time. So it was like, WOW! Did you take a three year vacation,\u201d Coach Christine Fowler-Binder said during an IDC interview at the Ice Dance Final in Norwood, MA.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>Many of the skaters here assumed we had quit,\u201d Lucas added.<\/p>\n

Instead, Juliette and Lucas hit a three-year road block that frustrated them at every turn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"15Shadid3985\"The siblings\u2019 skating journey began twelve years ago after Juliette watched the 2010 Olympic Winter Games televised from Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN. Then a few months later on career day her friend Olivia Oppegard\u2019s mom, who is Michelle Kwan\u2019s sister and a skating coach, came to talk to their class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe brought one of Michelle\u2019s dresses and let all the kids touch it. I knew immediately I had to skate,\u201dJuliette said.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI went home and begged and pleaded for lessons, and my mom gave in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up in the same \u201cLearn To Skate\u201d classes,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cI had to go with them to the rink anyway, so my mom thought it was better for me to be on the ice instead of playing video games in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would stand in the corner during the classes trying to figure out how to spin together,\u201d Juliette said. \u201cA coach suggested we could skate as a team, so together we started learning basic stroking.\u201d<\/p>\n

A neighbor who had a daughter in figure skating advised them to go into ice dance.<\/p>\n

Two years later the juveniles qualified for the 2015 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, NC, where they won the bronze medal. The next season on the intermediate level they finished ninth in St. Paul, MN at the 2016 Championships.<\/p>\n

Kimberly Shadid, the dancers\u2019 mother was born in Canada and has duel citizenship, so the duo opted to move north and train in Calgary, Alberta as a Novice team. After summer competitions in 2018, they qualified and skated at the 2019 Canadian Nationals in St. John, NB. and placed 12th. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, they returned home to Southern California and began skating in Irvine at the brand new Great Park Ice complex. At novice, they competed at several events before qualifying for the inaugural 2019 Ice Dance Final in Hyannis, MA, where they won the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Beginning with the 2019-2020 qualifying season, a National High-Performance Development Camp replaced competition at the US Championships for the juvenile, intermediate and novice athletes. The top nine ice dance teams were invited to participate. The event was held the 2-3 days following Nationals in Charlotte, NC.<\/p>\n

Juliette and Lucas thought the The Camp was fantastic and were honored to get their Team Jackets.<\/p>\n

The team had high hopes for 2020 and a move up to Juniors where there would be more opportunities to compete internationally. In preparation, the home-schooled siblings trained daily for three hours.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, by March and April, Covid-19 had begun raising havoc with the skating community. Rinks were closed, competitions were cancelled while virtual and zoom classes became the norm.<\/p>\n

The Shadids fortunately lived together and could train off ice with each other. They also had a small gym set up in the family garage.\u00a0 <\/span>During the summer, Lucas suffered a pinched nerve in his back. Juliette skated alone to maintain her solo skills and also worked out a lot with a trainer at the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to develop back pain that felt muscular and pushed through it until after Christmas,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn January, I went to the Doctor to get an x-ray because I\u2019d been in therapy for months, and it wasn\u2019t getting better. I had two fractures in my L5 Vertebrae.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first doctor advised me to be off-ice for one month to let it heal. It didn\u2019t get better, so I pushed through for another month, before I went to a second doctor. He told me to take another two months off, which I did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfterwards it still wasn\u2019t any better, so I just kept pushing and pushing until we finally went to a third doctor who said I needed to take off at least three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was summer, so I could go to the beach with friends, but no swimming. I just had to sit on the sand. At home I had to sit in a chair – no running – absolutely nothing. I cried a lot.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so mentally tough not being an athlete, let alone not being physically active at all,\u201d she added. \u201cThe doctor told me that if this didn\u2019t work, I was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother added, \u201cHe said she might never skate again and would have to find another sport or something else. He was quite blunt. I remember she listened to a lot of sad music that summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly didn\u2019t think it would work, but it did, said Juliette. \u201cI thought I would be quitting. Lucas moved on and skated with someone else for a little while, but he didn\u2019t compete.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cRafaella Koncius didn\u2019t have a partner, so we skated together for a while,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cShe wanted to compete, but I wasn\u2019t sure if Juliette was coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want him to wait. I felt I was holding everyone back. I didn\u2019t know if I could come back. I cried a lot. It was like the summer of unknown certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January of 2022, after starting physical therapy, Juliette tentatively returned to the ice with a back brace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had this whole plan that we worked out with milestones that we had to hit before our first competition,\u201d said Juliette. \u201cThe whole plan was completely wiped away because I got a brutal case of Mononucleosis, and I was out for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally I got rid of the Mono, and we were going to our first summer competition in June at Chesapeake, and I felt sick again a week before we were set to leave, but It was just a regular cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually did compete, but didn\u2019t do well. We were not prepared for our first competition. We had done only three run-throughs before we went. We did it for ourselves. It was rough. Our confidence was shaken very badly. Ever since the Mono, I get run-down easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August, they competed at the Silicon Valley Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not our best competition,\u201d said Lucas.<\/p>\n

Four months later at the Ice Dance Final, Coach Fowler-Binder commented after their Rhythm Dance. \u201cThis was their first sectional in three years. That is amazing, so we are very happy with the skate today. Tentative was the way they skated, but who wouldn\u2019t be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Shadid shared their thoughts on the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>We\u2019re proud of ourselves,\u201d <\/b>Juliette said. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way for us. We\u2019re ready to do the Free Dance.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was much improved. I\u2019m happy with it,\u201d Lucas added. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel that tired – not as tired as I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRelieved,\u201d Kimberly Shadid said. \u201cI tried to not get nervous, but WOW! My legs were jumping while they were skating. I just wanted them to have a clean skate, something they could build on and have confidence about. That was exactly what you needed to do today.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And we did it,\u201d Juliette chimed in.<\/p>\n

Coach Fowler-Binder had the final words. \u201cI was very proud. It\u2019s been a long road coming back and just for them to go out and skate the way they did, confidently, calmly. It was great. Tomorrow will be icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman Junior ice dancers, Juliette Shadid (18) and Lucas Shadid (20) recently qualified for the 2023 U.S. National Championships. The brother-sister team has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n

by Anne Calder<\/em><\/p>\n

Junior ice dancers, Juliette Shadid (18) and Lucas Shadid (20) recently qualified for the 2023 U.S. National Championships. The brother-sister team has competed together for over a decade. However, since the pandemic, they have also struggled with injuries and illnesses that have kept them off the competitive ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Covid, they didn\u2019t see other teams. Also, they\u2019ve not shared their story. They kind of disappeared for a while. No one knew what happened to them. Because we\u2019re on the West Coast, we\u2019re not in the mix all the time. So it was like, WOW! Did you take a three year vacation,\u201d Coach Christine Fowler-Binder said during an IDC interview at the Ice Dance Final in Norwood, MA.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>Many of the skaters here assumed we had quit,\u201d Lucas added.<\/p>\n

Instead, Juliette and Lucas hit a three-year road block that frustrated them at every turn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"15Shadid3985\"The siblings\u2019 skating journey began twelve years ago after Juliette watched the 2010 Olympic Winter Games televised from Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN. Then a few months later on career day her friend Olivia Oppegard\u2019s mom, who is Michelle Kwan\u2019s sister and a skating coach, came to talk to their class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe brought one of Michelle\u2019s dresses and let all the kids touch it. I knew immediately I had to skate,\u201dJuliette said.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI went home and begged and pleaded for lessons, and my mom gave in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up in the same \u201cLearn To Skate\u201d classes,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cI had to go with them to the rink anyway, so my mom thought it was better for me to be on the ice instead of playing video games in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would stand in the corner during the classes trying to figure out how to spin together,\u201d Juliette said. \u201cA coach suggested we could skate as a team, so together we started learning basic stroking.\u201d<\/p>\n

A neighbor who had a daughter in figure skating advised them to go into ice dance.<\/p>\n

Two years later the juveniles qualified for the 2015 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, NC, where they won the bronze medal. The next season on the intermediate level they finished ninth in St. Paul, MN at the 2016 Championships.<\/p>\n

Kimberly Shadid, the dancers\u2019 mother was born in Canada and has duel citizenship, so the duo opted to move north and train in Calgary, Alberta as a Novice team. After summer competitions in 2018, they qualified and skated at the 2019 Canadian Nationals in St. John, NB. and placed 12th. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Juliette and Lucas thought the The Camp was fantastic and were honored to get their Team Jackets.<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, they returned home to Southern California and began skating in Irvine at the brand new Great Park Ice complex. At novice, they competed at several events before qualifying for the inaugural 2019 Ice Dance Final in Hyannis, MA, where they won the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

The team had high hopes for 2020 and a move up to Juniors where there would be more opportunities to compete internationally. In preparation, the home-schooled siblings trained daily for three hours.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, by March and April, Covid-19 had begun raising havoc with the skating community. Rinks were closed, competitions were cancelled while virtual and zoom classes became the norm.<\/p>\n

The Shadids fortunately lived together and could train off ice with each other. They also had a small gym set up in the family garage.\u00a0 <\/span>During the summer, Lucas suffered a pinched nerve in his back. Juliette skated alone to maintain her solo skills and also worked out a lot with a trainer at the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to develop back pain that felt muscular and pushed through it until after Christmas,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn January, I went to the Doctor to get an x-ray because I\u2019d been in therapy for months, and it wasn\u2019t getting better. I had two fractures in my L5 Vertebrae.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first doctor advised me to be off-ice for one month to let it heal. It didn\u2019t get better, so I pushed through for another month, before I went to a second doctor. He told me to take another two months off, which I did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfterwards it still wasn\u2019t any better, so I just kept pushing and pushing until we finally went to a third doctor who said I needed to take off at least three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was summer, so I could go to the beach with friends, but no swimming. I just had to sit on the sand. At home I had to sit in a chair - no running - absolutely nothing. I cried a lot.\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so mentally tough not being an athlete, let alone not being physically active at all,\u201d she added. \u201cThe doctor told me that if this didn\u2019t work, I was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother added, \u201cHe said she might never skate again and would have to find another sport or something else. He was quite blunt. I remember she listened to a lot of sad music that summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly didn\u2019t think it would work, but it did, said Juliette. \u201cI thought I would be quitting. Lucas moved on and skated with someone else for a little while, but he didn\u2019t compete.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRafaella Koncius didn\u2019t have a partner, so we skated together for a while,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cShe wanted to compete, but I wasn\u2019t sure if Juliette was coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want him to wait. I felt I was holding everyone back. I didn\u2019t know if I could come back. I cried a lot. It was like the summer of unknown certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January of 2022, after starting physical therapy, Juliette tentatively returned to the ice with a back brace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had this whole plan that we worked out with milestones that we had to hit before our first competition,\u201d said Juliette. \u201cThe whole plan was completely wiped away because I got a brutal case of Mononucleosis, and I was out for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally I got rid of the Mono, and we were going to our first summer competition in June at Chesapeake, and I felt sick again a week before we were set to leave, but It was just a regular cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually did compete, but didn\u2019t do well. We were not prepared for our first competition. We had done only three run-throughs before we went. We did it for ourselves. It was rough. Our confidence was shaken very badly. Ever since the Mono, I get run-down easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August, they competed at the Silicon Valley Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not our best competition,\u201d said Lucas.<\/p>\n

Four months later at the Ice Dance Final, Coach Fowler-Binder commented after their Rhythm Dance. \u201cThis was their first sectional in three years. That is amazing, so we are very happy with the skate today. Tentative was the way they skated, but who wouldn\u2019t be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Shadid shared their thoughts on the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>We\u2019re proud of ourselves,\u201d <\/b>Juliette said. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way for us. We\u2019re ready to do the Free Dance.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was much improved. I\u2019m happy with it,\u201d Lucas added. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel that tired - not as tired as I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRelieved,\u201d Kimberly Shadid said. \u201cI tried to not get nervous, but WOW! My legs were jumping while they were skating. I just wanted them to have a clean skate, something they could build on and have confidence about. That was exactly what you needed to do today.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And we did it,\u201d Juliette chimed in.<\/p>\n

Coach Fowler-Binder had the final words. \u201cI was very proud. It\u2019s been a long road coming back and just for them to go out and skate the way they did, confidently, calmly. It was great. Tomorrow will be icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"1280","_gspb_post_css":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-interviews","category-featured"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=254%2C150&ssl=1",254,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=300%2C177&ssl=1",300,177,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=768%2C454&ssl=1",768,454,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=400%2C284&ssl=1",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=510%2C382&ssl=1",510,382,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=400%2C516&ssl=1",400,516,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Shadid-Shadid-0566.jpg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1",45,45,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Team IDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/author\/idcadmin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman Junior ice dancers, Juliette Shadid (18) and Lucas Shadid (20) recently qualified for the 2023 U.S. National Championships. The brother-sister team has […]","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7GOSM-7JP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29749"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29760,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29749\/revisions\/29760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}