Andrei Rogozine

Andrei starting his solo (davecskatingphoto.com/.../men/IMG_1197A.jpg)

Andrei Rogozine is my hero because he followed his dreams and told other people to do the same thing. Andrei was born and raised in Russia. He started skating when he was 6 years old inspired by Alexei Yagudin. He was trained by coach Inga Zusev. Andrei moved to Canada when he was 13 years old and started skating for Canada. He is now 16 years old and just recently won a 1st in the 2009 Junior Championships.

Andrei Rogozine was very young when he started skating. He started skating for Canada when his family decided to move to Richmond Hill, Ontario. Andrei was born in Moscow, Russia. He was born in 1993. Andrei practiced 23 hours a week in Richmond Hill. He has been to many shows over the years but the greatest one was in Prescott, Ontario.

I met Andrei when he came to Prescott for a local show. We were backstage waiting for the group ahead to finish. As we lined up to go on the ice, the butterflies in our stomach were worse than going on the tallest roller coaster in the world. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they called us on the ice. We did our routine and had lots of fun. Now, it was time for Andrei. I stood at the boards waiting impatiently. My mom was standing beside me. The music started and he amazed the crowd. Here it came. He was getting ready for the triple axle. Here it comes and……yah. He landed it perfect! But just as he was about to do another one, he hit a piece of ice and fell. My mom whispered “see, everybody falls”.

After we did our second routine, we went back to the change room and waited for the show to finish. As Andrei was coming off the ice, I asked him for his autograph. He said ok and asked me who it was for. I said Bria. So he wrote, "To Bria follow your dreams." And he then signed it.

After my experience with Andrei Rogozine I now know what I really want in life. I have always wanted to be a figure skater, but I soon drifted off. Now when I met Andrei I got back on track and realized how much skating really means to me in life.

By Bria O’hanlon