Meet Ava: The Math-lete Who Found Her Place on the Ice
Updated: Sep 29
Ava Holly was the last of her sisters to start figure skating.
When coaches would ask if she wanted to skate, Ava had a ready answer.
“I’m a math-lete!”
Math was her thing. Numbers made sense. There was comfort in being careful, calculated and thoughtful. Skating, on the other hand, seemed much less predictable.
But just like her sisters, the call to the ice did not quit.
Eventually, Ava answered.
She started with a season of summer ice in 2023 at just 7 years old. That was all it took.
She has not looked back.
Today, Ava is still a math-lete. She is also a figure skater, a student, a competitor and so much more.
One of the most meaningful parts of Ava's skating journey has been the coaches she has encountered through Dream Detroit Skating Club. She has had the opportunity to learn from coaches with diverse educational backgrounds who genuinely light up when talking about learning.
They recognized something in Ava that was easy to see.
She did not have to choose.
She could love math and love athletics. She could be a student and a performer. She could be analytical and creative. She could be thoughtful and competitive.
Skating gave Ava another place to use the way her mind works while also challenging her to step outside of her comfort zone.
And she has grown.
Ava approaches skating much like she approaches everything else. She watches. She thinks. She analyzes. Then she works to understand how all the pieces fit together.
That thoughtful approach has helped her become a competitive skater, but perhaps more importantly, it has helped her see that there is more than one way to belong in figure skating.
A question we hear often is, “Is there an Olympic dream?”
For Ava, the answer is no.
Her dreams are different, and they are just as big.
Ava wants to become a pediatric surgeon and a figure skating coach.
She wants to care for children. She wants to teach. She wants to continue learning. And she wants to share the sport that has become such an important part of her own life.
There is something incredibly special about that vision.
Ava is learning that skating does not have to be the destination. It can be part of the journey.
It can teach discipline, patience, problem solving, confidence and perseverance. It can become a skill she carries with her throughout her life and eventually passes on to someone else.
That is part of what makes Dream Detroit Skating Club so meaningful.
We are not only creating competitive skaters. We are creating pathways.
Pathways for young people to discover a new skill, find something they love and see how that experience can add to who they are and who they are becoming.
For Ava, the little girl who once responded, “I'm a math-lete!” when asked if she wanted to skate has become exactly that.
A math-lete.
A figure skater.
A future pediatric surgeon.
A future coach.
And a young woman learning that she never has to be just one thing.
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