Kelsey Daniels, 11, of West Windsor, one of the top gymnasts in New Jersey, has now taken to the ice. A gymnast for eight years, she began gymnastic training when she was four years-old.##M:[more]##
“I skated as a child. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to skate again, and started with freestyle lessons,” says her mother, Gina. “I now skate three to five times a week, and I now skate better than I did when I was 12.” She skates at Ice Land, Princeton University, and Princeton Sports Center.
Kelsey’s older sisters, Kathryn and Kristina, took ice skating lessons when Gina was pregnant with Kelsey. “I recently asked Kelsey if she wanted to come skating with me. Her first time on ice was less than six months ago,” says Gina. “I’ve seen dancers get on ice and they can skate and spin right away. Although I knew that Kelsey could spin in gymnastics I was amazed that she was spinning at her first lesson.”
Kelsey recently took second place at her first competition where she was representing Glissad Academy at Ice Land. “Kelsey’s ability to perform spins, due to her gymnastic training, is quite unusual given her newness to the sport,” says her mother. “For now she’s happy to ice skate for fun and continues to be a dedicated gymnast training Level 9 at Arena.”
In April Kelsey competed in the USAG State Championships and helped lead Arena Level 8 team to a first place win. She took second place overall in her age category. Her score of 37.65 included second place on the bars, second on beam, fifth on floor, and sixth on vault. Her performance won her a spot to represent the New Jersey in the regional championship in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May. The New Jersey team took third place.
Born in West Windsor, Kelsey, 11, is in sixth grade at Grover Middle School where she is an almost straight A student. She practices gymnastics four evenings a week and most of the day on Saturday.
One of her sisters, Kathryn, 17, a graduate of High School South, Class of 2006, is a student at Salisbury College in Maryland. Her other sister, Kristina, 20, is a student at Fashion Institute of Technology and works at Blue Point Grille in Princeton. She is a graduate of High School South, Class of 2003.
Her mother, Gina, was raised on Long Island, New York. She has an MBA from Rensallaer Technology and is a real estate agent with REMAX Greater Princeton (in Plainsboro). Her father, Michael Daniels, raised in Yonkers, New York, is a pharmaceutical manager with CVT in Palo Alto, California. The family has lived in West Windsor for 19 years.
