Saint Joseph's University athletes compete in a variety of sports, but few are involved in a sport as cool as sophomore Baxter Burbank’s - competitive ice dancing.

Burbank, a native of Fairbanks, Alaska, took up the sport in the sixth grade after being dragged to his younger sister’s early morning practices before school.

“After a year of going to the rink at 6 a.m. in the morning and having to just sit there until we left for school, I decided to give it a try and throw some skates on,” he said.

He's been skating ever since.

In August, Burbank and his partner Katherine Zeigler, a freshman at Bryn Mawr College, competed in the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, which doubled as the national collegiate championships. Performing to Joe Cocker’s “I Put a Spell on You” in the free dance category and “Flamenco” in the compulsory portion of the event, the pair finished the competition as collegiate dance champions.

Right now, the duo's focus is on the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which are currently underway in Spokane, Wash. But the ultimate goal is clear for Burbank: “My goal is to continue skating for another five years and push for the 2014 Olympics.”

It’s an attainable goal for Burbank due to his strong work ethic and the expert guidance of his coach, Robbie Kaine, who Burbank says is “one of the best.”

“He’s been coaching for about 30 years and he’s coached many Olympians and national champions,” Burbank said.

To become Kaine’s next champion, Burbank follows an intense training regimen that has him lacing up his skates six days a week.

“We’re on the ice about 20 hours a week and we do individual off-ice training for about five hours,” he said.

The tri-state area’s reputation as a hub for competitive skating was one of the factors that led him to Hawk Hill, Burbank said. And after his skating career, the 21-year-old management major in the Erivan K. Haub School of Business hopes to use his degree to get startup companies off the ground, and he already has an idea for his first venture.

“My biggest hobby is home brewing so sometime down the road I’d like to own a brewpub or brewery,” he said.

For now, though, he's putting that dream on ice to chase another that will hopefully land him in Sochi, Russia for the 2014 games.

For a schedule of televised coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this week in Spokane, Wash., visit http://www.usfsa.org/, hover over “Events” and click on “TV Schedule.”

--Tom Clark ‘10