I took my first steps on ice in San Jose when I was 19 months old, and I never left. The beauty of it is, I never needed to.

I was a 2-year-old racing around the rink; my mom — a skating coach herself — taught me the basics. The Bay Area was filled with such rich skating history and community that when it came time to add to the [coaching] team, we had the world at our feet right there in San Jose.
 
I started working with my coach David Glynn at 4 years old. He taught me textbook jump technique and took me to the Olympic Games 11 years later!

I grew up skating at Sharks Ice in San Jose, a wonderful facility full of great skaters and coaches. I started working with Olympic ice dance champions Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko at Sharks Ice when I was 6 years old, on choreography and skating skills respectively. The opportunity to have world-class coaches in my home ice rink was both inspiring and incredibly fortunate.

San Francisco Ballet soloist Maggie Ferla trained me in ballet, starting when I was 8. I had excellent guidance in the elegance of my sport with local expertise right there in my hometown.

The other ice rinks in the Bay Area had gifted skaters on the rise as well, providing friendly competition and exciting growth for all of us. I grew up training with Team USA ice dancers Anthony Ponomarenko and Elliana Pogrebinsky, and I competed locally with Olympians Karen Chen and Vincent Zhou in the Bay Area. It was so thrilling to represent as new talent from a place that had produced so many skating stars.

Since then, Alysa Liu has also become an Olympian hailing from the Bay — and the new talent continues to rise, with Team USA skaters Kate Wang, Mia Kalin and many more.

When I qualified for my first nationals at 11 years old in the novice level, I got to meet skating legends Kristi Yamaguchi, Peggy Fleming and Brian Boitano. I'd always been a huge fan of their skating, and was in awe when I was introduced, especially because they were my local role models. To know they were following my skating and offering advice was extremely special, motivating me to reach new heights in my effort to follow in their footsteps.

At 10 years old I began working with Christy Ness, who had coached Kristi to Olympic gold. Christy consulted my team every year. She checked my technique and gave us crucial advice. Having her as a resource for my team was invaluable.

When I was 14 years old, I started working with Rudy Galindo, another Bay Area skating star, known for his impeccable performance in winning the 1996 U.S. Championships in our hometown of San Jose. Rudy's creativity and passion for performing were contagious. He choreographed multiple competitive and exhibition programs for me throughout the next few years, and I was honored to have yet another Bay Area champion on my team expanding my repertoire.

My favorite program he made me was my 2016 "Moonlight Sonata" short program; he designed the most beautiful balletic transitions, elegantly timed to the music — it was transformative.

My skating rink's management team, Candy Goodson and Jon Gustafson, were extremely helpful with ice time in my international competitive years, which ultimately allowed me to remain in San Jose throughout my skating career. When I made the Olympic team at 15 years old, they made Team Polina shirts that were sold in the pro shop at Sharks Ice, hosted a fantastic send-off party for me and brilliantly organized watch parties for the San Jose skating community to cheer me on in Sochi.

My high school, Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, was also accommodating to my travel schedule for competing internationally, which was vital to my schooling experience. It, too, hosted a phenomenal send-off rally for me, complete with the whole school chanting my name and inspiring surprise speeches from Olympic champions Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Brandi Chastain — both alumnae of Mitty.

I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my community, feeling so blessed for the support from my peers and hometown. It was an experience my family and I will never forget. Later graduating Santa Clara University (also in my hometown) with a bachelor's degree in communication, I continued to draw upon the amazing connections I'd made in the community.'

I started a podcast, Bleav in Figure Skating, and interviewed many past and present skaters, and I even had the chance to interview another Bay Area great, Debi Thomas. It was fantastic to have that connection.

I'm an ambassador for Kristi's Always Dream Foundation, and it's always a pleasure participating in her various fundraising events every year. I also skate regularly with Brian in San Francisco now, alongside Jeremy Abbott and other Olympic skaters who pop in and join us.

It's unreal to be a part of the Olympic community, and even more remarkable to be a part of it in the Bay Area. While there are thousands of terrific towns across the country, San Jose was the pearl of my oyster. It gave me everything I needed while permitting me to grow up alongside my brothers and under the guidance of both my parents. The support my family gave me in person every day was an essential component to my success, and I'm forever thankful to have had that scenario be my reality.

I'm so grateful to be a part of the Bay Area's skating history, and I'll be proudly cheering on the young skaters who hail from here in the future.

Editor's note: Polina Edmunds earned the silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships in Boston, which qualified her for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. She placed ninth at those Games and eighth at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. Edmunds also claimed the silver medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships.