Liam Kapeikis moved from Wenatchee to Blaine in 2019 with his family to follow his dream of being a top figure skater in the country. Since moving across the state, Liam has trained at the Connaught Skating Club in Richmond, British Columbia.
“I was first on the ice at one-and-a-half years old,” Liam said. “I really wanted to play hockey but I started to notice there were some opportunities to do high-level competition and that intrigued me.”
The 5-foot-9 skater did not grow to his current height until recently. Therefore, his parents and him agreed he would not be tall or big enough to play hockey. Liam began focusing on figure skating at the age of 7 since he was considered too short and small to play hockey. He began training everyday except Sundays.
Liam starts with a 30-minute warmup off the ice. Afterward, he trains on the ice for about an hour, takes a 30-minute break, gets back on the ice for an hour and finishes with a cool-down stretch for nearly 30 minutes.
“There are a lot of opportunities in figure skating for boys since there are not as many,” Liam’s mother Louise Kapeikis said. “He was fortunate there were a couple of other boys in the club when we lived in Wenatchee.”
Louise and her husband, Paul Kapeikis, were figure skaters who met while on the Disney On Ice tour. Liam’s sisters also skated.
“Figure skating kept our family together and gave us a family activity,” Louise said. “My husband and I were Liam’s primary coaches until he was 15. At 15, we thought it would be better to take a step back as it was more important to be parents than coaches.”
Liam, who is 20, started competing on the youth circuit in 2017. In his first year, he won the Northwest Pacific Regionals, the Pacific Coast Sectionals and placed fourth in the U.S. Juvenile Championships.
In early 2019, Liam and Louise first moved outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, with Louise’s mother so he could be in a more competitive environment than Wenatchee’s recreational facility. His primary coach is Keegan Murphy, the director of skating programs for Connaught.
“It is great to have Louise,” Murphy said. “There is a lot less unknown than other situations since the family knows skating. I was able to see the potential he had when he was younger and it has just been a lot of hard work to where he is now.”
Liam placed fifth in the U.S. Novice Championships and 12th in the Junior Grand Prix in Latvia in 2019. When the pandemic arrived, the border shut down and competitions went virtual. During that time, Liam was sleeping on his grandmother’s extra bed in the garage for two years.
“All of that made training difficult and I struggled with motivation and nerves through that time,” Liam said. “But, I am a big person on habits and had to put myself through this so I can skate.”
When in-person skating competitions returned a couple of years later, Liam struggled to find his rhythm. In 2021, Liam had his worst finish at that point of his career, placing ninth in the U.S. Junior Championships. Liam began questioning whether to quit or train 10 times harder.
Liam chose to remain in the sport and the hard work paid off when he placed seventh in the U.S. Junior Championships and eighth in the World Junior Championships in 2022.
“It was almost unexpected when it happened,” Liam said. “The first half of the season was rough and I wasn’t sure what would happen next. U.S. Figure Skating gave me opportunities and sent me to the Grand Prix.”
When Liam jumped into the senior division toward the end of 2022, he began competing alongside Olympians, including three-time world champion Nathan Chen.
“My favorite time skating is during practice sessions with the best in the world,” Liam said. “I felt like I was in my element and this is where I want to be.”
Liam placed seventh in Skate America, which is one of the Grand Prix events of international figure skating, and he placed sixth in the U.S. Championships in 2023.
“Liam is very athletic and his ability to jump is really strong,” Louise said. “He is ranked top five in Team USA figure skating. He is well-rounded with great skating skills and knows how to connect with an audience.”
After placing in several competitions, Liam has a couple more goals before finishing his figure skating career. Liam hopes to score a personal best by reaching a total of 230 points in the two-program competition. His PB is 223 points.
“If he competes the way he trains, those goals are easily obtainable,” Murphy said. “There is a lot of psychology when it comes to a competition this size. It comes down to managing nerves, anxiety and enjoying the performance.”
The U.S. Championships will take place from Jan. 20–26 in Wichita, Kansas.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
