They've Only Just Begun

They're the reigning world bronze medallists in pairs skating.
Not to mention the highest-rated duo in their discipline at HomeSense Skate Canada International this weekend at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. So it might seem a little disconcerting to the average fan to see Canadians Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison sitting in third place after today's short program.
Mind you, with 60.14 points in the bank, they're a mere 0.52 out of second place, currently occupied by Americans Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker. Even the leaders, Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov of Russia (65.02), are still within hailing distance for this plucky Canuck duo.
No wonder, then, that Dube and Davison had a bit of a 'what, us worry?' attitude about them afterward. And let's face it, this is the first event of the season, not the last.
"Just come out and do a free," Davison, 22, of Cambridge, Ont., said when asked how they'll approach Saturday's free-skate final. "You can't change what happened today and you don't change your gameplan going into the free because of what happened in the short. We've just got to come out and attack, really."
Said Dube, 21, of Drummondville, Que.: "I felt a little bit shaky but that's something we'll work on tomorrow."
Understand, too, that they've been here before — and not all that long ago. You might recall the 2008 BMO Canadian championships back in January in Vancouver, when Dube and Davison blew their short program but rallied strongly in the free and almost snatched the crown away from short program winners Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.
The experience galvanized Dube and Davison for what turned out to be a run to their first appearance on the worlds podium two months later in Gothenburg, Sweden.
And let's face it, Dube and Davison have much bigger fish to fry, so to speak, in the months that lie ahead. We speak, most specifically, of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where the Canadians hope to stand on the highest step of them all.
So it wasn't cockiness talking when Davison said "we're not too worried about the other teams right now."
"Especially this year," he added. "It's a year to make ourselves better and get ourselves ready. You can never worry about what the other teams are doing because you do your best that you can do and if they're better than you, that's just the case. And if you end up being world champion, it's because you were your best."