Keiffer Hubbell and sister Madison haven't always made graceful choreography together.  In fact, their young sibling rivalry was anything but peaceful.

"It was fun to torture my sister," says Keiffer.  "Especially when she was in her own world.  We'd go to the mall, and it was like it was her own personal ice arena."

Indeed, youngest child Madison was initially the only skater of the three Hubbell children, which also includes older brother Zachary. Madison wanted to skate from the first time she saw figure skaters performing on TV," says mom Susan Hubbell. 

After pestering her mother for skating lessons at the local (Lansing , Michigan) rink, Madison began pursuing her formal skating at age five.  "At that time, I found snakes and bugs to be a lot more interesting than she was," Keiffer says of his sister.  At the time, Keiffer's interests were somewhat introverted; a fascination with and study of small animals and insects continues to this day.  However, Keiffer also proceeded to dabble in a number of physical endeavors, most importantly, gymnastics.  Spending time at the Lansing Skating Club on occasion due to Madison's involvements, he would occasionally lace on a pair of blades, and even proceeded to take a few lessons - eventually entering some competitions himself.

"I really didn't pay too much attention to Keiffer," Madison says today.  "Especially when he failed the 'Dutch Waltz' the first time he was judged."  Indeed, the 'Dutch Waltz' is about the easiest fundamental in ice dancing.  "If you can't even pass that, then maybe ice dancing isn't your thing," Madison says. However, Keiffer continued to skate - even though he was about three years behind his younger sister.  "Everyone was very supportive of me," Keiffer says, "even though I was really just kind of doing it for fun at that point."

However, any male who can stand up on blades is going to watched closely by skaters and coaches.  While Madison had already begun to skate competitively with partners in addition to solo competition, Keiffer soon found that he was getting opportunities to do so as well - if not at Madison 's level.  Ironically, they both had partners who quit the endeavor within roughly the same timeframe (early 2001).  For Keiffer, it was a case of "oh, well."  For Madison, it was a serious blow.

"I felt very badly for her," Keiffer remembers.  "She had put so much time and effort into her ice dancing, and it had become more important to her than her solo skating."  In addition, Keiffer's high level of determination where his own skating was concerned gave the family options that they previously had not entertained.

"While Madison and Keiffer were on different levels," mom Susan Hubbell recalls, "we began to look at the positives in having them skate together."  It wasn't as natural as it seemed.  Beyond the disparity in skill levels, it was clearly asking a lot to have the brother and sister combination work successfully on the ice.  With the input of their parents, the siblings decided to give it a try.  "We asked them to give it the rest of the year," as father Bradley Hubbell says today.  "Keiffer, in particular, had to be convinced to take this step in commitment.  We told him that, at the end of the year, he could pack it in if he wanted."