After watching dozens of youth sports dramas I’ve become a bit jaded but I have to admit that this is one of the better ones out there. It’s not without its flaws, which I’ll talk about later, but overall it’s a pretty good drama. It reminds me a lot of Skate Into Love and Falling Into Your Smile, two of the best out there in my opinion. The romance is done well, it has some great comedy, the characters are well fleshed out, it’s interesting, and there’s lots of character growth.

The female lead is confident, talented, outgoing, and very determined to reach her goals of becoming a world class speed skater. I liked that she was a strong confident person and not one of those weak females that always needs saving. And she has the sweetest cutest father that’s always got her back. Their interactions were pure gold. Her mom isn’t too great at first but her character growth was a joy to watch.

The male lead is a really good guy that’s nice to everyone and very charming. Even when he’s badly injured by someone else’s negligence he never gets angry or blames them. He’s just an overall really sweet person. I liked that even though he’s really laidback and easygoing he always drew the line with any females that got interested in him romantically. And once he’s in a relationship with the female lead, he communicates well and is a really good loyal boyfriend that lets everyone know he’s only interested in her. He becomes such a little puppy around her and it’s so cute. His relationship with his mom is a big focal point of the drama that I really liked. There’s lots of character growth in their relationship and I really enjoyed it.

The romance was very well balanced and didn’t overwhelm the drama nor was it just a side note either. I liked that once the leads got together there wasn’t a bunch of silly misunderstandings, there were no evil second leads scheming against them, there were no breakups, no noble idiocy and no long separations. They had a very healthy relationship, it had its ups and downs but it was more realistic and endearing than most. It’s not a spicy drama with bedroom scenes or anything like that. It’s more of a youthful romance with lots of hugs, handholding, and sweet kisses. You get more of a light sweet fluffy feel from their romance.

So why did I give it an 8 instead of a 10? For two reasons, the storyline and the side romance of the main leads best friends. The storyline had every typical cliche you would expect to see in a youth sports drama. And it was so predictable that I correctly guessed the outcome of every major event or dramatic storyline twist before it happened. So I took off one full point for this reason. The other reason is the secondary romance. First off they put a very average looking girl in the role of the female leads supposedly very pretty bff. Then they took one of the hottest guys in the drama and put him in the role of the not so attractive guy friend that she initially overlooks for someone better looking. But the guy she overlooks him for isn’t anywhere near as hot as he is. And she’s no raving beauty (no insult intended, just being honest.) So just based on that, their storyline isn’t too believable. Then she treats him really badly throughout most of the drama. And when they finally get together she hides it like she’s ashamed of him. The poor guy just can’t catch a break. I really disliked the whole secondary romance and they spent a lot of time on it, especially in the first half of the drama. So I took another point off for this reason. They cast the wrong people to play the characters and then spent way too much time on a couple with no chemistry and an awful storyline.

That being said, I still really liked the drama. Even though the storyline was very predictable, the acting was phenomenal. The characters were very relatable and just about everyone had a lot of character growth. It has the underlying messages that you’d expect of a youth sports drama like “never give up your dreams” and “if you believe in yourself enough you can do anything.” But it also taught some valuable lessons that were not cliche or expected. It teaches us to not judge others too harshly. Sometimes we are quick to blame others because we can’t accept our own shortcomings. So when the truth finally comes out we have to face the harsh reality of our own failings. So it’s best to not be too judgmental or quick to blame.

In conclusion, it’s very cliche but the superb acting, likable characters, sweet romance, and great comedy elevate this drama above the rest. My advice would be to use the fast forward button liberally when watching the secondary romance and you’ll like it even better. But even with its flaws it’s still a very sweet touching drama that you’ll enjoy watching. I definitely recommend it.