She's described as shy and in need of a real confidence boost.

But you wouldn't know it once 15-year-old Kaighen Munro of the Whitehorse Figure Skating Club hits the ice.

'She doesn't like people to know how good she is,' said coach Charlene Taylor, who has been working with Munro for the past two years. 'And I don't think she realizes how good she is.

'She's totally different when she's in her program. Her emotional state really comes out in her skating.'

In fact, when Munro took her pre-novice requirements test last weekend, the national judge was somewhat blown away.

'She (the judge) told me her (Munro's) presentation is so far superior for her level, she's actually more of a junior ladies skater as far as her presentation goes,' said Taylor.

'Her presentation is superior to anyone in northern B.C. and the Yukon. No one can touch her.'

Munro has been skating since the age of four. She passed her pre-novice test, which means she will now be a competitve level skater as opposed to Star Skate.

She was too old for the juvenile category this year, so Taylor put her in senior bronze under Star Skate until she had the right tricks down to move up.

This weekend, Munro will compete in senior bronze at the Pacific Skate sectional competition in Surrey, B.C., which will be used for placement next year.

'Her first compeition in pre-novice will be the VISI Vancouver Island Skate International (in Parksville, B.C., in April),' explained Taylor. 'They'll (skating officials) be using that, the B.C. Summer Skate and this Pacific Skate for the seeding in competitions next year.'

'This is quite an accomplishment for me,' said Munro, who has never been to a Pacific Skate. 'I just want to do well, have fun and meet up with some of my friends again.'

Munro hopes to finish in the top three or five at the competition, which features 17 skaters in the senior bronze category.

'If she has a good skate, skates it clean, she could take the whole thing,' said Taylor, who believes Munro should easily be in the top five.

'But this program is very unforgiving. She has no room for error. She has to be in top form in order to get through it and sit in the top.

'That makes it hard. There's a lot of pressure on her because she knows she can't mess up.'

For most coaches and athletes, an unforgiving program can be a nightmare. But Taylor is confident in the skater she calls 'a coach's dream'.

'She's a skater that any coach would love to have,' she said. 'When I first saw her, I looked at this kid and said, Wow! Where did she come from?'

'She's one of those skaters that as soon as she's on the ice, you find yourself watching her. There's something about her presence that just draws you to her.'

Taylor also praised Munro's work ethic.

'She's very organized. When she comes out on the ice, she knows exactly what she's going to do for the day, and how she's going to set it up.'

Despite the natural talent and hard work, Taylor said coaching Munro hasn't always been easy. Last year was especially tough, since Munro switched coaches.

'She was always in the top five or 10 in competitions,' Taylor began. 'But then she went through a couple of years where she was in a real slump. Now it's starting to come back. Her confidence level is a lot higher.'

Munro is quick to agree.

'My confidence level towards skating,' she stated, when asked what has improved the past year. 'Now I know I'm capable of much more than I thought I was.'

'A lot of it is consistency,' added Taylor, who said Munro's technical program has also become much stronger. 'We've worked hard on her jumps.'

The double loop is Munro's 'nemisis', but Taylor said they've been working on it, and it may even be added to the program this weekend.

Munro will also represent the Yukon at the Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Alta., in February. And if her passion and talent for the sport of figure skating are any indication, the competitions won't stop there.

'I love the sport,' said Munro. 'I find it fun. And I don't know what I would do without skating.'

'She loves it too much to quit anytime soon,' agreed Taylor. 'Figure skating becomes part of your life, especially when you start at such a young age. She'll go up to senior ladies for sure. And you know, the way she's going, she could go to Canadians very easily and possible Divisonals as well.

'We've got to work on the triples. But I can see her going as far as she wants to go.'

'She's got total support from her mom and her brother. They're behind her 100 per cent.'