Just like any other pair of siblings, Keiffer and Madison Hubbell would fight and pick on each other growing up.

Keiffer would purposefully disrupt his younger sister's concentration, and Madison would respond with a swift punch to the arm.

One key difference in these everyday brother-sister squabbles was they were sometimes done in a large public forum in front of complete strangers, being that they were also ice dancing partners.

Older and a bit more mature, the Sylvania residents have been skating together for six seasons now, and the dividends of the filial bond are beginning to pay off. The Hubbells won their first U.S. junior ice dance title on Jan. 25 at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul.

Next on their agenda is a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, Feb. 25-March 2 for the World Junior Championships, where they finished sixth last year.

"There was definitely more bickering when we were younger," 16-year-old Madison Hubbell said, laughing.

The brother-sister tandem has trained at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club for the last nine years, six days a week, eight hours a days working with coaches Iouri Tchesnitchenko and Iaroslava Netchaeva.

"When we started, I think we knew our coaches were serious and cared about everything that we were doing, so we took it seriously," 19-year-old Keiffer said.

"But at the same time, we had no expectations. We definitely took it step by step, and I guess it's exciting that we've gotten as far as we've gotten."

Since their training has become the equivalent of a full-time job, everything else is secondary to skating.

Madison is home-schooled, taking online classes to complete her high school degree. Keiffer is working toward a degree in biology at Owens Community College in hopes of one day becoming a herpetologist, but because of the team's rigorous practice schedule, he is only able to take one or two classes per semester.

"It's relentless," said the Hubbells' mother, Susan. "They train year round, and there's really no time off. Other than they're on-ice practice, they have appointments for physical therapy and ballet and ballroom dancing to maintain their bodies. It's just really a very single-minded path. It's kind of absorbing."

While the Hubbells lead a much different way of life than most other teenagers, they wouldn't trade it for anything.

"They have a lot of friends all over," Susan Hubbell said. "It's just a different lifestyle that has given them a lot of privileges and great experiences. They love it."

While figure skating hasn't always consumed her brother's life, Madison Hubbell has been talking about the sports ever since she was able to talk.

"Finally when she was about 5 years old, she pestered me nonstop, so I told her we'd go to the rink. I didn't think kids this little skated, but I was wrong."

Susan, and her husband, Brad, have been unable to get their daughter off the ice since. Not to mention even when she was off the ice, Madison's mind was still consumed with figure skating.

After doing gymnastics as a youngster, Keiffer decided to take up figure skating when he was 9 years old. Then, when Madison's partner dropped her in 2001, Keiffer stepped in to be her replacement, even though there was a sharp contrast in the siblings' experience and abilities.

Their parents decided to give them one season together to see how they did, and after showing signs of development, the pair took first place in the juvenile level at the U.S. Junior Skating Championships during the 2002-03 season.

The next step is always the biggest step, and the upcoming world championships should provide the Hubbells with a good barometer for what direction they will take.

Whether that entails climbing to the senior ice dancing ranks - the highest level of competition in figure skating - remains to be seen.

This season has been a tough one for the siblings. They felt coming in as though this would be their final year in juniors, but after Keiffer sustained a hip injury at the very beginning of the season, the pair was forced to sit out every competition except one prior to nationals.

The one event they entered, however, turned into a first-place finish at the Midwest Sectional in Detroit.

"We got through it just well enough to make it here [to nationals]," Madison Hubbell said. "We were able to pull though, and I'm definitely proud of him for that."

A solid showing in Bulgaria could erase all the bad memories for the Hubbells, though, and vault them to the next stage in their burgeoning careers.

Contact Zach Silka at: zsilka@theblade.com.

First Published February 19, 2008, 4:03 p.m.