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THE VARSITY:
Biographies, links, news and other info about active skaters who are not members of the current Senior National Team, but have represented the USA on the world stage (this category also includes current and past members of the Junior National Team)
If you have news about skaters that would be of interest, please Contact US or post the info on the skater's thread at Our Forum.
Click on the skater's name in the list below for more information.
EDDY ALVAREZ
Favorite Quote: "Fall 7 Times, Get Up 8." - Bruce Lee
Eddy did the Rocker-U Interv-U on July 2, 2009, and the following profile is based on that interview and other media sources:
PERSONAL STATS:
DOB: January 30, 1990
Birthplace: Miami, FL
Current Training Location: Salt Lake City, UT with coach Jae Su Chun.
Favorite Distance to Skate: 1500M
Boots & Blades: Marchese Boots, Maple Gold Duro Blades
DID YOU KNOW?:
Eddy was invited to move to SLC to train with the National team after having a breakout year in Southern California with coach Wilma Boomstra. He has also trained in Miami FL.
Not long ago, long-track Olympian Jennifer Rodriguez, also from Miami, attended a speedskating practice run by Eddy. She credits that experience with giving her the desire to come out of retirement and try for another Olympics!
Eddy put a full-ride college baseball scholarship on hold to concentrate on his short track Olympic goals.
The ROCKER-U INTERV-U:
Part 1: Standard Questions
How did you get started in the sport?
I was an inline skater and this man called Harold Davis told me about it and I tried it for the first time at the age of 9.
What are the highlights of your skating career so far?
Multiple-time Age Group National Champion for inline, short track and long track; World Team member for short track and inline, and being a gold medalist on the short track Junior World relay team.
What's the worst skating injury you've ever had?
I broke my ankle - twice - the exact same way.
Where is your favorite place to compete?
Wausau, Wisconsin - good memories.
What do you like to do when you're not skating?
Anything that has to do with water - any sports, very active.
When you're away from home, what do you miss the most while you're gone?
My family and friends.
What have you sacrificed for your sport?
As a child I always had to choose between skating or baseball. Whether it was a baseball tournament or skating Nationals. My life as a child was stressful but full - lol. Not much time for a life with friends.
What are your goals (on and off the ice) over the next few years?
Make the 2010 Olympic team, then move on to college where I have a full ride scholarship to a university in Miami for baseball.
What do you see yourself doing after your skating career is over?
Playing baseball, of course!
When your skating days are over, what will you miss the most about this time in your life?
I will definitely miss the people and the amount of effort and pain I put into this sport. I will never experience anything like this again.
Part 2: Just For Fun
Quick Fire:
Decaf or Regular? Don't like coffee
Sportscar or SUV? Sportscar!
Sweet or Savory? Sweet
Leno or Letterman? Leno
Water Sports: Lake or Ocean? Ocean!!!
East Coast or West Coast? Both!!! Florida/California
Snow or Rain?Raaiiinnnn
PC or Mac? macBOOK
Math or English? Math
Hip Hop or Rock? Hip Hop - I'm the dancing type!
Favorites:
Favorite TV Show? Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Favorite Vegetable? Carrots with tons of ranch dressing =)
Favorite Soft Drink? Lipton raspberry ice tea
Favorite Actress? Angelina Jolie
Random Questions:
What languages other than English do you speak? Spanish (Eddy has Cuban roots, and Spanish is actually his first language)
Do you have a hidden talent? Mimicking people - ha!
If you could transform yourself into one well-known person, living or dead, and live his/her life for one week, who would it be? Too many people to say - that would be a gift!
If money were no object, what would be the first thing that you'd buy? A humongous house that I can fit my family and friends together - somewhere like Hawaii, and we'll all enjoy life.
To read and contribute more info about Eddy, check out his thread at Boots & Blades
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ERIN BARTLETT
Favorite quote: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
Erin is a Rocker Fund skater, which means that you can help her achieve her short track goals by donating to her directly. Her donation info can be found at TheRockerFund.org
Erin did the 'Rocker-U Interv-U' on June 23, 2009, and the following profile is based on that interview and other media sources:
PERSONAL STATS:
DOB: May 7, 1990
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Hometown: Lakewood, Ohio
Current Training Location: Marquette, MI, with coach Tricia Stennes
Favorite Distance to Skate: 1500M
Boots & Blades: Marchese Boots, Maple Duro Blades
The ROCKER-U INTERV-U:
Part 1 - Standard Questions:
How did you get started in the sport?
My dad got me into short track when I was 6 years old. He saw flyers for it at a local rink and I have been doing it ever since.
What are the highlights of your skating career so far?
Winning Nationals in 2006, making the Junior World Team in 2008, and moving to train in Marquette in the summer of 2008.
What's the worst skating injury you've ever had?
I fell and had a minor fracture in my elbow.
What's the craziest thing you've ever seen happen on the ice?
At Nationals one year in the guys relay, someone knocked the lap counter's white laminated cards onto the ice and they had to stop the relay because people were stepping on the cards and falling.
Where is your favorite place to compete?
My favorite place to compete would have to be Cleveland because I'm from there, and it is always nice to be in my hometown.
What do you like to do when you're not skating?
When I'm not skating, I like to spend time with my friends and family, go to the beach, listen to music and read.
When you're away from home, what do you miss the most while you're gone?
Being around familiar things, my family and my bed.
What have you sacrificed for your sport?
Since I have started skating, I've sacrificed snowboarding, time with friends.
What are your goals (on and off the ice) over the next few years?
In the next few years I would like to make the National Team, graduate from college and travel to different countries throughout the world.
What do you see yourself doing after your skating career is over?
I see myself finishing up my education, getting a job and someday having a family.
When your skating days are over, what will you miss the most about this time in your life?
I'll miss the people I've met through my time in the sport and meeting new people as well.
Part 2: Just For Fun
Quick Fire:
Amazing Race or American Idol? Amazing Race
City or Country? City
A Million Dollars or A Million Hours? A million dollars.
Mall or Bookstore? Mall
Ford or Chevy? Ford
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Creamsicle or Fudgesicle? Fudgesicle
Skiing or Snowboarding? Snowboarding
Country or Pop? Country
Water Sports: Lake or Ocean? Lake
Favorites:
Foreign City? Bormio, Italy
Professional Sport? Baseball
Flower? Roses
National Park? Yosemite
Actor? Gerard Butler
Random Questions:
What 3 personality traits describe you best? Outgoing, Friendly, Optimistic
What's your dream car? Lamborghini Reventon
What's the most daring, extreme, or crazy thing you've ever done (other than ST)? Nothing too extreme
If you were trying to impress someone with your cooking, what would you make? Probably some Mac and Cheese
To read and/or contribute more info about Erin, check out her thread at Boots & Blades
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RYAN BEDFORD
Ryan has his own website - http://ryanbedford.com - visit there for more news about Ryan!
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Ryan, please Contact Us or post the info on Ryan's thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating
From the 2007-2008 USS Media Guide:
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KRISTIN BIONDO
Kristen did the Rocker-U Interv-U on September 18, 2009, and the following profile is based on that interview and other media sources:
PERSONAL STATS:
DOB: March 20, 1986
Birthplace: Parma, OH
Hometown: Broadview Hts., OH
Current Training Location: Marquette, MI with coach Tricia Stennes
Favorite Distance to Skate: 1000M or 1500M
Boots & Blades: Marchese boots / Maple Duro blades
Education: Graduated from Marquette High School (2004); Currently attending Northern Michigan University to earn a bachelors degree in Marketing
DID YOU KNOW?:
Kristen just missed being on the 2006 Olympic team (finishing 6th at the 2006 Olympic Trials) and came out of retirement during the 2008-2009 season, finishing third overall in the AmCup series. Kristen is also a member of the 2008-2009 USOEC All-Academic Team.
The Rocker-U Interv-U:
Part 1: Standard Questions
Tell us about your journey into short track - how did you get started in the sport and where have you trained?
My dad speedskated when he was young so it was the first sport he got my brother and me into. I started skating at around 5 years old. When I was 17 I moved to Marquette, MI to train full time. I competed nationally and internationally and felt burned out after finishing 6th in the 2006 Olympic Trials. I took 2 years off, missed the sport, and moved back to Marquette to train full time in 2008.
What are the highlights of your skating career so far?
After coming out of a 2-year retirement, winning the 1500M and 1000M at the American Cup final. Also making the 2004 Junior World Team, and 2005 World Championship Team.
What's the worst skating injury you've ever had?
I am very lucky to have never been seriously injured by a fall!
Where is your favorite place to compete?
I love competing in Cleveland because I get to spend some time at home and all of my family can come watch me skate.
What do you like to do when you're not skating?
I have a tiny Chihuahua named Buena and when I'm not skating I love to bring her to the beach and let her run around like crazy.
When you're away from home, what do you miss the most while you're gone?
My dog and sleeping in my own bed.
What have you sacrificed for your sport?
I have sacrificed many things for skating like going to my high school graduation and prom, but I really miss spending time with my family.
What are your goals over the next few years?
Graduating from college!
Part 2: Just For Fun
Quick Fire:
Backyard BBQ or Fancy Restaurant? BBQ
Ice Tea or Lemonade? Lemonade
Mountains or Beach? The beach!
Dog or Cat? Dog
City or Country? City
Skiing or Snowboarding? Water Skiing
Big Mac or Whopper? Whopper...I've never tried a Big Mac
Favorites:
Color? Purple
Dessert? Anything chocolate
Season? Summer
Foreign City? Beijing because it's soooo busy and different from here
Random Just-For-Fun Questions:
What is your greatest regret in life? I try to live my life without any regrets
If money were no object, what would be the first thing that you'd buy? A house and a new car!
To read and contribute more info about Kristen, check out her thread at Boots & Blades
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KYLE CARR
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Kyle, please Contact Us or post the info on Kyle's thread at Boots & Blades.
Kyle leads the pack at the 2009 American Cup Final (Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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SHANI DAVIS
Though Shani is best-known for his Long-Track accomplishments, he has represented the USA admirably on the world stage in Short Track as well.
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Shani, please Contact Us or post the info on Shani's thread at Our Forum.
Photo Credits - Jerry Search:
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NICK FRANK
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Nick, please Contact Us or post the info on Nick's thread at Boots & Blades.
Nick at the 2009 National Age Group Championships, Midland, MI (#16, blue skinsuit, red boots) (Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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MARIA GARCIA
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Maria, please Contact Us or post the info on Maria's thread at Our Forum.
Maria with Coach Wilma Boomstra
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MARY GRACE
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Mary, please Contact Us or post the info on Mary's thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating
From the 2008-2009 USS Media Guide:
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DEREK GRAY
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Derek, please Contact Us or post the info on Derek's thread at Boots & Blades.
Derek (in the lead) at American Cup 1, September, 2008. (Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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ALEX IZYKOWSKI
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Alex, please Contact Us or post the info on Alex's thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating:
A recent newspaper article has broken the news about Alex's retirement from competitive skating. In honor of Alex's impressive career, he was Rocker-U's first Featured Skater...
(The following info is a composite of many different sources, including USS info)
PERSONAL STATS
DOB: January 26, 1984
Hometown: Bay City, Michigan
Trained Most Recently In: Salt Lake City, Utah (with the National Short Track Program)
Height/Weight: 5'9", 160 lbs
Coaches: Jae Su Chun, Laurent Daignault, Jimmy Jang
Alex (affectionately known as 'Izy') has been skating since the age of 12, and has been skating at the elite level since age 17.
When he isn't skating, Alex enjoys cycling, fly fishing and golf.
Alex has always been a fan favorite, and a frequent member of USA's National Team in World Cup competition - but surely the highlight of Alex's short track career was winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Torino Olympic Games as a member of the men's 5000 meter relay team.
He looked forward to the chance to compete again at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but fate had other plans...
Plagued with injuries, Alex has fought tenaciously to get back to competitive form and was nearly ready to return to the ice - but it was just not to be. In early March while biking at high speed on a training ride, Alex went headfirst into a vehicle that turned left in front of him, and is 'lucky to be alive'. This, perhaps, was the final straw, and the body had had enough.
When asked about his plans after skating, Alex once replied, "If I'm not racing on skates, I'll be racing on something else."
We wish you all the best in your 'apres-skate' life, Alex - you will be missed!
For more photos, articles, etc., about Alex (or to leave comments/well-wishes about his retirement), check out his thread at Boots & Blades.
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LEZLEIGH JAWORSKI
Lezleigh is a Rocker Fund skater, which means that you can help her achieve her short-track goals by donating to her directly. Her 'in her own words' biography and donation information can be found at TheRockerFund.org
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Lezleigh, please Contact Us or post the info on Lezleigh's thread at Our Forum.
(Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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J.P. KEPKA
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about J.P., please Contact Us or post the info on J.P.'s thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating
From the 2008-2009 USS Media Guide:
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HYO JUNG (HALIE) KIM
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Halie, please Contact Us or post the info on Halie's thread at Our Forum.
From the 2008-2009 USS Media Guide:
COUNTDOWN TO TURIN
Making a name for herself
Since coming to US, Kim has opened eyes in short order
By John Powers, Globe Staff | January 31, 2006
The hyphenated first name had to go. ''Hyo-Jung" may have been a garden-variety moniker back in Seoul where she was born, but here in the United States, nobody could pronounce it.
''It's difficult to say," Halie Kim quickly realized. ''People are like, 'High-O Jung' or 'Hugh Jung.' "
How about Heather, suggested one of her California cousins? But Heather sounded too much like the blonde victim in a bad high school horror flick. How about Halie, then? ''I like Halie," Kim decided. ''I felt like Halie."
Halie was cool. Halie was American. And while her passport still may say Hyo-Jung, the 17-year-old Kim figures to be the top US hope in women's short-track speedskating at next month's Winter Olympics. ''Halie's skating unbelievable," testified teammate Apolo Anton Ohno, who's expected to add to his Olympic medal collection in Turin.
Kim, a dual citizen who didn't arrive here until two winters ago, breezed through last month's team trials, winning both time trials and three of six individual races to top the standings by nearly 40 points ahead of 25-year-old veteran Allison Baver. If she can squeeze through a pack of Asian rivals, Kim could end the American women's medal 12-year drought in the sport at Olympus.
Time was when precious metal came easier for the Yanks in a sport that wasn't added formally to the program until 14 years ago. Cathy Turner won golds in both 1992 and 1994, Amy Peterson claimed a bronze in 1994, and the relay team medaled in 1992 and 1994. But the Koreans and Chinese won all four golds and nine of 12 medals in Salt Lake City four years ago and have only gotten faster and deeper since.
Having Kim on the roster will be a bonus for a US team that's been thin on big-race competitors. With Kim alongside Baver and Natick native Caroline Hallisey, who'll be competing in her third Games, the Americans have a legitimate shot at cashing in on the relay, in which they were seventh last time.
Until last winter, nobody on this side of the Pacific had ever heard of the shy teenager who turned up in Colorado Springs barely able to put together three sentences in English. But after Kim won every event at the US championships and began slipping into finals at World Cup events, she quickly made it onto the global radar screen. That wasn't going to happen back in South Korea, where Kim was merely one face in a forest of helmeted hopefuls jostling for a place on the squad.
Unlike the rest of them, though, Kim had another option. Since her father had become a US citizen after spending 12 years in the Los Angeles area before Kim was born, she was an American, too. And she was talented enough to have a shot at skating for Uncle Sam.
At first, it was a star-spangled fantasy.
''I didn't really think about going to America and training there because I was too young," Kim said. By the time she was 14, though, she reckoned that the moment was right. ''My parents were surprised," she said. ''They hadn't thought about it at all. But they agreed."
Her Korean skating partners took her departure in stride.
''They knew a long time ago that I was very interested in America, but my friends were wondering why," Kim said. ''I'm an American citizen, I told them, and I want to go there to study and practice."
Her friends, Kim says, were jealous. Who wouldn't want to live in America without parental supervision? Yet the transition was far more difficult than Kim imagined. There is no Koreatown in Colorado Springs, where the US Olympic Committee's training center is located. Getting dropped into the middle of American culture in adolescence with only a mouthful of the language was jarring.
''It was kind of hard," said Kim, who'd left the States for Korea when she was a toddler. ''I cannot understand everything and I cannot answer everything."
The homesickness made her weep.
''I called my parents all the time and they called me, too," she said.
For her first year, Kim had to be home-schooled until she learned enough English to enroll in Colorado Springs Christian School, where she's currently a sophomore. The easiest adjustment came on the ice, where Kim soon found herself in the lead pack.
Out from under the heavy-thumbed discipline of the Korean system, where elite skaters were discouraged from full-time schooling or outside fun, Kim thrived, winning the US junior title shortly after she arrived.
''I like the American style," she said. ''There is more freedom here."
Her new teammates were quick to adopt her.
''Everyone is very nice to me," Kim said. ''They think I am little sister. Allison is my roommate and Apolo helped me, too."
When Kim was living in Seoul, Ohno was a villain, the slick operator who'd filched a gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2002 Games from homeboy Kim Dong-Sung with a ''Hollywood" reaction that drew an interference call and got Kim disqualified after he'd won the race. Now, Ohno was her teammate.
''At first, I was scared because he never smiled," Kim said. ''But he's a really funny guy."
Being a Mid-Pacific Woman was an odd adventure. In the Rockies, Kim couldn't find decent kim chi, the spicy pickled cabbage that Koreans eat with everything. But the ice cream was sublime. And it was weird to line up against her former countrywomen in a World Cup race.
''We are speaking the same language," Kim said, ''but we are different countries."
Once the starting gun goes off, there's no doubt about that. Short-track is a mad scramble, full of elbows and treachery, of sneaky moves and ''rubbing" in the corners that makes a NASCAR race look like a Sunday buggy ride. Though ''team skating" is outlawed, a lone American in the same heat as two Koreans or two Chinese is a mouse stalked by twin cats.
After a season's worth of being boxed out, cut off, and otherwise toyed with, Kim came into her own during last fall's World Cup circuit, which determined the Olympic berths for each country. At first, she seemed tentative, still adjusting to the fast lane. Was Kim just holding back, or was she intimidated?
''After the first two Cups, I saw her get real upset with herself over a few races and I was glad to see that," said Hallisey. ''I think she's ready to skate the way that everyone knows she can."
Her former Korean teammates figured her American sojourn would be something like an exchange program with blades attached.
''Everybody still asks me, before Olympics, 'Will you come back?' " Kim said. Only on vacation, for a month after the season ends in early April. She's an American girl these days, cruising the malls, watching TV, learning teen slang.
Hyo-Jung has morphed into Halie, but her old Seoulmates had best beware at the Games. This Mid-Pacific Woman knows how to talk trash in two languages now.
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TINA KOENIG
Favorite Quote: "You choose if you win or lose"
Tina is a Rocker Fund skater - you can make contributions directly to Tina to help with her training. See her donation info at The Rocker Fund.org
To read and contribute more info about Tina, check out her thread at Boots & Blades
Tina did the Rocker-U Interv-U on August 19, 2009, and the following profile is based on that interview and other media sources:
PERSONAL STATS:
DOB: December 1, 1985
Birthplace: Minneapolis, MN
Hometown: North Ridgville, OH (Cleveland)
Current Training Location: In Los Angeles with Wilma Boomstra
Favorite Distance to Skate: 500M
Boots & Blades: Laurent Daignault Boots / Maple Duro Blades
Education: Tina graduated from high school in 2004, and attended Northern Michigan University at the US Olympic Education Center for 2 years in Marquette, MI while training there. After making the National Team and moving to Colorado Springs she put school on hold, but plans to resume her education when her skating career is over.
DID YOU KNOW?:
Tina was the 2006 US Champion, and she holds the National Record for Intermediate Women for the 500M (47.750 - 2/28/04). She has been on 8 World Cup teams and skated at the World Championships in 2006
The Rocker-U Interv-U:
Part 1: Standard Questions
How did you get started in the sport and where have you trained?
I started speedskating when I was 11 years old. My dad's boss Marshall was coaching at a local speedskating club. I wanted to be a figure skater. They convinced me to try speedskating, but for the first 2 years I speedskated on figure skates. I finally switched to speedskates! I have trained in Marquette Mi, Colorado Springs, CO, Salt Lake City, UT and Los Angeles, CA.
What are the highlights of your skating career so far?
Being able to travel and compete all over the world. Getting a bronze medal at a Netherlands World Cup was the most memorable.
What's the worst skating injury you've ever had?
I don't have just one. I've had surgery on my left ankle and last year tore a tendon in my right ankle. I've had a meniscus tear in my left knee, 3 concussions and back and nerve problems.
What was the lowest or most difficult time in your ST career?
The surgery on my left ankle, because it took longer to heal than I thought. I feel like it didn't help all and set me back a lot physically and mentally.
Where is your favorite place to compete?
Bay City, Michigan. My first out-of-state competitions were there. I have a lot of memories there with old teammates. It's always a fun and well-run competition.
What's the funniest (or craziest) thing you've ever seen happen on the ice?
That would be one of my own pranks. At a World Cup in Montreal the other girls and I who were on the USA team decided to wear our cute underpants on the outside of our skinsuits at practice the day before competition started. All the other countries thought we were crazy but it was super funny!
What do you like to do when you're not skating?
I like to go to the movies or hang out on the beach with friends. I also like to walk around at Whole Foods Market!
When you're away from home, what do you miss the most while you're gone?
My bed for sure.
What have you sacrificed for your sport?
I left home and my family to train during high school. I've passed up college, running track or playing softball in college. I've given up having a 'normal' life and being able to hang out with friends when I want to. You have to schedule your life around skating - from what you do to what you eat. But it's all worth it. I wouldn't change a thing.
What are your goals over the next few years?
First - make the Olympic team. Then go to school and start a business.
What do you see yourself doing after your skating career is over?
I see myself having a natural health, beauty and wellness company. Adopt a bunch of kids and have a family. AND THEN be the cool, crazy grandma with purple hair.
What will you miss the most about this time in your life?
Traveling, teammates, the excitement of competitions. Being abnormal. I'll miss it all.
Part 2: JUST FOR FUN
Quick Fire:
Norah Jones or Alicia Keys? Alicia
Greece or Tahiti? Tahiti
Baskin Robbins or Dairy Queen? Dairy Queen
Food: Mexican or Chinese? Mexican
Star Trek or Star Wars? Star Wars
Hockey or Baseball? Play baseball / Watch hockey
Cabin in the Woods or House in the City? Weekdays in the city / Weekends in the woods
Big Bird or Barney? Big Bird!
Sunsets or Sunrises? Sunrises
Amazing Race or American Idol? Amazing Race
Favorites:
Ice Cream? All of them. I'm bad at making decisions
Superhero? Batman
Author? ME!
Rainy Day Activity? Sitting inside cooking and watching movies with the door open so I can hear the rain
Actor? Will Smith
Random Questions:
Your house (apartment) is on fire - you have time to grab 3 things - what would they be? Phone, computer (all my pictures are there), and my sketchbook
What is the weirdest food / food combination that you've ever eaten? Probably dog food, because I wondered how it tasted. That's a hard question to answer because I eat everything and mix everything. I'm sure there've been some weird things!
What was the first music concert you ever attended? Elton John
What was the first thing you remember wanting to be when you 'grew up'? An actress on Broadway like my mommy
What was your favorite cartoon as a kid? I didn't like cartoons. I watched I Love Lucy, Fresh Prince and Cheers
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VICKY LABOURDETTE
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Vicky, please Contact Us or post the info on Vicky's thread at Our Forum.
Photo Credit - Jerry Search:
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ROBERT LAWRENCE
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Robert, please Contact Us or post the info on Robert's thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating:
Photo credit: Tonya Morrissey:
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CHARLES RYAN LEVEILLE
If you have more biographical info (photos, articles, etc.) about Ryan, please Contact Us or post the info on Ryan's thread at Our Forum.
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating
From the 2008-2009 USS Media Guide
Photo Credit: Jerry Search
Broken Home, Broken Back, but Skating Still
A Mother's Love Sustains Leveille
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 8, 2006; Page E07
TURIN, Italy, Feb. 7 -- Somehow, sweet memories remain from those days. Before U.S. Olympic speedskater Ryan Cox broke his back, and after his mother had endured a bitter divorce, the two spent weekends cleaning mobile homes in Dawsonville, Ga., at $25 a shot. His mother already was working two jobs, one as a cashier at Home Depot, but there wasn't enough money to go around. Cindy Leveille remembers the surge of panic she felt when she saw just $500 in her bank account.
So she and her son, then 16 and a promising in-line skater, put on jeans and old shirts and took brooms and mops and buckets and rubber gloves, and they holed themselves up in other people's bathrooms and kitchens every Saturday wondering how they had gotten to that point. Sometimes the heartbreaking hilarity of the scene would hit them, and they would have to rest on their broomsticks, laughing so hard they cried.
"I think we held each other together," he said. "I don't think I held her together any more than she held me together."
Five years later, in a Gainesville, Ga., courthouse, Charles Ryan Cox legally changed his name to Charles Ryan Leveille (Lev-ee-AY). His mother stood by his side, tears streaming down her face, when he explained to a judge why he wished to give up his father's surname to take her maiden name, determined to show how much he appreciated her sacrifices in the most powerful way he could.
"I did it to honor her for everything she's done for me," he said of that day last May. "She's the strongest woman I've ever met. . . . She got me through everything."
"The judge," Cindy Leveille said, "was blown away."
When her son found out he made his first Olympic team, in team pursuit, during a closed-door meeting on Dec. 31 in Salt Lake City, he asked a roomful of U.S. Speedskating officials if they could please, for just one minute, hold that thought. Then he hastily dialed his mother's number, whispered the good news (which elicited a scream) and hung up.
There would be no such call to his father, Jimmy Wayne Cox. The two lost touch soon after the divorce in the spring of 2000.
"My dad faded out of my life," said Leveille, now 22. "He didn't support me or my skating career. . . . He's kind of gone off the face of the earth."
Cox, a dental technician in Marietta, heard of his son's name change through his daughter Jennifer, who has kept her old name and still sees her father occasionally. During a recent interview, his voice choked with sobs, he said it "broke his heart" to learn of his son's feelings about him. He said he decided to stay home from the Olympics because he feared he would be a distraction.
"I'd love to go to Turin but I'm afraid it would, if he knew I was there, take away from his performance," he said. "I'm about to cry now because I would love to be there but I don't think it would be good for him.
"There's no way in the world -- I'm pretty emotional -- I wouldn't want to hurt his chances at all. . . . I am so proud of Ryan. I don't know how even to say how proud I am. . . . I love him and want to see the best for him no matter what went on."
No one -- not Cox, his son or Cindy Leveille -- wished to discuss everything that went on. All agreed that Cox's drinking played a part, though he says he attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for eight years in the past. Cox contested the divorce with such vehemence a restraining order was granted. The relationship between father and son deteriorated so rapidly that they "had a knock-down, drag-out [fight] one day," Cox said. "I'll never forget it; I'll never forgive myself for it."
Leveille said he was so traumatized after one such meeting that he went to the hospital hyperventilating and with spasms in his back. But his relationship with his father, he said, wasn't always characterized by conflict. He said he has fond memories of water-skiing on the lake behind the family's old house, skating, playing ball with his dad. "He was," Leveille said, "my childhood hero."
Said Cindy Leveille, "He loved [the kids] both so much, but it did decline, and it was through drinking that it declined."
Cindy Leveille, who did not work during most of her children's youth, kept the house after the divorce. Her daughter said she remembers that period for her mother's absence: She always seemed to be at work. Cindy Leveille said alimony payments from Cox inevitably came late; Cox contends he paid $3,000 a month to ensure his family was taken care of.
There is no dispute about one thing: It was Cindy Leveille who ensured that her son's promising skating career would not go by the wayside.
"She just made it happen," he said. "She never let me miss a race."
Already close, the two saw their relationships strengthen through their travels and travails.
"He was very attuned to what I was going through," Cindy Leveille said. "I was upset and he was upset."
Cox said he has some regrets about his behavior and choices but blames his ex-wife in part for the soured relationship with his son, adding: "I drink some. I'm not going to tell you a lie. I still drink, but I'm not a drunk."
Cindy Leveille said she tried to be honest with her children about what was going on so they would understand. She consulted both before deciding to go ahead with the divorce.
"It's a bad situation," she said. "I don't want to see it get any worse. [Cox] is trying to get on with his life. . . . I hate to pour salt in the wounds. He was there when Ryan needed him at a young age."
But by the time his son turned 16, Cox was gone, part banished, part vanished. As Leveille's life twisted and turned, it was his sister and mother -- mostly his mother -- to whom he desperately clung. Hoping to make the Winter Olympic team, he gave up his career in in-line skating in 2003. He joined a short-track speedskating program in Huntington Beach, Calif., and got immediate results. His success convinced him he could make the world championship team, and so he planned to compete at the 2004 U.S. championships. A week before the event, however, he fell on the ice, slid into a wall and broke his back.
He wore a body brace from his neck to his pelvis for four months. His doctor told him he came within an inch of paralysis. While his mother and her six brothers nursed his body and spirits, his father received word of the injury from Jennifer. The news, he said, hit hard. He, too, had endured a broken back.
"I sat on the side of the road when I heard about it," Cox said, "and cried for an hour."
When Leveille returned to short-track skating, he wasn't the same. He had won a place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs because of his progress before the injury, but he never settled in comfortably. His back remained so inflamed it took him 20 minutes to get out of bed in the morning. Fearful of another calamitous injury, he competed hesitantly, poorly. He felt like an interloper among the more experienced skaters.
"I didn't have one ounce of fun there," he said. So he quit. He went home. He changed his name. He planned to attend college, moving to Knoxville, Tenn., where he took a job as a waiter hoping to win admittance -- and financial aid -- to the University of Tennessee.
But a former coach at the training center, Tony Goskowicz, moved to Milwaukee and prodded Leveille to join him, insisting he should consider long-track speedskating, which involves skating against a clock rather than other competitors. Leveille was skeptical, but he agreed, flying to Milwaukee on a round-trip ticket whose return he never used. He fell in love with the sport again and couldn't leave. Eight months after the move, he made the Olympic team.
Along the way, Goskowicz noticed something unusual about his talented student, besides the fact he transitioned quickly from one sport to another. Leveille constantly kept in touch with his mother. There were phone calls after breakfast, before taking the ice for practice, from restaurant tables, from the car, at night before going to sleep.
Cindy Leveille estimated that she and her son talk five to six times every day. She will be in Turin, watching from the stands when her son competes. For her, the Olympics will be a dream come true.
For Cox, who hopes to find the team pursuit on television, it will be something less.
"God knows I'd love to sit there and watch him skate," he said. "His dad's behind him 100 percent."
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SOPHIA MILAN
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From the 2007-2008 USS Media Guide:
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WALTER RUSK
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Walter (on R) at AmCup 3, 2009(Photo Credit - Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette:)
Walter (in front) at AmCup 3, 2009(Photo Credit - Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette:)
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JONATHAN SERMENO
Jonathan is a Rocker Fund skater, which means that you can help him achieve his short-track goals by donating to him directly. His 'in his own words' biography and donation information can be found at TheRockerFund.org
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(Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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KYLE UYEHARA
Kyle is a Rocker Fund skater, which means that you can help him achieve his short-track goals by donating to him directly. His 'in his own words' biography and donation information can be found at TheRockerFund.org
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(Photo Credit - Jerry Search:)
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CHERISE WILKINS
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CARLY WILSON
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The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating
From the 2008-2009 USS Media Guide:
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