This is my new favorite article about Jessica, and one of the most thorough I've seen on ANY of our National Team members - it's long, but it's good! (Though I think the 'Key Differences' section could use some work - I've never seen a speed skate with a toe pick, have you?
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World class inline skater in search of Olympic hardware By Dave Herndon / Southgate News Herald / February 17, 2012
World Champion?
Check, 30 times over.
Pan American Champion?
Check.
Olympic Champion?
Not yet.
Melvindale’s Jessica Lynn Smith, 28, has done everything except win an Olympic medal. That’s because her sport — inline skating — is not yet an Olympic sport.
That fact caused her to make the switch from inline to ice skating five seasons ago.
Smith is currently a member of the US World Cup short track speedskating team that is competing in several events in Europe over the next few months.
The team is on the ice for the 2012 World Allround Speedskating Championships which run through tomorrow in Moscow, Russia.
Her first season training on ice skates Smith made the United States National team as a distance skater. After one season she switched to speed skating, and became an instant success, once again making the national team.
She was an Olympic alternate in 2010, and is looking for a spot on the team in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Smith started roller skating when she was just nine months old and was competing by the time she was two.
By age 12 she was on the U.S. Inline Speedskating Junior World team, as the top performer. She was the youngest world champion ever, winning her first gold while still 12-years old.
“They’ve changed the age requirement to 13 now, so no one can break that record,” she said.
At 15 she had already accomplished more than most athletes could ever think of.
She had 14 Junior World titles, so she decided to move up to the senior team a full year before she had to.
Once again she managed to claim the top spot on the team, and went on to win 16 more world titles by the time she was 24.
She also won a gold medal and two silver medals at the 2007 Pan American Games in Columbia.
She was one of just two women selected to represent America in the games.
In 2005 she was invited to join the WHiP — Wheels to ice program, a program that was sponsored by U.S. Speedskating.
She qualified for the National Championships in her first two seasons in the program and was asked to join the national training team in Utah within her first year in the program.
The WHiP program required skaters to compete in both inline and ice skating.
Success wasn’t easyThough she was wildly successful in inline, and quickly gained success after her changeover, it wasn’t easy.
“Ice skating is very demanding from a technical standpoint,” she said. “My technique is completely off from inline, and it’s hard to break those habits.”
Her coaches with the US Speedskating team say that her success can be directly attributed to her hard work and dedication to improving.
“Her work ethic and desire to improve are great assets to her success,” said Coach Jae Su Chun. “She works very hard in her training sessions to overcome her inline habits.”
Chun also said that her success, while immediate is not surprising.
“She has worked hard for it, so it's not unexpected. And she has a lot of potential for even greater success,” he said.
A tough transitionSwitching from the track to the ice has been become popular in the last two decades since it first became an Olympic sport in 1992.
KC Boutiette was the first skater to transition from the track to the ice when she competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
In 2002 Derek Parra, Joey Cheek and Jennifer Rodriguez all made the switch and won five medals in Salt Lake City.
In 2006 Cheek won two more medals. Chad Hedrick and Apolo Anton Ohno won two gold and six total medals in the 2010 games in Torino.
In all 65 percent of team USA’s ice skating medals have been won by former inline champions over the last four Olympiads.
That doesn’t mean that the sports are anywhere close to being the same.
The two sports look similar to the layman, but require completely different training and techniques.
“Though they are similar sports, the technique required to be successful in inline is different than the skating technique in short track,” said Chun. “She is working to overcome her inline habits to improve her short track technique.”
Key differencesSome key differences in the two sports are as simple as the types of skates.
Ice skates are much more form fitting, while inline skates tend to go slightly higher up the shin.
Inline skates have heel brakes, while ice skates have toe picks to help a skater stop.
The obvious difference is racing surface, inline skating is done on black top, which is much rougher than the smooth ice which is resurfaced frequently for speedskaters.
The sports require slightly different muscle groups, which makes all weight training and conditioning drill required to be different.
Some of the other differences are in the skill set needed.
Inline skaters are more pack skaters, using team mates to improve their position on the course.
Speedskaters do not skate in teams, and thus have to have more endurance to help cut through the wind resistance.
Iceskating requires the athlete to get into a lower position and requires much more precise body movement. Inline skaters have more room for error.
Family traditionBoth of Smith’s parents were world class roller skaters in their day.
Rick Smith qualified for the national tournament as both an individual and as a member of relay teams, while Reina also competed as a member of relay teams at the national level.
“It’s in our blood,” said Reina Smith. “I met her father at the track, and from there it’s history.”
Both of her parents medaled at the national level, but neither went on to compete past that.
“The world level competitions were just starting back then and neither of us went on to them,” said Reina Smith.
A quick studyRick Smith said that it was his wife’s idea to start her out skating so young, but that he wasn’t adverse to it.
“It was her (Reina’s) idea that skating would teach Jessica balance and coordination,” he said.
Reina had a slightly different reasoning for why she started Jessica so young.
“I didn’t start until (about seven years old) but I really love the sport and wanted to give her the best chance to succeed,” she said.
Once they got her started, she never wanted to stop.
“She never asked to skip a practice, or to quit like a lot of kids do when they are in their early teens after starting out young,” said Rick Smith. “She’s such a hard worker, all of this is all on her.”
Looking for helpAccording to her parents, Jessica is still looking for sponsors to help make her Olympic dream come true.
“It’s very hard to do this on your own,” said Rick Smith. “It takes so much time for practice and traveling that she can’t work a regular job.”
Because of the economy she has struggled to keep sponsors in recent years, and is always looking for extra help.[/img]
Read More:
www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2012/02/17/sports/doc4f3ea8226b6b6618885701.txt?viewmode=4+++
Tags: Jessica Smith / Jae Su Chun / Short Track Speedskating