As hundreds of cyclists poured through the Summit City, there was hope that the event would not only bring some exercise and entertainment to the participants but hopefully a changed view of the community in general.
The excitement was palpable as those who feel the need for speed gathered at the Memorial Coliseum Sunday for the USA Roller Sports National Championships in speed skating and figure skating.
Hundreds of athletes and their families and friends packed into the Coliseum to take part in the first day of competition for the speed skating championships, which started at 7 a.m. Daily races will be run throughout the week, with the final speed skating race held Saturday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The national figure skating competition will begin Sunday at the Coliseum’s Expo Center and continue through Aug. 7.
Jay Ingram, head coach of the Wolverines Speed Skating Team at the Great Skate Roller Rink in Roseville, Mich., has a good feeling about this week. Ingram is accompanying and coaching 28 athletes, ranging in age from 5 to 63 years old.
Ingram, 46, also is a manager for the Roller Sports World Team, and was selected by the United States Roller Sports Federation as the 2000 Developmental Coach of the Year.
Ingram will next travel to Colorado for the Outdoor National championships and Team USA trials, and in August will accompany his speed skating champions to the World Championships in Yeosu, Korea.
Ingram, who has won nine national championships and “too many relays to count,” started skating when he was 12.
“I started coaching unofficially in 1989 and officially in 1991,” Ingram said. He has served on the World Team staff as both coach and manager, and holds speed skating clinics all over the world.
The World Championship is the pinnacle for a speed skater, Ingram said, “Since it is not recognized as an Olympic sport … yet.”
Neighborhood roller rinks keep the sport alive and thriving in the U.S., Ingram said.
About 2,000 skaters are expected to invade the city during the three-week event. Fort Wayne officials estimate about 8,000 visitors will spend up to $5 million, including lodging, shopping and eating.
Fort Wayne is home to two roller rinks, Roller Dome North and Bell’s Roller Skating Rink, as well as the Lutheran Health SportsCenter. All three offer speed skating programs.
One member of Ingram’s team is 15-year-old Christian Keesler, a sophomore at Wayne High School in Fort Wayne.
Ingram thinks Keesler has a good shot at the championships.
“Last year he placed – he is capable of winning,” Ingram said.
Keesler, who spends his summers in Michigan training for competitions, has spent the past week skating many hours every day.
“I train as hard as I can,” Keesler said.
“There are some fast guys here, and you have to be ready to move up,” Keesler said, then points to a young woman entering the Coliseum, racing skates in hand.
“See that girl? She trains harder than anyone I know. I see her every day, training,” he said. “You just have to have that mindset … just go in and take it.”
Keesler’s father is Chris Keesler, coach of Bell’s Speed Club in Fort Wayne.
Keesler’s father approached Ingram several years ago about coaching his son.
“I was very resistant to the idea,” Ingram said. “I knew (Chris Keesler) had his own club.”
But Ingram took the young boy under his wing and even provides Christian with accommodations – a spare room in Ingram’s home – during the summer months the teen spends in Michigan. During the school year, Keesler travels to Michigan twice a month for training.
“It was that whole father-son thing,” Ingram said. “Even if you’re a good coach, it’s hard to coach your own kid.”
When he’s not in training, Keesler likes to play an airplane pilot simulator video game or ride his road bike, his “secondary sport” of choice.
This is the third year Keesler has placed first, he says proudly. And he’s preparing not only his body for the upcoming competitions, but his mind, as well.
“I just tell myself to take it from the top,” Keesler said. “I know I can do this.”
