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Wisconsin Sports Hall of
Fame
Attention Selection Committee
Re: Nomination — Figure
Skating Coach, Sue Susic Ervin
To Whom it May Concern:
I
will never forget one of my early figure skating competition experiences
from over seven years ago. I arrived at the rink about an hour before I
was scheduled to compete. My make up was complete, my costume was on, and
I was stretching in preparation for my program. Unfortunately, I was a
little hungry. Luckily, I had brought a cream filled chocolate doughnut. I
sat down at a table, ready to indulge the doughnut, when my coach, Sue
Ervin, walked around the corner. Her eyes were enlarged, and she looked at
me in disbelief. She walked over to where I was sitting, took the doughnut
from my hand, and told me I could have it when I completed my performance;
she didn’t think a doughnut would enhance my performance. Sue always
believed there was a proper way of doing things.
My story is an
example of the discipline Sue instilled in and expected out of her other
students and I. To Sue, if you expected to compete with the best, you had
to train like the best. She would give you her undivided attention and
endless efforts on one condition: you had to show her a good work ethic
and a determination to improve your skating. All that she ever asked of me
is that I did the best I could.
I enjoyed working with Sue for
three years. They were by far the most productive years of my skating
career. However, as I started high school, I developed new interests. I
started running cross-country (I earned varsity letters in cross-country,
soccer, and track every year I competed in them). I also began
cross-country skiing. As I became more involved in other athletics, my
dedication and interest in pursuing figure skating dwindled. Sue knew that
my interests were changing. She told me I needed to make a decision. I
either needed to skate with more dedication or stop skating and quit
wasting my mother’s money. She was right, I needed to make a decision; I
quit skating. I appreciated the fact Sue gave me her honest opinion; I
really respect her for that. Sue understood, realizing I could compete in
sports other than figure skating.
What I learned from Sue didn’t
seem so significant while she was coaching me years ago. However, today I
find myself living by the
discipline Sue taught me while I was still
skating. While training for skating, Sue had me do off-ice training. This
showed me that I would have to work hard at all the little details to
improve my main focus: skating. Recently, I have applied this dedication
to another sport. After
competing and excelling in soccer and running,
I concluded I wanted to be a cross-country skier. My current goal is to be
a national
champion and eventually to compete in the Olympics. I
competed in the Junior National Championships this March where I received
a top ten finish as well as All- American status. I will be attending
Northern Michigan next year on a skiing and running scholarship next
year.
Training for skiing requires that I dedicate myself to doing
whatever it takes to make improvements. Sue always encouraged balance in
life. I balanced my ski training with three-hour runs, mountain biking,
roller skiing, and weight training. I had to be disciplined, like Sue had
always encouraged, in order to organize and maintain my training regiment.
Sue would be pleased to know I have become a
disciplined
athlete.
Sue is the only true coach I have ever had.
Throughout the course of my high school athletic endeavors, I have had
many coaches. None of them has impacted my life the way Sue has. Sue
always made me accountable for my actions. It was my responsibility to
work hard if I wanted to succeed. My other coaches focused on what I could
give them in the present. Sue looked to the future. She always wanted me
to set goals for the future, always wanting me to strive for more. Today I
am following her lead and setting goals for myself With the discipline I
learned from Sue, I believe I can achieve my goals and dreams.
Sue
is deserving of this honor not only because she is a successful figure
skating coach, but because she is a role model for children and young
adults. She “practices what she preaches,” which is admirable in society
today. I will forever be a disciplined, honest, and
determined
individual as a result of my skating years with Sue. Sue Ervin’ s morals
and values will influence me for the rest of my life
no matter what I
do.
Sue Ervin is more than qualified to be inducted into the
Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame.
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