Speedskater Vicci King dreamed of leading Team USA since her days as a gold medalist in the World Championship. After years of honing her training skills, her name finally sits at the top of the international team roster as coach.
King is an accomplished athlete with 25 gold medals. Her speedskating career began at the age of 12 and lasted until 1998. After retiring from the competition circuit, she was slowly called back into the world of speedskating. She currently holds a spot in the USA Roller Sports Hall of Fame and recently opened her own gym. The G.Y.M., which stands for Get Your Motivation, offers personal training, facility rentals and boot camps in Sumner.
By utilizing technology to her advantage, King will train the US team without having to uproot her life. She will work in conjunction with each skater’s home coach to develop a program that is suited to the individual skater. The majority of her job will be done from afar but she will travel for one week in May and then again for three and a half weeks during summer — but that shouldn’t interfere with her clients at the G.Y.M., she said. During her absence, they will be expected to continue their regimens faithfully.
“Motivating others is my specialty, and with today’s technology, I can do it from anywhere,” she said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that I can motivate even from abroad.”
King receives her own motivation from helping others recognize their dreams and reach their goals, she said.
“If I can help one person in this world be the best version of themselves they can be, that is all that matters. And if they can win a few awards along the way, that’s just the icing on the cake,” said King.
In June, team hopefuls will convene in Colorado Springs to vie for a spot on the roster. From there, the skaters chosen to represent the US will prepare to compete in the 2013 World Speedskating Championships. Once the team is selected, they will train for about a month with their home coaches before traveling to Belgium to train as a team. King has high hopes for Team USA this year.
“My goal, as well as everyone else’s in this country is to get these skaters to a point where they can bring home some hardware for the US. It will be a combined effort,” said King. “I know the USA skaters can achieve anything.”
