Lisa Ervin article

[Johar]

It's hard to believe she is married with children.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060108/2058017.asp

 

[JonnyCoop]

Thanks for posting this; I was a huge fan of hers and was sorry her competitive career didn't go as far as expected. I'm glad to see she is doing so well; last I'd heard, about 10 years ago, things weren't exactly pleasant and I wondered off on and on how she'd been doing since.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

Nice article! Thanks so much for posting this. I remember watching Lisa Ervin finishing fourth at the Nationals in 1992, at the age of 14, and thinking, "Wow, this girl may be the champion of the future". She won the silver medal at Nationals in 1993, and seemed destined to have a wonderful future as a competitive figure skater.

At the 1993 Worlds, which was won by Oksana Baiul, Ervin finished 13th, but she said she was pleased with her placement.

The, at the 1994 Nationals, infamous for the Kerrigan/Harding saga, Ervin skated a really disastrous long program to music from "Nightmare Before Christmas". She looked quite overweight, and she fell and/or popped every one of her triple jumps. I think she landed a few double axels, but that was it. Her then coach, Carol Heiss, did not look particularly pleased with that performance, and she hardly acknowledged Lisa, who was sitting in shock and disappointment in the kiss 'n cry area.

I also remember seeing one of the "Up Close and Personal" segments on Lisa that was filmed during the 1993 Nationals. It showed this young girl living apart from her family so she could train with Carol Heiss in Cleveland. Lisa said, "My parents have given up everything for me". Her father commented that it was very hard to walk into his daughter's bedroom and realize that she no longer lived with the family.

Anyway, it sounds as though Lisa really has her life together. She's happily married, a mother, enjoys coaching, and has an excellent education. All the best to you, girl!

 

[heyang]

I wonder if coach Heiss-Jenkins learned from her experience. She's definitely not being negative publicly about Ando's physical shape. However, Lisa was in much worse shape in 1993 than Ando is now.

 

[tommyk75]

What a great read... Lisa as a skater always seemed like a very nice and level-headed girl. I remember at the Nationals one year when they did a fluff piece on her and Nicole Bobek (both 15 at that time), and Lisa spoke very articulately about her life and skating, while Nicole was quite emotional as she talked about how her peers had spread false rumors about her and also about how she would refuse to have a relationship with her father who had walked out on her. Anyhow, I'm glad Lisa seems very happy and not bitter about the sport of skating.

 

[Pixie Cut]

I'm glad Lisa seems very happy and not bitter about the sport of skating.

I must be the only one who thinks she does sound bitter. Maybe it's just that reporters ask her to repeat the same story over and over. But it's time to put it in perspective and stop blaming everyone.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

What a great read... Lisa as a skater always seemed like a very nice and level-headed girl. I remember at the Nationals one year when they did a fluff piece on her and Nicole Bobek (both 15 at that time), and Lisa spoke very articulately about her life and skating, while Nicole was quite emotional as she talked about how her peers had spread false rumors about her and also about how she would refuse to have a relationship with her father who had walked out on her. Anyhow, I'm glad Lisa seems very happy and not bitter about the sport of skating.

I, too, was impressed with Lisa's maturity as a 15-year-old, and she seemed to be completely dedicated to her figure skating. Nicole, on the other hand, was a will-of-the-wisp, and she seemed to have been deeply hurt at her father walking out on her and her mother. How sad for them.