42 U S A R O L L E R S P O R T S T H E M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 1 3

This is a story about a man I call a former team member, refereeand friend Ihaveknown for20years or more. Vince Casserly and I have skated against and with each other and have officiated meets together. Vince has also helped me as a vol-unteer official for the Special Olympics in Florida withnoquestionsasked;hewasalwaysavailable. Vince has always been a true friend and he kept

upwithbeing a referee and skating.When I re-tired from skating, Vince kept going. One day I heardthatVincewassick; IwassaddenedwhenI heard the news that Vince had cancer and my heart dropped, but when I heard Vince was fight-ing this cancer I believed he was going to kick cancer’s butt. Once I heard all of this there was a prayer chain

to show that we were all in support of Vince to kick cancer and when I talked to Vince he was very clear thatwith his love forGod and familyand friends he was going to beat this cancer and he was right and I am so glad my friend is doing so well today. This is Vince’s story and I wanted it to be heard as Vince has come a long way and he has fulfilled a long-time dream. Vince has overcome something thatmayhaveendedthatdream,butGodhadoth-er plans for Vince and I am so glad that his dream did come true. From Vince: ItwasJuly14,2013,attheUSARSNationalSpeedSkating Championships in Albuquerque, New Mex-ico around 9 p.m. (MST). I was standing on the skating surface waiting to be called to the middle ofthe floor forthestartof the finalsof the700meter race. I looked down the floor and there I see the award podium, a place where I have been nine times before in the last 23 years of skating, but every time that I have been on the podium it has been for 3rd place. I am not complaining, just getting on the award podium at nationals is every skater’sdream. Justone time Iwould liketoexperiencewhat2ndormaybeevenwhat1stplace feels like.

Thinkingback,inlateJulyof2012,Iwasnotfeel-ing well, so I went to see the doctor. Several tests, including a blood test were done. I got a phone call that the doctor would like me to come in right away and review the results. Sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor to arrive, left me with somanythoughtsgoingthroughmyhead.Whatcould be the problem? Finally, the doctor arrives withnotsuchgoodnews.Whenthedoctortoldme I had cancer, my world came crashing down. I beganthinking,willIsurvivethis?Whatwillhap-pen to my wife and family?

I was then sent to a surgeon who would be per-forming my surgery. On August 9, 2012, I findmyself in the hospital. After the operation, my doctor said it went well and three weeks later, sent me to an oncologist for follow-up treatment. I knew going to an oncologist was not going to be easy. Once the oncologist reviewed my records, she stated that my treatment plan would require two rounds of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was grueling in that I had to sit there for a couple of hours each visit, while the intravenous fluids were infused into my veins. After my first round of che-motherapy, I felt like I was going to die and could not even imagine going back for another treat-ment. It made me feel very sick, weak, tired and left me with no appetite. I knew that having che-motherapy was going to be rough on my body and getting back in shape was going to be a challenge. After my second treatment, I knew that it was timetolookforwardtothefutureandthankGodfor giving me the strength and faith to survive this ordeal I had faced. This definitely brought me clos-erwithmyrelationshipwithGodandourchurch.Praying gave me a sense of calmness knowing that everything was in His hands and that He would take care of me. I also want to thank my wonderful wife for taking care of me through all of it. I real-ized I am one blessed man to have such a fantastic wife, family, friends and church that helped and

HEARTOF

GOLD

ByGeorgeWarrenPhotos by Tom Congdon

supported me with love and prayers.

Over the next few months, I knew I had to get back into shape. I had a big challenge ahead of me as I was starting over with no energy and no endurance.Istartedcompetinginlocal5krunningevents with my wife. Running was not easy at first, butIgotbetterwitheachrace.Withalltherun-ning I was doing, speed skating started to creep back into my mind. The only time in almost two years that I touched my skates was when I officiat-edaspeedskatingmeet.Eightweeksbeforere-gionals, I was the referee at a meet in Orlando and also competed in the master men race. I skated so poorlyathoughtwentthroughmyhead;Iaminhorrible skating shape. Not long after that race, I knew I wanted to skate one more time at nationals before I retired from skating. Also, I knew that the national championships were being held in New Mexico, a state I have never been to, and wanted a chance to go.

I knew the training needed to begin in order for me to achieve my goal of skating and placing at nationals. I started traveling south from my home town to Ft. Pierce to skate with a team called South Florida Blades; thanks toHarry Stuart forletting me practice with his team. I had to get to work if I had any chance of making it to the award podium at nationals. At regionals with only three men in my division and barely taking second place overall, and only my team in each of my relays I did not really know if I was ready for nationals. I only had over two and a half months to get in skating shape.

At Tuesday’s practices in Ft. Pierce, we would have

sprint races. I found that after several three- lap races my lungs were on fire and it was hard for me to catch my breath. Chemotherapy, being out of shape and maybe trying to keep up with kids 35 years younger thanmemay have had some-thing to do with it. Knowing that at nationals my shortest race would be five laps, I was in trouble. Onmy30-minutedrivebackhomefrompractice,I told myself if I had an outside chance of plac-ing in New Mexico I had to get real serious about training.IcalledmycoachEricLicatawholivesinTampa, Florida, which is a three-hour drive away, to find out what kind of training I should be do-ing. Almost every day I was on the bike, skates, or sometimes both. I also watched what I was eating, as certain foods would affect my performance. At this point, diet was very important. Most morn-ingsIwasupby5a.m.,onthebikefora20to25mile ride, grab a quick shower, breakfast and then off towork by 7:15 a.m. at the fire departmentfor24hours.Duringmyafternoonworkouttime,I would be on the spin bike for another 40-45minutes. I work two jobs, so there were days that Iwouldwork thenextday, comehomeat3:00-3:30p.m., change,grabmyskatesandbeoff topracticeandnotgethomeuntil7:30-8p.m.Ialsostarted a workout routine called the AB Challenge, along with some light weight training. I did this routine seven to eight days in a row then would take a day off to rest.

After a little more than two months of intense training, it was time for nationals in New Mexico with the family. I was hoping that all my training was enough to get me on the award podium. Fol-lowing our flight, getting a rental car, and check-ing into the hotel late at night, I had a million

things running through my mind. I was lucky if I got three hours of sleep that night.

The next day, it was off to the convention center. As I entered the building, my nerves started to work on me. I was able to overcome my nerves and advance out of all my heats to the finals. Af-terplacingfirstinthe700meterrace,firstinthe500meter race, second in the1000meter race,secondinthemaster4-manrelayandthirdintheveteran 2-man relay, I knew that all my training and hard work paid off. I never in a million years imagined getting gold, but I managed to get two gold medals, two silver medals, one bronze medal and even be the overall champion in my division. This was definitely a dream come true for me!!!

I want to thank my relay partners Roy Paz, Dana Naeherand JamieLinton forhelpingmeachievemy goal. I also want to thank my wife and family, coachesEricLicata,SammyJohnson,HarryStuart,CJ,and theentireStardust family for supportingme through it all.

CoachEricLicatawrotethisaboutVince:Vince has skated for Stardust for many years, Vince took some time off due to his cancer and treatment, he came to me last year and said he wanted to come back and skate after all he went through. He asked me what he should do for train-ingjustgettingbackintoit;Itoldhimthatheisnot a new skater so he needed to get his body fit and feeling good first. I told him to ride his bike a lot and skate when he can. He looked OK at re-gionals. Then, at Nationals, with me not knowing in all his years of skating he had placed but never won, after his first race when he won the gold, he gave me that bit of information. He was on the road to an overall title and bronze in the 2-man relayandsilver in the4-manrelay.Weareall soproud of Vince.

In a final note, those of us throughout the skating family know that Vince has shown us all he has theheartofgold.Wearesoproudyoucompletedthat dream!

U S A R O L L E R S P O R T S T H E M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 1 3 43