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Kelsie Kellen, who moved here with her family in May from St. Louis, relaxes after a swim practice at the YMCA's Spotsylvania branch, where she competes in a non-disabled league. It's a nice change of pace from the hot summer mornings at the James Monroe High School track.
Kelsie Kellen (left) and her mother and coach, Kelli, leave the track at James Monroe H.S. Kelsie, who hopes to compete in London in the 2012 Paralympics, logs plenty of hours.
Kelsie Kellen, 13, of Spotsylvania County, an aspiring Paralympic athlete, practices her wheelchair sprints at the track at James Monroe High School.
Kelsie Kellen and her mom-coach, Kelli, talk during training. They've been a regular presence this summer at the track. |
Sure, Kelsie Kellen wanted a medal. What elite track and field athlete wouldn't?
But when she took her spot on a New Jersey track at last month's International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation Junior World Games, the loudspeaker announcement gave her a much greater reward:
"Kelsie Kellen, for the United States of America."
It was her first international competition, and she was thrilled to represent her country.
Later, it hardly seemed to matter that she finished out of the medals in her five events.
"I did really well. I had two personal bests!" she said afterward.
At 13, Kelsie gets it: To outcompete other athletes, you first have to outcompete yourself. In just two years, that attitude has pro- pelled her to the top of her age and functionality group in wheelchair athletics.
a life-changing meeting
Kelsie and her family--mom Kelli, dad Scott and big brother Steffen--were living in St. Louis, Mo., when they went to a home show featuring accessible furnishings.
There, a woman asked if Kelsie wanted to try riding a hand-powered bike.
She did. She'd seen her friends ride their bikes and it had looked like fun--and also like something she wouldn't get to do. Born with spina bifida, Kelsie has only limited use of her hips and minimal feeling in her legs and feet.
The stranger at the home show turned out to be Kelly Behlmann, coach of a St. Louis team of disabled athletes ages 5 to 21.
Meeting her opened the door for Kelsie to try all kinds of wheelchair sports--hockey, archery, tennis, air rifle and rock climbing among them.
But it was on the track, in a borrowed racing chair, that Kelsie discovered her gift for speed.
"It didn't take long before I was beating everyone, including most of the boys," she recalled with a grin.
At her first meet, she got a sliced finger, heat exhaustion and a medal. She was hooked.
Many more meets and a roomful of medals, trophies and plaques followed, and Kelsie became known as a local superstar, Behlmann recalled.
MOVING TO SPOTSYLVANIA
By the time the family relocated to Spotsylvania this spring because of Scott Kellen's transfer to Quantico with the Navy, Kelsie was already getting bids to exclusive invitational meets.
Usually she travels with her mom, but when she was invited to a training camp last year in Colorado Springs, Colo., she had to go on her own.
She had already learned to handle baggage claim--including how to keep her cool when another passenger insisted on helping.
Her mom was with her that time but stood back to let Kelsie get her racing chair off the conveyer.
The other passenger was horrified. "She'll hurt herself!" he said. No, Kelli Kellen said. She won't.
Kelsie managed her first solo trip with skill and maturity, negotiating airports, security, boarding and baggage, then living dormitory-style. She managed her time and used the athletes' shuttle to get herself to practices and competitions.
COACH MOM STEPS IN
As independent as Kelsie is, she still needs a coach.
When the family moved to Spotsylvania in May, Kelli Kellen took on that role.
Most weekdays this summer, they were on the James Monroe High School track in Fredericksburg by 7 a.m.
There, Kelli Kellen laid out the schedule for the day and coached Kelsie through drills to improve form, technique and endurance.
The custom-made racing chair is three-wheeled for stability, and it's so lightweight Kelsie would tumble backward if she sat straight up. Instead she leaned forward and pushed with gloved hands, her muscular arms a blur of motion.
Together, girl and chair weigh less than 90 pounds.
One July morning Kelsie flew around the track, sizzling through sprints and coasting turns as Kelli Kellen shouted encouragement.
"Push push push push push!" she yelled. "C'mon, Kelsie, elbows up!"
After a few laps, Kelsie rolled to a stop with a grimace of pain. Her new custom-made gloves hadn't yet arrived in the mail, and these worn-out ones gave her blisters. She checked out a wheel burn on her arm, and a couple of fresh bruises.
Would the discomfort make her want to stop for the day?
"Not Kelsie," Kelli said.
Near the end of the practice, Kelli Kellen timed Kelsie on the 100-meter dash, her favorite event. She'd posted a time of 20:66 at a competition earlier in the summer, and she wanted to get under 20.
At her mom's signal, Kelsie took off, roaring past another runner doing sprints nearby.
At the finish, Kelsie breathlessly asked, "Did I get it?"
"19:59," Kelli Kellen said.
"Yes!" Kelsie shouted, a look of sheer joy on her face. "Whooo!"
Laura Moyer: 540/374-5417
Email: lmoyer@freelancestar.com
Want to race? There's no team nearby Kelli Kellen can be reached by cell phone at 618/830-6644. |
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How to help
Most of Kelsie Kellen's travel and training expenses come from the bank of Mom and Dad. But to help with some of the costs, the Kellen family has set up a fund for tax-deductible contributions through Wheelchair Sports USA. Donations may be made in Kelsie's name to WSUSA Athlete Development Fund, 1236 Jungermann Road, Suite A, St. Peters, Mo. 63376. Or use the Web site wsusa.org, click membership, then "ADF donations" and look for Kelsie's link. |
Olympic dreams Like the summer Olympics, the Paralympic Games are to be held in Beijing this year. They'll be seen Sept. 6-17 on streaming video via the Web site http://en.paralympic. beijing2008.cn. Kelli Kellen plans to project the games on a big screen in the basement so the whole family can watch. Viewing the games is more than just entertainment for 13-year-old Kelsie Kellen. In 2012, she hopes to be on the U.S. Paralympic team in London. "I know I'm good at it, and I know that if I work hard enough I will be in the Paralympics," Kelsie said. It's a realistic goal, according to Coach Kelly Behlmann of the St. Louis, Mo., DASA Dynamites, Kelsie's former team. "She's got a natural ability--not just her physical ability but her mind-set and her dedication," Behlmann said. Kelsie watches her nutrition and indulges in soft drinks on Sundays only. And she cross-trains as a swimmer, practicing with a non-disabled team at the Spotsylvania YMCA. "Not only is she a great athlete, but she's a good person," Behlmann said. When a new boy joined the St. Louis team, Behlmann recalled, he was in awe of Kelsie the superstar. Kelsie took a break from her own training and showed him how to work his gloves and use the brakes on his racing chair. She went with him around the track, giving pointers and encouragement. At the end of the lap, Behlmann recalled, Kelsie held back just a bit so the newcomer could enjoy the great feeling of crossing the finish line first. --Laura Moyer |
