Danny O’Shea had quite an impressive first semester of his sophomore year at Carmel: four A’s and two B’s. And both B’s were in honors classes.
What he does away from the classroom is as impressive, and the time he devotes to figure skating makes his academic ledger even more amazing. Just consider his typical school week:
– He wakes up daily at 4 a.m. and is driven 30 minutes from his Gurnee home to the Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove.
– He practices from 5:30 to 7:30 and is at school by 8:15.
– He leaves school at 3 and heads back to Twin Rinks for another 90 minutes of practice.
Three days a week, he also works out for an hour with a personal trainer in Vernon Hills.
“I do homework a lot in the car and at night,” he said. “I definitely have a hectic schedule, but I love skating and it’s paying off, so it’s worth it.”
O’Shea last fall qualified for the United States Figure Skating Association National Championships from Jan. 21-27 in Spokane, Wash. He was first in the USFSA Novice Division sectional in mid-November in Alabama.
He’s now one of the nation’s top 12 skaters in his division.
“I definitely am really excited, and only a little nervous so far,” O’Shea said. “I think the reason I’ve done so well is, when I skate, I skate clean, without mistakes. I might not do all of the difficult moves that others do, but what I do I do really well.”
Last year he was fourth best in his division. This time, in the higher Novice Division, his goal is top six.
“This whole year has been unexpected,” said O’Shea, whose skating heroes are Elvis Stojko and Brian Boitano.
O’Shea grew up playing football and basketball, much like his older brother Jason, who played football for Carmel. But O’Shea decided to focus on skating after 7th grade.
“It was a tough decision and, yeah, at times I do missing hitting people; I miss football. But it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I get a rush from skating. I love it.”
So instead of worrying about third-and-long or a three-point shot, he’s focused on his 3 1/2-minute on-ice performance. Not to mention the triple toe loop or the triple Lutz jump–on-ice stunts he does with style and grace, while wearing black skates, black pants and a black shirt with blue rhinestones on the sleeve and collar.
“It doesn’t look flamboyant. It looks good,” he said of his shirt. “You would think people wouldn’t respect me because I’m a figure skater, but I have a lot of respect from my classmates, the teachers and basically everyone at Carmel. They’re really nice, really good about it.”
O’Shea is the only local boy in the nationals, but two area high school girls will be joining him at nationals–Megan Hyatt, a junior at Lakes, and Emily Young, a sophomore at Stevenson.
