By Nancy Averett, special to The Morning Call
Hence Bollinger glides over to one of her students, 15-year-old Courtenay Devlin. She positions herself only inches away from the girl's freckled face and stares straight at her.
"Look at me. Not your feet," Bollinger says, forcing Devlin to lift her gaze from her wobbly ankles.
In speed skating, body position is everything. The only way to move fast and stay upright is to have your weight balances over your blades. That means knees bent, behind tucked, stomach in, back rounded and, above all, head up.
The sport, which is practiced year round, offers a strong cardiovascular workout. It tones muscles throughout the body, especially the quadriceps and helps its practitioners develop better balance and coordination. It's also thrilling for people who like to speed.
Before they can fly, though, beginners such as Devlin and her classmates here at the Steel Ice Arena in Bethlehem must learn everything from takeoffs to landings. "I thought once you learned the basics of skating that would be it," says James Mancuso 24, of Scranton. "But here are so many little details."
As with Mancuso, Dave Goss of Lower Nazareth became interested in speed skating after years of watching it during the winter Olympics. This spring, the 43-year-old made up his mind to learn the sport, called the U.S. Speed Skating Association and discovered to amazement that there was a group, the East Penn Speed Skating Club, practically in his backyard.
That the club exists at all is a testament to Hence Bollinger's tenacity and chutzpah. Nine years ago, she read in a newspaper article that 1988 Olympic speed skater Leslie Corbett was moving to Allentown.
"I flung open the phone book, saw the name L. Corbett and took a chance it was her," Bollinger recalls. Corbett agreed to teach Bollinger, who had never been on skates. A year later the two formed the club.
"I'll never forget Leslie pulling me onto the ice that first time. I didn't know a thing," recalls Bollinger, a petite woman with a booming voice, muscular thighs and a relaxed sense of humor.
Bollinger co-teaches the class with her husband, Andy, and three other coaches from the club. They've chosen a curriculum developed by the Canadian Speed Skating Team and after Hence tries out a particularly grueling drill, she smiles wryly, shakes her head and mumbles: "Those crazy Canucks. No wonder they're such good skaters."
Before her students can attempt such a drill, though, they must start at the very beginning. The Bollingers line their protégés up along the perimeter of the rink. The students sink into a crouch while the coaches scrutinize them from every angle. Then like a mother duckling with a passel of newborns, Hence takes the group on their first slow lap around the rink.