Golden Son

2009 World Figure Skating Champion Evan Lysacek of Naperville brings a lifetime of dogged determination and tireless training to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver this month. This 24-year-old, who carries himself with the grace and wisdom of someone twice his age, enters these Olympics as a favorite to bring home the gold medal. But, that doesn’t faze Lysacek. He’s always held himself to the highest standard.

Naperville resident Joe Joseph saw a winner in Lysacek from the very beginning. “I cannot say enough about him, of course we knew him from a very young age.” Lysacek and Joseph’s daughter, Stephanie, both attended Spring Brook Elementary School on the city’s southwest side, and both loved to skate. They practiced together during those early years. Joseph continues, “Evan was always very pleasant, he was never cranky, only laughing, very jovial. He addressed adults properly. I was very impressed. And then he moved on, and Stephanie had to take another path.”

Stephanie Joseph was eight years old when she was diagnosed with a rare cancer called soft- tissue sarcoma. Joe Joseph remembers the two youngsters turning his family room into an impromptu dance studio. “We never had a coffee table. They would be choreographing and jumping. We never had a sharp edge,” Joseph remembers. He says, even then, his daughter would always say, “Evan will be big.” Joseph adds, “There was no doubt in her mind.”

Lysacek lived, trained, and went to school in and near Naperville until he graduated from Neuqua Valley High School in 2003. Only then did he move to Los Angeles and begin working with his current coach, Frank Carroll. Tanya Lysacek, Evan’s mother, said the decision to keep him in as normal an environment as possible was a priority. “Evan was always a really bright kid. There are so many wonderful aspects of his personality. We had coaches from the time he was 12 encourage us to have him move on. And, we said no. He knew what the rules were,” his mother said. “It had to be his idea to skate every day, I would never wake him up, I would say, “Evan do you want to skate?”

That dedication showed on the ice and off. Bob Mattingly was head guidance counselor at Neuqua Valley High School then. “If he was your friend, you had a friend for life.” That was true for Evan and Stephanie Joseph, whose fight against cancer ended on February 19, 2008. Stephanie was 21 years old. One month earlier, Joe Joseph says his daughter watched Evan win the Men’s National Figure Skating Title. “She remarked that Evan can do so much more,” he said. “It was probably the final comment she made about him.”

Seven months later, Lysacek and his mother organized a star-studded figure skating event in Geneva to benefit the Stephanie Joseph Memorial Fund. They raised $40,000 for the Make-a-Wish-Foundation of Illinois. Lysacek has an ongoing relationship with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, Figure Skating in Harlem, and the Ronald McDonald House. Charity work is his hobby. “The world and the universe have given me so much,” he said. “I’m so lucky. It (feels) good to give back and to work with people and organizations that are truly changing the world.”

Asked what is the best piece of advice he was ever given Lysacek says, “Have a positive work ethic.” Perhaps more revealing is his reply when asked the worst piece of advice he was ever given. Without skipping a beat, Lysacek replied, “I don’t really remember it. But if I got any, I’m glad I’ve proven them wrong.” It’s clear Lysacek doesn’t waste time looking back. He lives in the moment. And he remembers every moment he’s lived. That just may be the combination that leaves him standing with the gold medal around his neck. Whatever the outcome in Vancouver, those who know Evan Lysacek personally agree he is already a winner at the game of life.

Cool facts:
Dec. 5, 2009 - Grand Prix Final Champion
Nov. 14, 2009 – Gold medalist at Skate America, Lake Placid, N.Y.
Nov. 13, 2009 – Wins short program at Skate America, Lake Placid, N.Y.
October 31, 2009 – Silver medalist at Cup of China-Beijing, China
March 26, 2009 –Evan named2009 World Champion
Currently resides in: Los Angeles
Coach: Frank Carroll
Parents: Don and Tanya Lysacek
Sisters: Laura and Christina
Olympic Short Program: “Firebird” byIgor Stravinsky
Olympic Free Skate:"Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov