Starting from scratch

Jack Walters was there to see the beginning of speed skating in Canada, and after a long and successful career as an athlete, coach and technical guru, he is happily looking forward to life in "semi-retirement".

Let me get right to the point—did you know that Jack Walters coached the Finnish Men's Speed Skating team at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympic Games? How did he forge his ties to Finland? Well, you have to read from the beginning.

Originally from Boston, Jack Walters started skating as a youngster and describes himself as being in the sport "forever". Walters competed on the American National Speed Skating team in the 1972 Winter Olympics and was an accomplished speed skater in both the long track and short track disciplines—a rare feat for an athlete.

In 1973 Walters moved to Canada to begin setting up the technical side of the Canadian speed skating program. He thought it would be a "cool thing to do for a year" and, well, he is still in Canada. He said that he began coaching almost immediately and spent a lot of time developing the technical side of the sport by holding numerous camps and clinics for skaters. The results were almost immediate—in 1976 Cathy Priestner won a silver medal for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Many baby boomers will also remember Gaetan Boucher, a medalist in the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Winter Games.

Walters was the Canadian National coach for both long track and short track disciplines from 1976 to 1985 and then stepped aside to work more on the technical side of the sport. He says that overall, speed skating had its first real world championship in 1976, and from that year, the sport really evolved. Walters was also instrumental in the technical development of short track speed skating into the fast and high-flying sport that we know today. Canadian short track skaters consistently finish in the top ten and have done so since the sport became official after the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988.

Walters left the Speed Skating Canada Association in 1996 to pursue independent coaching work. When asked about achievements and memorable moments, Walters states that the Winter Olympics from 1972 on have been great and that they are "always" memorable. He says it is really difficult to pick any moment that stands out, but he loves coaching and likes fiddling with the fine points of speed skating year after year.

He has lived in Calgary since 1988 when he moved there, shortly after the Calgary Olympics, and he describes life there as "good" and "pleasant". It is a good place for outdoor activities he says—"and I met my wife there, too." Prior to that he lived in Ottawa where the national headquarters of Speed Skating Canada are situated.

Hello Finland

It is not surprising to hear that Jack Walters has relatives in Finland, and he has met them too! His mother's parents and his grandparents were from Finland—Rauma and Helsinki—and a few relatives still live in Helsinki.

Does the name Janne Hänninen sound familiar? Janne Hänninen is currently ranked as the number one men's speed skater in Finland and has worked under the watchful eye of Jack Walters since 1996. Janne Hänninen's father, Seppo, skated for Finland in the 1972 Olympics, and it was at his request that Walters took on the task of coaching the younger Hänninen. So Walters said, "send him over," and Janne Hänninen's speed skating career went into a higher gear.

Under Walters' coaching, Janne Hänninen has made significant strides; having access to a coach, a program, and some of the fastest ice in the world (Calgary) has made all the difference. Walters states that in Nagano in 1998 he was the coach for a few countries—Finland and Austria, to name two—and he also coached Canadian Kevin Overland, who won a bronze medal in the 500m. Hänninen skated well in Nagano, but it was this year in Salt Lake City, USA where Hänninen made his presence felt. Walters states that Hänninen has improved a lot and that the SLC games were good for Finland overall, because there were three skaters representing Finland (Janne Hänninen and the Rosendahl brothers, Risto and Vesa), thus creating a "team" atmosphere.

Hänninen finished 11th overall last season in the 500m on the World Cup Circuit and is these days a consistent top 10 finisher at World Cup meets. Walters describes Janne Hänninen as "driven" and believes that Hänninen still has something to prove. Time will tell.

What now?

Jack Walters has also coached skaters from Sweden, Russia, New Zealand and Switzerland and has given numerous camps and clinics here in Finland. He believes that the current work he does is good for both him and the skaters he coaches. Walters enjoys his work, and national sport organizations with few speed skaters can turn to someone like him to meet the coaching needs of the skaters—it is a win-win situation for all.

As for the future of Finnish speed skating, Walters believes that getting more skaters into the sport would be good for the Finnish program. He names Pekka Koskela in particular, who last season set a World Junior Record in the 500m in December at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, USA.

At this point in time, Walters is not coaching anyone, but is enjoying being semi-retired. He is consulting Janne Hänninen this season and will be working with him in November—and then it's off to World Cup meets in China and Japan in December. A World Cup meet will also be held in Salt Lake City in January 2003 and the World Championships are slated for Calgary in January 2003 as well. Walters also mentions that he will be presenting at International Skating Union seminars in Sweden in November and again in the U.S. in January. (Some retirement, Jack!)

Walters iterates that he does indeed have more free time than he used to. He has a ten-year-old daughter that he would love to spend more time with and plenty of work to do around the house. He adds that he will happily continue with his international work in building and maintaining speed skating as the wonderful and fluid sport that it is for a long time to come.

By Carmen Boudreau-Kiviaho