Shaker’s Ryan Shane has reached the top ranks of his sport.
By Sue Starrett
Courtesy of US Speedskating
Ryan grew up on Manchester Road with his older sister Hannah and their parents, Lynn Schneider and Scott Shane. The siblings took figure skating at Thornton Park and the Cleveland Skating Club, but figure skating didn’t appeal to him. So he took up speed skating at the Cleveland Heights Speed Skating Club and, later, at Lakewood’s club.
From the first day, Ryan knew he loved speed skating. “But it took me a long time to be any good. I worked up from the bottom and often was last in competitions. But I turned disappointment into motivation,” he says.
The step between local clubs and the national team is the Facilitated Athlete Sport Training (FAST) Development Team, which uses the rink and facilities from the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Utah is a mecca for serious speed skaters, and Shane spent the summer of 2019 there. In 2020, the Utah FAST team accepted him because of his talent, drive, and attitude.
This coincided with the pandemic shutdown, which shifted his junior year classes online. Thanks to an agreement with his school counselor, he also completed his senior year online. At the same time, he had a breakout season, winning two U.S. junior championships.
“It took me a long time to be any good. I worked up from the bottom and often was last in competitions. But I turned disappointment into motivation,”
Now he is taking a gap year, because the next 18 months are crucial to his advancement. He plans to enroll at the University of Utah in 2023. During his breaks every April, Ryan returns home to see his family. He also makes time to coach members of the Cleveland Heights Speed Skating Club. The rest of the year, he sees his dad during ski season and both parents at his major competitions.
Short track speed skating was accepted for competition for the first time at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. It uses a 111 meter oval track, on which groups of four to seven skaters compete at speeds up to 30 miles an hour. In addition to speed, skaters practice strategy, passing, positioning, and blocking. Their training is mentally and physically rigorous. Doing so at 4,300 feet above sea level in Salt Lake City adds to the challenge, but strengthens the lungs and makes the cardiovascular system more efficient. Six days a week, Ryan devotes 30 to 40 hours to activities both on and off the ice. Half the time he runs, bikes, lifts weights, and participates in technique sessions; the remaining hours are on the ice.
His ultimate goal is to qualify for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. His intermediate goals include making the World Cup and Four Continents competitive speed skating teams and winning their championships, and, early next year, becoming the junior short track world champion in Dresden.
Ryan credits experiences from his childhood with shaping his attitude. A swimming coach taught him the value of fair play and how to be coachable. “Growing up in Shaker’s diverse community helps me interact with and make friends with people from all over the world.” Speed skating is an expensive pursuit, and Ryan is grateful to his sponsors, Filip & Co. Watches and Kaulig Companies, both of which have Northeast Ohio connections.
For more information, visit ryansshane.com.
