Ontario master speed skater, Kevin Frost, recently sent MSS News his own story of personal success...
At a young age he was very active and always on the go. Born in Victoria, B.C. in 1967, he moved with his family to Ottawa in 1972 to begin his life. Always athletic, Kevin played baseball from T-ball through to the Nepean Canadians, and in hockey he played novice through juvenile, he wanted to play Jr. B but he was too small. He also refereed hockey for 25 years, working over 20,000 games!!! He was a paper boy for seven years, cut grass and worked at outdoor rinks for four years. He also worked for a local grocery chain for 16 years. A job he loved very much.
When Kevin was 11-years-old, his math teacher mentioned to his parents that Kevin wasn’t listening well in class. Kevin learned at the age 11 that he had only 25 per cent of his hearing left. As a result, he taught himself to lip read at a young age. He continued going to school despite having to deal with teasing and bullying because of his disability. He attended Gloucester High School for his finals years of school.
When Kevin was 30-years-old, he began walking into walls, tripping over his kids, and his night vision was getting worse. Kevin was too busy being a workaholic to think anything was really wrong. Kevin got his eyes tested.
The doctor told Kevin the shocking news that he was suffering from Usher’s Syndrome. This diagnosis was not positive. The doctor told Kevin you lose your hearing at a young age and your vision later in life. The diagnosis meant losing his drivers licence, his job with the grocery chain and his job refereeing for safety reasons.....
So at 32-years-old Kevin Frost had hit a brick wall. He was left asking himself - what do I do for the now? Well with the help of CNIB, family and friends, he decided that he didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. Instead, he got involved with disability sports groups. He joined a blind dragon boat team called ‘Dragon Eyes’ and also did some tandem biking. That year his dragon boating team even finished first in their division against able bodied paddlers!
Then another great thing happened to Kevin, he got a guide dog name Nemo. With the help of this adorable Labrador retriever Kevin gained a great deal independence.
At 36-years-old, with five per cent vision and 10 per cent hearing, his wife got him back on blades to try something he always had a passion for...skating. However, this was not hockey skating, this time it was speed skating! After trying it for a year Kevin’s coach Ron Guerrard said, “Why don’t you compete against able bodied speed skaters?”
Fast forward two years and 120 races in short and long track later, and Kevin has won four gold, four silver, and seven bronze medals against able bodied skaters.
His future dreams include trying to make speed skating an official Paralympic event by making it a demonstration sport at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Next year Kevin will attend the World Masters Long Track Championships in Calgary. He hopes someday to travel the world competing in speed skating competitions.
Kevin’s other goals include educating schools, businesses, and the Ottawa Police on how to properly deal with deaf, blind, deaf-blind and guide dogs in everyday life. Kevin believes we all need to know how to deal with disabled people in our community.
Kevin believes he owes all his success in speed skating to his sponsors who have helped him get this far. Without them this wouldn’t have happened!!! When his journey is complete, Kevin plans on opening a foundation with the funds that remain in order to help other disabled athletes achieve their Olympic dreams.
If you would like more info on Kevin's journey go to http://www.deafblindspeedskater.com/
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