Area skating coach draws an international crowd

BY C.J. RISAK
STAR-BANNER
OCALA - It's been kind of busy for Renee Hildebrand. And it doesn't look like it'll let up anytime soon.

Hildebrand is a coach. The sport she specializes in: inline speed skating. Her successes have been numerous, on a local, national and international scale, and the more success she brings the more she's in demand.

The Belleview resident has coached Ocala's Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia for 11 years. Last August, the pair combined to win 10 gold medals, each setting a new world record, at the Inline Speed Skating World Championships in Cali, Columbia. That came a month after each had captured 3 gold medals apiece at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Certainly Hildebrand could be proud of their success, but there was more for her to relish. She had been hired to coach the Belgian team at the World Championships, and her impact was immediate.

"They hadn't won a gold medal at the World Championships in 11 years," Hildebrand said while waiting for three of her proteges to complete their training session at Greenway Trails Park. "Last year in Cali, they won 2 golds, a silver and a bronze."

Hildebrand will continue to coach the Belgian team for two more years (at least), but that won't be the limit of her duties. The three athletes she waited for at Greenway Trails had a multinational background; only Jacob Richardson, a 15-year-old seeking to succeed on the junior stage, called Ocala home.





Read More...