Hersh interviews Nicole Bobek

[Jem X]

New interview with Nicole about her life.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...5.story?page=1

[VALuvsMKwan]

I wish her the best. Recovery from addiction is certainly not easy, with or without criminal records or probation to deal with.

[Wyliefan]

It sounds like she's trying hard. Good for her. I really hope she can keep it up!

[genevieve]

How very random:

"The easiest way to see Nicole is how people look at child actors,'' said Billy Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman. "They get a lot of attention when they are small, but they don't totally mature the way a normal person does.''

Corgan, also a Chicagoan and an avid sports fan, recognized Nicole when they first met in a random encounter at O'Hare in 1995. They stayed in touch for a while after that but had lost contact for several years until he read of her arrest.

Corgan...immediately called Nicole's attorney to offer his help and since has been a source of support, saying he sometimes speaks with her two or three times daily. He, Starbuck and Fassi's wife, Christa, are among those who wrote Judge Callahan to support her request for probation.

[barbk]

Great article by Hersh. Thanks for posting it.

I really hope she's able to keep it together.

[JerseySlore]

I wish best of luck to her. Nicole is the first skater I've ever loved, and it's been tragic to see her downfall It's good to see she's pursuing GED and still involved in skating.
It's little concerning she's dating someone barely old enough to drink given her romantic history, but it's her life and hope they have real future together.

Hersh's really having a field day with so many fs news, isn't he?

[DeathDrop]

Sorry to hear this unfortunate turn of an event, and this is not entirely unexpected in a way considering there do not seem to be many opportunities for skaters after their retirement unless they go on to colleges to get the education they need for life. Tim Goebel comes into my mind right away. He had received his bachelor's degree in mathematics no less recently at an age of 29 or 30 and found a job in a financial firm IIRC. They have to understand that there is a life after skating, with dwindling or almost bare skating market, coaching probably would not pay the bills for the rest of their lives although coaching seems to be a popular destination for them almost by default.

[zhenya271]

I hope it works out for her. Just a thought, I don't really know all that much about it, but could she possibly have undiagnosed ADD? I read something awhile ago about one of the the pros about medicating for ADD/ADHD was the deterrent of illegal drug abuse.

[museksk8r]

Nicole was my first skating love too! I am so glad and relieved that she is trying very hard to get her life back on track. Here's hoping that she never returns to such a dark, lonely, hopeless place in her life ever again! Nicole has all my support and positive thoughts as she continues on her road to recovery. I wish her lots of love with her mom, boyfriend, and friends and lots of success with her job and GED completion. I really hope she can once again be a role model to many people! She's really trying to turn her life around, so that's a positive step in the right direction. It would be really cool for her to get back into shape with the help of Richard and Todd too, having everything come full circle.

[JerseySlore]

I hope it works out for her. Just a thought, I don't really know all that much about it, but could she possibly have undiagnosed ADD? I read something awhile ago about one of the the pros about medicating for ADD/ADHD was the deterrent of illegal drug abuse.

You might be onto something. Not that I want to justify her addiction, but her days as an athlete do scream ADD.

[Jessica]

Nicole was my 3rd skating love. The first two being Dorothy and Kristi. I hope this works out for her. I was really upset when I first heard about this.

According to the article, JoJo Starbuck says she did have some form of ADD.

Audiences loved Nicole from the time she first skated in public. Start the music, any music, and she moved in tune with it. She was a natural talent with an attention deficit issue that made her almost impossible to teach. "Like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall,'' said JoJo Starbuck, the Hall of Fame pairs skater who did some choreographic work with Nicole.

[overedge]

Billy Corgan isn't exactly a model of stability either. It's nice that he's supporting her, but I hope he's supporting her in a way that's helping her.

[Coco]

Billy Corgan isn't exactly a model of stability either. It's nice that he's supporting her, but I hope he's supporting her in a way that's helping her.

word.

[mikey]

Just a thought, I don't really know all that much about it, but could she possibly have undiagnosed ADD?

Well, in the article, it says, "She was a natural talent with an attention deficit issue that made her almost impossible to teach."

[peibeck]

I am not usually a Hersh fan, but this was a good article. I hope Nicole can keep on track and keep her life together.

[Polymer Bob]

Good luck, Nicole. You can do it.

[MikiAndoFan#1]

How nice to see Nicole wanting to get back with her life. Good luck, Nicole!

[zhenya271]

Nicole was my 3rd skating love. The first two being Dorothy and Kristi. I hope this works out for her. I was really upset when I first heard about this.

According to the article, JoJo Starbuck says she did have some form of ADD.

Audiences loved Nicole from the time she first skated in public. Start the music, any music, and she moved in tune with it. She was a natural talent with an attention deficit issue that made her almost impossible to teach. "Like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall,'' said JoJo Starbuck, the Hall of Fame pairs skater who did some choreographic work with Nicole.

Well, in the article, it says, "She was a natural talent with an attention deficit issue that made her almost impossible to teach."

JoJo's quote is what I was basing my question on, I was just wondering if she might actually have the disorder. I wasn't sure if JoJo was saying that or generalizing that Nicole had attention issues, but I guess it is kind of clarified by the metaphor she gives.

I feel bad for her. I hope she finds the the right path for herself.

[IceJunkie]

Nicole's life looks to be going well...I truly hope she can recover and possibly come back to the ice!

[azskatefan]

Best thing Hersh has ever written.