Former Olympic bobsled driver-turned-coach Randy Will brought his message of dedication and perseverance to Broome-Tioga BOCES this week (Feb. 19), entertaining dozens of students with stories about his past and current Olympic accomplishments.
Will, a Broome-Tioga native currently living in Johnson City, competed on the U.S. bobsled team in the 1988, 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. He then coached the U.S. teams in the next two Olympics, the last including 2002 gold medalist Jimmy Shea.
More recently, the 49-year-old returned to the sport to assist the U.S. bobsled team prepare for competition in Sochi, Russia. Before rejoining the U.S. team, he was working with the current Australian bobsled team, for which he built a pair of bobsleds (two- and four-man) in his garage. The four-man sled was brought to BOCES late last year to be finished and painted by students in the auto-body repair program.
“There’s a little bit of all of you over there in Russia right now,” Will told the audience assembled inside BOCES main gymnasium. He said the bright-yellow Australian sled is scheduled to run in competitions on Saturday and Sunday.
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