Elliot Ferrusi

By Brian Cremo

Walking into Elliot Ferrusi’s room in Plattsburgh, NY, you really get the feeling of a warm welcome. With a friendly hand shake and a frozen smile on his face, he makes you feel more than comfortable although he’s physically intimidating. The first time you talk to the guy he acts like you’ve been good friends for a while as he speaks in a, somewhat, raspy tone. He’s not too flashy, wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans, and he seems excited to get talking about the subject. At the same time, he’s not excited to talk about himself. No, there doesn’t seem to be a cocky bone in this kid’s body, which is hard to believe after all that he’s accomplished. He’s not that tall, maybe 5-foot-9, but his shoulders are as wide as anyone’s and if you had to compare his body shape to anything, it would probably be a rock. The room is well managed, clean, and better smelling than most teenage rooms. A Notorious B.I.G. poster sits next to another of Tupac. He’s sitting at his computer, You Tubing videos just like any other kid, but this would be deceiving because he has something in his culture that separates him from the rest.

Ferrusi, 19, often experiences something that few people ever go through their entire lives. When he was 12 years old his grandfather, Richard Tracy, introduced him to the world of bobsledding. In talking to the two, you can tell there’s and extremely close bond between them. Ferrusi admits his grandfather is not only family, but is his unofficial coach. His real coach is a man named Brian Shimmer, who was a silver medalist in 2002 Salt Lake games. Tracy himself started off in the 1980 Olympic trials, but suffered a “horrific” crash, which broke his leg and ended that dream. After that he qualified for a handful of national teams and competed in world competitions, but now he’s in full throttle support of his grandson. “I was surprised when I first mentioned it to him. He had a like a 7.40 push – phenomenal,” said Tracy in just as friendly as a voice as Elliot. He talked as proud as any one individual could be of another.

Ferrusi became hooked to the sport and soon impressed those around him with his ability to push the sled, at a young age. Tracy described the way people used to talk about Ferrusi when he was younger. “(They would say), ‘Holy smokes this kid’s a machine,’” said Tracy. “It’s because he was never closely challenged. I think he impressed them for a young kid. From the get go we honed his skills—He took off with it.”

“My grandfather came up to me and asked me if I wanted to try it out,” Ferrusi said. “At first I was really nervous. I didn’t want to do it at all and I tried it for the first time and I’ve loved it ever since.” Although admitting the first time he tried it he was constantly praying to God to not let him die, he continued to put forth the hours of hard work, starting at the junior level (ages 12-18) where the competitors only complete half of the track. “It’s like you’re adrenaline’s pumping, you’re nervous and it’s something that you’re either going to love it, or you’re going to hate,” said Ferusi. “There’s no in between.” During juniors he grabbed a slew of awards including a gold medal in the Empire State games, knocking out the older 16 year old reigning champs. It seems like you could tell he was going to be good from an early age right?

When he was done with high school, he decided to venture to his grandfather’s alma mater; Texas A&M. He would have to give up bobsledding in this decision; however, after one semester he knew he had to come back. The hunger for bobsledding was the main reason for his choice. He would come back and set his goals even higher – to train for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Russia

Brian Berghorn, 20, came up through the junior system with Ferusi and met him in 2003. “I think they’re the only two, actively involved, who came up in the junior program, which is unique,” said Tracy. They’re now training for the US team and Berghorn is one of Ferrusi’s drivers. “(Elliot’s) an excellent push athlete and a great athlete all around and he’s definitely driven,” Berghorn said. “He pretty much raised the bar (since we were younger)…He’s the man.” The only other driver Ferrusi trains with is a thirty-year-old named Ethan who is on the USA squad. He’s playing with the big boys. No, he's not playing varsity baseball or football for a school (although he does play rugby). This kids competing for the right to be on a national level.

“I do a workout program that’s similar to a football workout and I go to the track every weekend (in Lake Placid),” said Ferrusi. His workout consists of heavy lifting and a mass amount of agility and speed training. He goes to the track every weekend at Mt. Vanhoevenburgh in Lake Placid. It’s a grueling workout and you can tell, just by looking at him, that it has results. On winter breaks he shows his dedication by going to the track about five times per week. He describes the setting as a “multi-million” dollar track, holding ice up to 60 degrees and being fully equipped with a refrigeration system in it. “It’s really sick,” says Ferrusi.

The other place he practices is a push track where the Olympic torch is. He describes it in detail as a “roller coaster setup”. It’s pretty much a sled, with wheels, on a track. He also goes to the Olympic Training center in lake placid, which he describes as a “giant Olympic gym”. They put waits on the sled so the sled feels lighter when in actual competition. Ferrusi seems vastly mature for his age as he expresses the importance of learning the proper technique through this training as well as learning from the “older guys” who act as his mentors.

When he goes through practice runs, he has one driver on a two man sled, one of two types of races Ferrusi participates in. In two-man bobsledding you have one guy who pushes the sled at the beginning of the run and another one drives. The other is four-man. As he goes on to discuss how he trains he admits that Brian and he are the youngest people who train, by five years. It’s hard not to comprehend the fact that he’s ahead of his time. Most athletes in this sport tend to be in their upper twenties and mid-thirties.

The way he describes the feeling of bobsledding makes you feel like the sport is a subculture all of its own.

“One-hundred percent of your job is to push the sled,” said Ferrusi. “You’re the main force driving that sled. The driver pushes as well, but he’s more running with the sled,” For a big guy you realize he’s not all about strength when he talks about the finesse that goes into his work. “There’s so much technique involved (in pushing). There are big guys and a lot of them don’t know the technique.” If you haven’t gotten the picture by now, here’s another example of the strength and ability he possesses at the age of 19. He only pushed 2/10ths of a second slower than another pusher, from West Point, who plays for the Detroit Lions. He admits the reason for his success is mostly because of the technique learned from his grandfather.

With excitement in his eyes and added enthusiasm in his voice, he goes on to discuss what it’s like as he begins a normal run down the track.

“The push is everything,” said Ferrusi. “If you don’t have a good push, you’re not going to go as fast. If you’re not going as fast, your driver won’t be able to pick up the same lines on the turns and it can throw them off, so consistency is big.”

He further describes the feeling as the taste and feel of the cold air surrounds him and he’s gaining tremendous speed.

“When we’re going down my adrenaline’s pumping and we hit about four or five G’s. Take the G’s and multiply it by your body weight and that’s how much weight is pushing down on you when you hit those turns, so for me it’s almost 1000 pounds.”

He says he feels relaxed as he descends, but tense at the same. “After you come down the track so many times you know where you are by just feel,” he said. “Right when you hit those turns, your head gets sucked to the bottom of the bobsled. It’s pretty intense.”

As he goes on to describe the voyage downhill I can’t help but notice the bravery that goes into the sport, especially as the pusher. The reason for this is because, after he hops in, the ride is up to the driver. Trusting someone else driving you at speeds of 85 miles per hour in a sled is something that few would sign up for. “(The pushers need to be) Strong and fast,” said Ferrusi. “I don’t need to know the technicalities of the track. I just chill to the end, but I have to hold my weight center. I have to stay totally stiff (or else it could throw off the sled).” At Whistler, where the most recent 2010 Olympics were held, bobsleds can reach speeds up to 96 miles-per-hour, the fastest circuit around.

There are other times when the run doesn’t go as planned and Ferrusi was unlucky enough to experience a live crash himself. Covering his ears as he reminisces the sound of the crash with a comedic imitation he proceeds to say, “The worst thing is when you crash; it’s a loud noise. It’s metal and fiberglass scraping against artificial ice and the sled gets really messed up. The worst thing is you can receive ice burns. If you fall off the sled the friction between the ice and your skin it’s like sunburn, so it hurts…it sucks.”

Ferrusi spent much of the past year doing extreme weight training and admitted he hadn’t pushed the sled in almost a year. “This year I came up to Lake Placid and I hadn’t pushed the sled in a year and I gave (my driver) his best push times.” said Ferrusi. “I feel like it’s more like riding a bike. You never forget how the technique is.” He elaborates on the importance of technique and how the only reason those who are “bigger” than him don’t have as fast of push times is because they don’t have the technique.

Since Ferrusi was 12 he’s grown immensely in the sport and now, consistently, hits speeds up to 85 miles per hour on the historic Lake Placid track. “Over the years he continuously got better and honed his skill real well. “He’s come a long way and stayed focused,” said his grandfather.

He may have a good shot at competing in the Olympics, but he’s looking forward to still “being a kid” in college, although he spends every day working out. The way he describes going on runs you can tell he knows that track like the back of his hand. It’s not often you hear about a kid who went from Texas to bobsledding, but it seems like Ferrusi has made a decision that’s really made him happy. Only time will tell if his hard work pays off, but regardless it seems as though he has no regrets as to where he is in life now. He’s laidback and doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. He admits no one’s perfect, but to be good in bobsledding he says, “You have to be fast and consistent. The world of bobsledding is all about perfection unfortunately. That’s why it’s so hard, because no one’s perfect.”