Target Stars on Ice to perform at Verizon; New England's Todd Eldredge shares a lifelong love of skating

Copyright 2002 Union Leader Corp.

Todd Eldredge's parents may not have believed him at the ripe old age of 5, but he knew then he was destined to be a figure skater.

It was at that age the young Cape Cod resident asked his parents to return a pair of hockey skates three weeks after they bought them for him for Christmas. Instead of checking and slashing, he told them, he'd rather spin and jump. They reluctantly indulged him; without a doubt, it paid off.

Eldredge -- holder of numerous skating titles on the national level and three-time member of the Team USA figure skating team -- now skates with the Target Stars on Ice show, which includes other figure skating greats like Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarini Witt, Ilia Kulik and Kurt Browning. They'll perform at Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena Sunday, April 7, at 7 p.m.

Eldredge, 31, was born in Chatham, Mass. As young as he can remember, he was watching figure skaters on television, he said.

"Of course, hockey was a big thing. When my folks got me that pair of skates for Christmas, I went to the local rink and gave it a shot," he said. "I didn't get too far away from the boards."

He saw other skaters jumping and spinning, he said, and "knew I wanted to try it."

At age 10, he was doing well enough in competitions for formal training. He and his parents made the decision he should go to Philadelphia and live away from home.

"At first it was hard -- it would be for any 10-year-old," he said. "Of course, it was also really cool at first, but then you start realizing, 'Hey, where's my mom? Where's my dad?'"

But a 10-year-old doesn't think too hard about things, he said.

"At the time I was more interested in trying to skate. I was too young to think about responsibility," he said. "I didn't think about the financial problems my parents were having."

But he no doubt thought about it five years ago. That's when he paid off the mortgage on their house, he said.

In his early teenage years, money got really tight. While he was away training, the Chatham Youth Hockey Club raised money to keep him going -- "I was started to progress in my skating and started to travel . . . skating isn't a cheap sport," he said.

He's repaid that club by piping money back into the Chatham Recreation Fund. A multi-purpose field there now bears his name.

You won't find many who would argue the training and time away from home didn't pay off. Eldredge has won six U.S. championships, taken top honors several times in the Skate America competition and placed high in others like the World Championships, Goodwill Games and Skate Canada.

He landed 10th in the 1992 Olympics. In the 1998 Games, he just missed medaling with a fourth-place finish; this past winter he landed sixth. Skating through three Olympics without a podium stance doesn't really bother him, he said.

"Hey, I gave it a shot three times," he said. "The timing just never worked out for me to get out there and do my best stuff at the Olympics."

In February, he said, he skated a great long program, but unfortunately made one major mistake that cost him major points on the judges' cards. After taking a fall, how do the skaters keep their smiles and go on concentrating?

"Well, ultimately you're obviously trying to win over the judges, but it's also all about the performance for the audience," he said. Once a mistake is made, good skaters will focus on the audience and remember they're there to be entertained, he said.

"This last time, it's not like I thought I have to win a medal," he said. "It was more like 'Let's see what we can do this time.'"

"The pressure is much less at a (touring) show than a competition," he said. "You still want to skate well, but you're really entertaining the crowd."

While Eldredge only joined the tour in February -- it started in November for the other skaters -- he says he looks forward to winding down toward the last show in Maine on April 20.

"I'm getting ready for a bit of a break. In mid-May, I'll go home to Michigan and relax," he said. He lives on a lake there and enjoys boating in the warmer months.

"I competed and trained hard with the Olympics. There's stress with that and I've been at it pretty hard for a while now," he said.

Eldredge said he didn't think his parents would be at the Manchester show since there's one in Worcester -- closer to their home -- the day before. "I think I have an uncle in Manchester, though," he said.

Of the decision to give up his amateur status right after the Olympics, Eldredge said he just felt it was time to move on to a different stage of his life.

"Hey, I've got nothing to prove anymore," he said. " . . . It's hard to think about age and where it will go from here. My body could feel great in six or seven years, and as long as the crowd wants to see me out there, great. When they've seen enough of me . . . I'll start thinking about doing some commentary."