CATTARAUGUS – Against all odds, Trevor Marsicano became a world speed skating champion and Olympic silver medalist. He now tells his own personal story about how he was bullied in school and conquered depression and anxiety to become a speed skating star.

The Olympic medalist has been doing presentations for the past four years and, to date, has visited 105 schools. Marsicano presented his “anti-bullying” program at Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School on Friday. Afterward, a public meet-and-greet was hosted at the Bank of Cattaraugus.

During the school presentation, students had the privilege to meet Marsicano and hold his silver medal in their hands, as it was passed around the auditorium. He also brought along his custom skates and aerodynamic suit. The kids viewed actual footage from the 2009 ISU World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships when Marsicano earned the gold medal and World Record in the Men’s 1000m. At age 19, he was the first man to go under 1:07.0 with the second fastest time ever recorded. They also saw footage of him winning his silver medal in the Team Pursuit event at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Marsicano talked to the kids about his successful speed skating career and the struggles he encountered on his rise to being a teenage speed skating champion. Part of that journey included battling depression and anxiety as a young boy.

According to Marsicano, his depression started in sixth grade and he was at the height of it by eighth grade. While in middle school, he was taunted for having a facial rash, extra-long eyelashes and being small for his age. He was incessantly bullied to the point of requiring one of the highest doses of depression and anxiety medications allowed, and he didn’t want to live anymore.

“I was also going through bullying problems on the hockey team and it just got to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore,” he said. “I came home from school one day and said to my parents, ‘I can’t go back, I can’t do this anymore.’ I just wanted to be done with it, but I wanted to keep skating.”

It was a tough decision for his parents, but they agreed to pull him out of school and try home-schooling. He said many people think he was home-schooled because he was a speed skater, but in his case, the home-schooling came before the speed skating.

Giving up hockey was especially hard for Marsicano, since he started organized hockey at age four and continued the sport up until the time he started speed skating. He said he knew early on that he was quick and he was always known as the fastest one on the team.

He was convinced that there was something else he could do with skates on. He said the 2002 Winter Olympics were being broadcasted on TV, at the time, and, as he watched the speed skating event, he thought to himself, “I was always the fastest on the team and that would be a fun thing to try.”

After that, his parents located the local speed skating club, in nearby Saratoga, and he got started on what would become his speed skating career.

According to Marsicano, it took him two years to learn how to speed skate, and another four years to become good enough to compete. He trained eight hours a day.

Putting all his focus and passion into the sport, he pushed himself on the ice to excel in his new love – speed skating.

“I had a lot emotion and negative energy pent-up in me and I needed to do something with it,” he said. “Skating has always been a part of my life and it’s something I enjoy, especially speed skating.”

Marsicano credits his early trainer, Mark Boudreau who advised him to visualize himself as the strongest, most dynamic competitor on the ice.

“The best thing Mark taught me, as a kid, was whatever happens to us, isn’t who we are,” he said. “He kept instilling that in me and kept telling me that as we were training at the gym. It has stuck with me and I try to teach kids that nowadays, as well.”

Marsicano is an inspiration, especially to young people who might be suffering from depression, anxiety and possibly bullying. To keep himself positive, he seeks out things that inspire him.

“Find something you’re passionate about to do as a stress reliever,” he said. “You don’t need to have a lot of friends – just a few really good people that will bring the best out of you. Find someone you trust and can confide in.”

Marsicano’s highlight list of accomplishments includes:

2009 World Record – First man to go under 1:07.0 with the second fastest time ever recorded

2009 World Championships – 1000m World Champion

2009 World Championships -1500m Silver Medalist

2009 World Championships – 5000m Bronze Medalist

2009 World Championships – Team Pursuit Bronze Medalist

2010 Olympic Winter Games – Team Pursuit Silver Medalist

2011 World Championships – Team Pursuit World Champions

The trauma of physical stress takes its toll on athletes and Marsicano is no exception. He has taken the past year off to rehabilitate his back and knee injuries – something he says all skaters suffer from, periodically, and have to work through.

Marsicano recently took a job, in Milwaukee, as a client events manager at the Pettit National Ice Center where he trained. He said Wisconsin is like a second home to him and he’s been there since 2008 when he began training. Although he enjoys living there, he definitely misses his hometown of Ballston Spa where his parents and sister still live.

To contact Marsicano for more information or a presentation, visit facebook.com/trevmarsicano.