VAIL — What was he supposed to do? Jonny Stevens’ learning curve at Battle Mountain High School was as steep as any Rocky Mountain pass. Becoming a successful three-sport student-athlete was a relatively easy challenge compared with feeling helpless when life-altering injury, cancer and death struck his loved ones.
School and sports offered a distraction from torturous feelings.
“It was a big part of it,” Stevens said. “I tried not to make the focus that I’m sick, or my mom’s hurt or my dad’s sick. I would divert.”
Still there are only so many miles of running and hockey checks a teenager can make to keep his mind off his problems, and The Denver Post’s 2008 Dick Connor A.C.E. Award winner was forced to grow in ways most high school students aren’t. The A.C.E. Award is presented annually by The Denver Post to a student who has overcome a handicap, hardship or tragedy, representing Adversity Conquered through Excellence.
Stevens found life’s lessons, promoted through high school sports, come with unwanted pop quizzes that don’t come with answer keys.
“It was tough,” said Stevens, still unsure how he stared down so much misfortune before his recent graduation.
His mentors and friends felt some of his pain, but remained confident Stevens would persevere in the face of his mother’s horrific traffic accident and his father being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“He’s an awesome kid,” Battle Mountain athletic director Rich Houghton said. “He showed a lot of leadership, and we’re going to miss him.”
Said Huskies track and ice hockey teammate Charlie Tedstrom: “He didn’t really talk about it. The fact that he didn’t, we knew it was tough for him. He had to miss some important games. But he came back and was a big part of the team, whatever the team needed. He had to make that sacrifice for his family.”
Bad news never stopped
Stevens’ athletic climb was as steady as an escalator heading to the next floor. In cross country, he finished 55th in Class 4A as a freshman, then rose to ninth, sixth and fourth, helping the Huskies to consecutive team titles the past two seasons.
As a defenseman in hockey, the four-year starter played in three final fours and two title games, and was The Denver Post player of the year this past season.
In track, he became a multiple placer in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters and was key to the Huskies winning the 3,200 relay last month.
He choreographed great things at school and in sports, but didn’t have the same control in everyday life, where he was left wondering if the bad news would ever stop.
In February 2006, the morning after the Huskies lost in the hockey final four, Stevens’ mother, Nancy, apparently blacked out from medication and ran her Subaru off the road near Vail Pass. As she was being extricated from the wreckage, her husband, Jerry, was calling her cellphone to check on her and overheard workers attempting to help her. Among her numerous injuries, she suffered a concussion, broken ribs and a crushed pelvis. Her rehabilitation continues today.
Last December, Stevens’ father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery. Jonny’s grandmother — Jerry’s mother — died in California a week before Jerry’s surgery, in late January.
Stevens, who worked through a stress fracture that nearly wiped out his junior cross country season, also totaled his father’s SUV last December. His twin sister, McKenzie, Jonny’s teammate in Huskies ice hockey, broke her right arm in three places before last season.
Fighting way back to normalcy
Through this series of misfortunes, Stevens’ concern was focused on his parents.
“They’ve been active their whole life,” Jonny said. “It didn’t go over too well.”
His mother, relegated to a wheelchair for three months after a long stint at Denver Health, lived in an apartment in Avon because the family home had no ramp.
“It was tough to see her, then head back to the house,” Stevens said. “We took turns sleeping over there for two months.”
Said Jerry Stevens: “It was just a nightmare trying to put her back together. She’ll always have issues with her back, and she’s had a couple of falls.”
Jerry remains grateful his prostate cancer was detected when it was, having seen the same disease take the life of his father. Losing his mother in January added to his pain.
“But his blood tests have been good and he’s working out again,” Jonny said. “He’s pretty much back in the swing of things.”
Moved by the outpouring of concern for some of small-town Vail’s very own — Jerry formerly owned one of the ski town’s first sports stores and partnered with Olympian Frank Shorter; Nancy has been a ski instructor and active with the Vail Valley Music Festival for years — Jonny has shown tremendous resolve.
Staying balanced helps to persevere
It was encouraging for Battle Mountain principal Brian Hester to watch a teenager negotiate life’s dicey obstacle course so well.
“It all happened when he was in high school,” Hester said. “He was stressed like any other kid or any of us would be, but he has a good head on his shoulders. One of the things that stuck out in all of it was he competes in two disparate sports. I’ve never seen a kid like that. His training regimen is incredible.”
Stevens’ weight, currently 164 pounds, yo-yo’d while performing the rare distance running-hockey double. He said he always seemed to be too light for the ice and too heavy for the track, but his ability to balance things is evident.
“There are a lot of people around the world, especially the veterans coming back, and there’s so much going on,” Jerry said. “Someone always has it worse. You always have to look on the good side, and my kids are good. As far as Jonny goes, he’s pretty fortunate. I’m proud of him.”
Headed to the University of Colorado, where he’ll attempt to compete in cross country and track, Jonny says his parents taught him well, as well as his sisters. McKenzie will play ice hockey at Middlebury College in Vermont, and Madison will be a Huskies freshman.
“My parents both had their things focused on making it easy for the kids,” he said. “That played a huge part. It helped a lot.”
He did what he was supposed to do.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
A letter from Jonny Stevens
For as long as I can remember, my whole family has been very involved in sports. Whether it was my dad starting a bike team or my mom teaching skiing, they were always very active, and that attribute has been passed down to my sisters and I. We have been playing two, sometimes three, sports at once since elementary school. Both my twin sister and I are planning on continuing one of our sports at the collegiate level.
My family has gone through a few rough times during the last couple of years, but we’ve been able to come out of them with a positive attitude and have recovered pretty well from all of it. I think that a significant part of our ability to bounce back from these unfortunate events has been how involved in sports we are. Both times when my parents’ health has taken a turn for the worse, they have made it a goal to be able to get out and watch our hockey, soccer, basketball or track competitions. They both probably should have waited a little longer before they were out and about, but they wanted to see us doing what we love.
At the same time, the sports gave us something to focus on other than any of the negative things that were happening in our lives. If I could go run off a mad mood I was in, or either of the girls could go knock some people around in a hockey game, we would always come back to the situation at home and feel a little better.
Growing up in a community like Vail is a huge blessing because it is so tightknit. We received an unbelievable amount of support from the community when things weren’t going very well. Our involvement in athletics increased the support by tenfold. You won’t make better friends than the ones you play hockey or run with, and the ski school and hockey communities especially stepped up to try and help us when my mom was injured. When she was in the hospital in Denver with my dad, my sisters and I stayed up in Vail to keep going to school. Many of the parents of our teammates took it upon themselves to make sure that we didn’t need to worry about cooking or finding rides anywhere. The hockey and ski school crew made sure we had enough lasagna to last until summer, and we were extremely grateful. All of our coaches offered to help us out too, and showed how much they cared about their players.
Athletics have dominated our lives since we were born and having that type of consistency helps us deal with bad times in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. I’ve made a lot of amazing friends through playing sports, and when times have been tough it has been that crew that has helped me take my mind off that negative and enjoy what I was doing.
About Jonny Stevens
Academics
• 3.55 GPA• National Honor Society• AP Scholar
• All-Academic ice hockey
• Student-athlete of the year finalist by The Denver Post, The Denver Athletic Club and 9News
• Battle Mountain Outstanding Athlete as a senior
Athletics
Cross country
• Three-time top 10 finisher, Class 4A
• Ran on two state title teams
• The Denver Post 4A first team all-state
Ice hockey
• Defenseman, played in three final fours, two title games
• 2008 player of the year by The Denver Post
Track
• Won seven medals in four years, including as a member of the 3,200-meter relay team
• School record- holder in the 1,600 and 3,200, distance-medley and 3,200 relay
• Also, member of U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team 2005-present
