Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott Native Skiis To Top of Profession; Ranked No. 1 (cont)

an on doing any jumping.

"I'm by myself a lot," she said. "But I knew what I was getting into and what to expect. But it's definitely lonely.

"Now that we're settled (in Orlando), we have a lot of friends. I ride with my best friend across the lake almost every day. It helps."

Still, she says, it's lonely not having her husband at home. "We have high phone bills. We sometime call (each other) three times a day."

She said her husband, and others on the tour, are "addicted" to the sport. This is why they can compete in cold weather.

"They have an addiction to the sport," she said. "That's why they don't freeze. Her husband earned a lot of respect when she saw him skiing in December.

In addition, Wade prefers wearing the short scuba-type suit to the full length ones available.

When competing in colder weather, she said, the skiers will make their runs, then head back inside for coffee or cocoa and stand by a fire. "Their lips will be purple and they'll be freezing," she said, "but they go back out for another ski."

"It creates toughness," Wade said of skiing in cold weather and water. "I like to think others are taking the day off. If you're a warrior, you go where the fight is.

"When I think I can't win each one (tourney), that will determine when I get out. I've clawed my way through a lot of rounds to get to the finals when I shouldn't have been there."

But being on skis is not the only way he trains for his profession. Cox said he mostly does cardiovascular work off-water, including running and cycling. In water work includes muscle memory training.

"It's a matter of preparing yourself where you can give yourself a chance to win," he said. "I tell my students they can't win on Wednesday. You win on Sunday. I train to peak on Sunday during the season. Now, I'm training to peak in April."

In his rare time off, Wade plays as much golf as he can. Lindsey said Wade and her father take to the links together when possible.

"I think it's great they get along so well," Lindsey said of her husband and father.

The young couple was preparing to leave Prescott Friday afternoon and return to Orlando. This week, Wade said he had to be in Seattle, Wash. for a promotional event and to do some research and development work with his sponsors.

He said it's a lot of fun having input to equipment which will be on the market next year, but it's also scary.

Many times Wade has the final say before a product is approved for sale or not.

He said in working with MasterCraft boats, one of his corporate sponsors, he helped design a new boat for this year. "I did the last of the testing and they left the decision to market it in my hands."

Cox decided to put the boat on the market, and, fortunately, it has proven to be successful.

He is deeply involved with R-D work with two of his sponsors, MasterCraft boats and HO skis.

Cox's other sponsors include Killer Loop Sunglasses and Free Style Watches.

One of the things that makes being a professional water skier great, according to Wade and Lindsey, is the relative anonymity.

He called skiers big fish in a small pond. "Skiers never have the media problem other athletes have, and it's nice."

He said he knows other professional athletes and they have a hard time because of the recognition and being hounded constantly by the media and public.

"We don't have that," he said. "We're figureheads in the ski world. It's unique. I can win a tournament on Sunday afternoon, sign hundreds of autographs and an hour later be on a plane and not be known. I enjoy it."

"I tease him all the time," Lindsey said, "saying he should have been a professional golfer. But I'm thankful for the quiet life. He's got a special God-given talent he used 100 percent as best he can. But we like the quiet."

This season, while Wade skis, Lindsey plans on doing some volunteer work with the Habitat for Humanity.

In addition, she said a children's hospital about 30 minutes from Orlando has contacted her about doing some voluntary massage therapy on the children. She plans on taking advantage of this opportunity.

Being a professional skier hasn't always been easy for Cox, son of Larry and Cathy Cox of Prescott. He said there were plenty of times he considered forgetting the whole thing, but his dad kept pushing him.

"You're never normal being a skier. If you're from Southwest Arkansas and ski, and I'm the only one who's ever done this, you're alienated all summer and most of the spring while all the others are playing football and baseball.

"I resented my dad for pushing me to tournaments. It took me a long time to outgrow the things I resented him for.

"Now I know if it weren't for him I wouldn't be doing this today. I thank my parents for all they've done. All the times my dad and I didn't get along."