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Click on the link above to see an online version of an article about Deavon and his ice skating team that appeared in the Dallas Morning News January 28, 2009.

LINK Click on this link to read an article about Deavon that was published in the Rockwall County Herald Banner on September 5, 2008

Reprinted from Rockwall County Herald Banner, May 29, 2009

Fate Inline Skater Headed to Nationals

      Inline speedskater Deavon Kiefer, 17, of Fate, is a South Central Regional Champion for the second year in a row and will head to Illinois for nationals in July.
      Kiefer won his regional title in Waco on May 23 where he finished first in the 1,000 meter race and second in the 500 meter race. As a result he was awarded first place overall in the Novice Junior Men Division, and that qualifies him to compete in the USA Roller Sports Indoor National Championship meet in Peoria, Ill. July 19-25.
      The regional win was a high point to this year’s racing and training schedule that frequently took Kiefer out of state to both indoor races and outdoor marathons. In April, he was in Florida where he finished second overall in the Novice Junior Men Division in the annual indoorTampa Classic.
      Last month Kiefer traveled to Colorado where he trained outdoors on a 200-meter banked track at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He will return to Colorado next month for the USA Roller Sports outdoor national championship, where skaters vie for a spot on the USA Rollersports National and World Teams.
      In April of this year Kiefer skated in the Texas Road Rash in Round Rock where he finished 9^th out of 19 skaters in the Professional Division. He completed the 28.6 mile marathon in one hour 27 minutes and 43 seconds. That was a slight improvement over last year’s performance when he ran that 28.6 miles in one hour, 31 minutes and 44 seconds in the non professional division.
     August will find Kiefer in three outdoor speedskating marathons. He has scheduled trips to Duluth and St. Paul, Minnesota, and also plans to skate in the Showdown “N” Cowtown, a marathon hosted by his team, DFW Speed, in Fort Worth next August.
      Kiefer also competes on ice. Early this year, he skated in the St. Louis Silverskates 83^rd annual championship race where finished first overall in the Novice Senior Men Division.
   Kiefer is finishing his junior year at Royse City High School. He attended Dobbs Elementary in Rockwall for grades three through six.
      Kiefer skates for DFW Speed and is coached by Ricky Brock of Haltom City, Todd Hackney of Arlington and Gary Hilliard of Grapevine. Members train at the Arlington Skatium in Arlington and the Holiday Skatium in Haltom City.
     Many ice skater medalists got their start in inline skating, according to USA Roller Sports, including ice skater Chad Hedrick of Houston, who won bronze, silver and gold at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, who won 50 world championship titles. Ice skaters Joey Cheek and Apolo Ohno also won medals at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, including Olympic Gold. Eleven former inline speed skaters were Olympians in the 2006 Winter Games in Turino, Italy.

Reprinted from Royse City Herald-Banner July 9, 2008

Fate In-Line Skater Looks Forward to National Meet

   In early 2007, Deavon Kiefer was 15 and a roller rink rat, hanging around the Texas Skatium in Garland. In April he joined the DFW Speed in-line skating team. In June he tagged along to Waco for the annual regional meet, but didn’t compete. He just watched. That was enough. He was hooked on speed skating.

   Deavon was disappointed in his very first race when he was the only contender and won by default. But as the season progressed, more competitors showed up and he enjoyed a few wins. Then came the outdoor Texas Road Rash at Round Rock.

   Deavon ran that 28.6 mile marathon in one hour 31 minutes and 44 seconds, finishing first in his age group in the non-pro division. “I feel like I could run another lap or two,” he said as he came off the finish line. A lap was about four and a half miles.

   In May of 2008, Deavon was 16 and went back to Waco for the annual regional meet. This time he finished first in the Novice Junior Men Division. That qualifies him to compete in the 2008 USARS indoor national championships, one of the biggest skating events of the year and so renowned that skaters call it simply “Nationals.”

   So in Mid-July Deavon will head to Lincoln, Neb. Where he will find plenty of competitors, as he skates against boys from all over the U.S., many with far more years of experience. So, he’s realistic about his chances. “I just want to do reasonably well, and get some experience for next year,” he says.

Deavon has trained very hard to get to this point, but gives a lot of credit to his team mates and coaches for the progress he’s made. He says he just wants to “get better, faster, stronger,” quoting the lyrics from one of his favorite Daft Punk records.

Deavon lives in Fate and just finished his sophomore year at Royse City High School.

Reprinted from The Royse City Herald Banner, May 21, 2008

Fate in-line skater to compete in Waco regional meet

Deavon Kiefer, 16, of Fate, will travel with more than 30 of his DFW Speed team mates to Waco on May 24 to compete in the annual south central regional championship meet. They will be among hundreds of in-line speed skaters from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. Skaters who place in the top four will advance to the national championship meet in Lincoln, Nebraska in July, where hundreds of skaters from all over the country will vie for the title of fastest U.S. in-line speed skater.

Some recent highlights of Deavon’s finishes during this season include: In March Deavon placed first in the Novice Junior Men 500m and 1,000m and first in the Novice “B” Senior men 300m and 700m in Austin.

At the Texas Road Rash, an outdoor race in Round Rock, Deavon finished first place in the 28.6 mile Marathon in the non pro (open) 13-17 age category, and second place in the 11-lap non pro (open) elimination race.

Deavon is a sophomore at Royse City High School and has been skating competitively for about a year for DFW Speed. Deavon trains 4 days a week at the Texas Skatium in Garland, Holiday Skatium in Haltom City, and the Arlington Skatium in Arlington. He also trains on ice at the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Duncanville.

DFW Speed is coached by Ricky Brock of Haltom City, Bill Hubacek of Ennis, and Todd Hackney of Arlington. Races are sanctioned by Mid America Speed League and USARS.