Thursday evening, Evanston’s only ice rink radiates with light streaming in from overhead. Children in sleek helmets do drills while older skaters silently glide around the track, leaning forward with hands clasped behind their backs.

Not long ago, Olympic gold medalist Shani Davis was one of them.

All are part of the Evanston Speedskating Club, founded in 1966 by Sanders Hicks. It starts coaching skaters the first time they stand on skates and can count an Olympian among its members. Davis, who is originally from Chicago, won the 1,000 meter speedskating race Saturday. In doing so, he became the first African American male to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Olympics.

Hicks began working with Davis when he was six, the first time he came to the ice rink at the Robert Crown Center, 1701 Main St. When Davis grew older, Hicks made him do hill sprints at Evanston’s James Park.

Davis’ mother and former agent, Cherie Davis, made sure he never missed a meet or practice. Regardless of the scheduled workout, Davis never complained.

“If I said ‘Shani, let’s do 15 hills today, ‘ I guess to prove to me that it was no big deal, he would always exceed whatever I had laid out for him,” Hicks said. “I always get amused because people don’t know how hard he works. He knows what he has to do to get ready for competition.”

Davis returns to Evanston when he is not racing to coach sessions at the club.

“Shani is like the pied piper,” Hicks said. “He gets on the ice and (the kids) all ride right behind him.”

Christopher Medard, 14, said Davis pushes him to go faster at practice. He has a presence off the ice, too.

“After practice we’d go play video games,” Medard said.

Speedskating has its risks, but they don’t deter the club’s members.

“Just the speed,” Medard said with a smile and shrug. “It’s just fun.”

The club’s members don’t reach the 30 miles-per-hour speeds of professional skaters, but some parents are still wary. Although Medard wears a neck guard, helmet, gloves and shin guards when he races, his mother, Marie Narcisse, said she does not watch him race. One of Medard’s falls left him with a gash in the leg from his skate’s blade that needed 16 stitches.

“She thinks if she watches me, I’ll fall,” Medard said.

The skates are built for speed, Hicks said. The long blades are flat, unlike the slightly oval blades of hockey and figure skates.

Throughout the practice, club manager and part-time coach George Babicz shows the athletes skills like how to pass and turn efficiently. Babicz participated in the 2002 Olympic speedskating trials and said he and Davis are best friends.

“I tell Shani, ‘Don’t pull that famous crap on me because when you come home in the spring, I want us to be able to go and get some wings or go grab a pizza,'” Babicz said.

The Evanston native travels with the older skaters to competitions and runs “dry training,” endurance workouts on land for serious skaters.

“Our club is about having fun,” he said. “On a good day we have between 22 and 30 skaters on the ice. Our membership exceeds that. We strive to have kids be competitive, but if kids aren’t having fun it is not going to happen for them.”

Hicks said the club serves multiple functions for young athletes.

“We try to get them past the years of vulnerable decisions like drugs and gangs,” Hicks said. “It has them focus on a healthy outlet. You don’t have to win championships to enjoy speedskating.”

Sarah Tompkins can be reached at [email protected].