Print PDF

Lyndsey Fry, Arizona Connections Academy Senior 

U.S. U18 Women’s National Ice Hockey Team Member and 2014 Olympic Hopeful, Harvard Class of 2014

* Lyndsey was recently featured in the Arizona Republic. Read more.

 

For Lyndsey Fry, it all started with the “Mighty Ducks.”

A precocious four-year old, Lyndsey was inspired by the Disney “Mighty Ducks” movies to try skating, and took to it, well, like a duck to water. “I just put on some of those Fisher Price skates and started skating around the backyard,” Lyndsey remembers.

The skating prodigy started ice skating at age five, and it soon became clear to Lyndsey, her parents and her coaches that her passion for the sport was matched by extraordinary talent.

Lyndsey skated on local boys‘ ice hockey teams until the age of 14; in 2006, she started skating for the Colorado Selects, a Denver girls‘ team, where she flew several times a month for practice. Then Lyndsey would fly to places such as Detroit and Chicago for league games.

In 2008, Lyndsey's ice hockey career took a national turn when at the age of 16 she was selected to participate in the USA Hockey Women's National Festival -- the second-youngest skater so honored. She quickly became one of the country‘s top women‘s college ice hockey prospects – and one of only a handful from the West.

As her ice hockey career blossomed, Lyndsey and her family found it increasingly difficult to juggle the demands of the sport—hours of practice on the ice, day in and day out, plus her demanding travel schedule for games—and school work at her neighborhood public high school. A straight “A” student, Lyndsey is just as passionate about academics as she is athletics, so the family knew it needed to find a better solution to fit their needs. A family friend told them about Arizona Connections Academy (ACA), and after doing their ‘homework‘ about it, the Fry family enrolled Lyndsey in ACA for her junior year of high school in 2008–2009.

Lyndsey and her family say ACA's flexibility makes it possible for her to get a challenging and rigorous public school education, while still actively training on and off the ice for several hours a day and traveling for games and competitions. “I can do my school work anytime, wherever I am, with ACA, and work around practices and trips, which makes my life much less stressful than before, when I would return home from traveling and had multiple assignments to catch up on before returning to school the following day. The flexibility—and sleep!—helps me be a better student and skater,” Lyndsey observes.

Senior year is a major milestone for any high school student, but for Lyndsey, 2009 has been particularly momentous, as two of her childhood dreams came true in the fall. First, she was named to team USA‘s U18 Women‘s National Hockey Team that went to Fussen, Germany and won the Gold Medal at the World Championships. Second, Lyndsey was also selected to be a member of another elite group: Harvard class of 2014. Impressed with her academic as well as her skating prowess, the Division I Crimson women‘s ice hockey team heavily recruited Lyndsey for its perennial powerhouse squad. Lyndsey is thrilled to be Cambridge-bound.

Linda Harless, Lyndsey’s principal at ACA, her ACA teachers, and the rest of the Connections Academy family are immensely proud of this incredible scholar-athlete, and call her a true role model for other CA students. But even her teachers may not be aware that this Arizona teen is not just a dual but a “triple threat.” When not skating or studying to maintain her “A” average, the multi-talented ACA senior also enjoys singing and playing guitar, usually performing music she has herself composed.

Could Lyndsey Fry become the first Olympian ever to win a gold medal, and then perform the national anthem at her own medals award ceremony? Time will tell.

About Connections Academy

Connections Academy is a leading, fully accredited provider of high-quality, highly accountable virtual schooling for students in grades K–12. Through tuition-free public schools, full-time and part-time private school programs, and turnkey online courses for bricks and mortar schools, Connections Academy delivers superior, personalized educations for students, with the freedom and flexibility to experience our online learning community from anywhere. The combination of certified teachers, a proven curriculum, technology tools, and community experiences creates a supportive and successful online learning opportunity for families and children who want an individualized approach to education.

In the 2010–11 school year, Connections Academy will serve students in Arizona, California (Southern and Central), Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming through its public school programs. It serves students worldwide through the online private school, National Connections Academy. Connections Academy offers grades K through 12, though some public school programs do not offer all grades. For more information, call 800-382-6010 or visit www.ConnectionsAcademy.com.