Tribute to Paul

Paul Wirtz was a passionate, dedicated and energetic coach. Paul put us together and told us he had "a feeling" about the potential of our partnership. He liked to use that term "a feeling" a lot!

Paul's last Senior Nationals was in Ottawa in January 2006 where we won the silver medal in Junior Pairs in just our second competition together. He was not well then but he kept going. Soon after Senior Nationals he left with Rachel for Moncton in February where she was competing at Junior Nationals in PreNovice Ladies. He was still very sick. We all knew that something was very wrong but he insisted on being in Moncton. He was confident that Rachel was going to win a medal and he was right. Rachel won the silver medal and right after her long program, he was back on the plane heading home to get better. This turned out to be his last competition. He passed away April 6 with the people he loved by his side.

Before Paul passed away and in true Paul fashion, he was still full of orders. On his last visit home before he passed away, he watched Worlds in Calgary with his long time partner Serge. That was when he became insistent that we contact Ingo Steuer. Paul saw Ingo's team on TV and believed that he was the right coach for us. Paul never wanted us to just be ordinary and made us promise that we would find Ingo.

Paul Wirtz may not have been everyone's cup of tea. But for some of us, he had a special connection and he instilled in us a work ethic, dedication and confidence that are critical for success. He passed away at the age of 44, far too young. His devotion to us in both our singles and pairs skating will never be forgotten and we plan to make him proud of the project that he started.