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Ask Shaner LeBauer why he wants to be a champion speedskater, and he'll tell you he likes the unpredictability, the intensity, and the danger of the sport.

"And the speed, definitely," added the 13-year-old Potomac resident. "I'm into speed."

LeBauer was gearing up for practice with the Potomac Speedskating Club at the Wheaton Ice Rink on Feb. 4.

He and his younger brother, Nathan, have been skating with the group since its founding in 2008, and for several years before with a Wheaton-based speed-skating group.

The brothers were drawn to the sport after watching the 2006 Winter Olympics, during which U.S. competitor Apolo Ohno took the gold in the 500-meter race.

"I just thought it was amazing how these people could go so fast," said Nathan LeBauer, 11. Neither aims to compete in the Olympics — that level of commitment might make it difficult to go to college, they say — but both are hoping to nab top spots in national competitions.

The club draws more than 50 speed-hungry children, teenagers and adults from across the region, many of whom hail from Montgomery County, according to CeCe LeBauer, the boys' mother and club president.

CeCe LeBauer said she was lukewarm at first about the sport — that is, until her sons began spending more and more time practicing it.

"Once the kids became more competitive, I became much more involved," she said.

Hype about the Winter Olympics in Vancouver is generating more inquiries about the club, LeBauer said. But the Olympics aren't the only draw for young skaters. The group is coached by South Korea native Dong-Sung Kim, a 1998 Olympic short-track speed-skating champion. Many know him from controversy in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

He crossed the finish line first in the 1,500-meter race, but was later disqualified for blocking Ohno, who was awarded the gold. Kim was celebrating his victory when he was told the news, according to club vice president Alison Mittelstadt.

"As the story goes, he was so upset they had to give him oxygen in his hotel room," Mittelstadt said.

"He won the race, but it turned out the judge didn't think the same way," Shaner LeBauer said of Kim. "I remembered exactly who he was and I thought it was really cool he was going to be our coach."

Speed skating is popular in Korea, Cece LeBauer said, adding that many of the group's members are Korean-American.

Kim became involved with the group after a parent of a former club skater asked him to coach, he said through a translator. He visited from San Francisco, where he was living with his family, and was impressed by the talent.

Now a Laurel resident, his goal, he said, is to train future U.S. Olympians.

He blames a bad call for his disqualification and said he has nothing against the U.S. or Ohno. He sees potential for future champions here, he said — both in the country and within the club.

The practices are as much about developing mental discipline as they are about developing muscles, Kim said.

"Of course, that's a vital part," he said through a translator as he prepared for practice Feb. 4.

Under Kim's influence, the sport quickly went from a hobby to a full-time commitment for LeBauer's sons. The boys practice about 18 hours a week on top of keeping up with schoolwork — often napping or snacking in the car and doing homework at the Wheaton Library. Weekends are sometimes spent traveling to competitions.

"They are being trained from a very young age," CeCe LeBauer said. "They have a very big dream — and it's achievable."