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Junior skater's perking
Dedication paying off for national champion
Skating over Starbucks.
"It was a big sacrifice, I liked to go out with my friends and have a coffee and talk sometimes,"said Hepner, 17, a Grade 12 student at Western Canada high school.
"But my coach told me my time was now, that I had to work really hard at the rink if I wanted to become something in skating.
"I'm glad I listened. It's worth the sacrifice."
Hepner continues to pay her dues.
Endless evenings at the Glencoe Club.
On skates more than in shoes, perfecting her jumps, developing a definitive style that'll please judges all over the world.
Disciplining herself to get right up after falling down hard.
Developing a passion for the ice.
Finally, this year, reward received.
Last weekend in Ottawa, Hepner claimed the junior women's gold at the Canadian figure skating championships. That means she'll move up to seniors, the big stage, and compete against the Jennifer Robinson-types, the cream of a vastly-improved Canadian women's crop, when the nationals move to Calgary next year.
And the scrappy Hepner, who started skating at four years old, wants nothing more than to wow 'em in her hometown, carve out her name in lights and show the skating world she's arrived.
"I'm so competitive, that's probably my defining feature, and it's what drives me to keep going for my goals," said Hepner, whose sisters Rachel, 14, and Rebecca, 12, also skate at the Glencoe.
"I've worked so hard, been so dedicated, I just want to keep getting better."
At first, there were doubts.
When Hepner led the junior nationals last year after the short program and then fizzled in the free skate, some questioned her mental toughness.
And one month ago at Canadian qualifiers in Edmonton, Hepner skated a poor short and stood ninth heading into the free skate.
Only the top four got the call for the big show in Ottawa.
But in the free, she rebounded for a second-place finish, and squeaked in with the fourth-place spot based on the two-skate aggregate.
Then, she went to Ottawa and won the whole sha-bang.
Hepner's coach, Czech-born Daniela Sovak, says it's only the start for her star pupil.
"She's head and shoulders above the rest in the country at her stage," said Sovak.
"If Leah skates well, she'll win. But if she skates poorly, then it's up for grabs.
"Her work ethic accompanied with her confidence in herself are her greatest assets. She's very talented and she understood she had to prepare herself with a solid base of good skating technique."
And that was Sovak's biggest challenge. Keeping Hepner's head out of the clouds.
"When I first started teaching Leah five years ago, all she wanted to do was jump, jump, jump, nothing else," said Sovak. "I had to tell her, 'Skating's not all about jumping, you know.' And I give her great credit, she worked hard to learn the skating part.
"The jumping always came naturally."
Many skating experts feel Hepner's the best jumper around.
"I always tell her she makes jumping look easy," said Sovak. "But she went to Toronto to train last summer, and a coach there told her, 'You have the best triple-jumps in the country.' "
But all the compliments, all the medals, don't exempt Hepner from continuing day-after-day of hard work.
After all, she's in this to stay.