CU Ski Coach Richard Rokos' Route To The U.S. Could Be A Story For Hollywood

"My mama always said: life was like a box of chocolates ... you never know what you are going to get." – Forrest Gump

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - University of Colorado ski coach Richard Rokos says the movie "Forrest Gump" reminds him of his own life.

"You don't do anything about something and it still happens," Rokos said, referring to how sometimes things just fall into place. "That's the irony of it."

Sitting in the Buffs ski office on the campus of CU, Rokos -- like Forrest Gump -- certainly has plenty of stories to tell.

He jokes coaches have a disease where they can't give up their sport: "I call it lack of guts to go on with life."

He says in his 25 years at CU he's seen 27 marriages between athletes in his program: "People call me 'matchmaker' but I am not obviously."

But let's start this story back at the beginning.

Rokos was born in Czechoslovakia in 1950 to a family of skiers.

"You cannot swim in skiing family," he laughed. "So (skiing) is a lifestyle."

He skied competitively for 19 years, and with degrees in mechanical engineering and physical education had the pedigree to become a coach of the national junior team. But as a rising coach in the sport, he faced increased pressure to join the Communist Party.

"I did not have any belief in what communism is about," Rokos said. "So it ended up to be a roadblock either to join and keep the job or not to join and lose the job."

So Rokos decided to leave. Risking imprisonment if they were caught traveling together, Rokos, his wife and young daughter made it to Vienna, Austria, where they applied for visas to go to Canada, but Canada already met its quota for the year.

"The U.S Embassy in Vienna was across the street," Rokos said. "So again Forrest Gump … a coincidence and sure luck."

Rokos said it was hard to leave behind his friends, and that his family came to the U.S. with very little.

"The plan was just survival plan," he said. "Not one of us spoke English."

But Rokos found a job in Detroit, and a few years later made his way to CU, where he now has quite the collection of hardware, including eight of the ski program's 20 national championships.

Quite the career for a former communist defector, who's face lights up when he tells his own story of like Forrest Gump getting to visit the White House.

"That was the highlight of many lives," said Rokos. "How often do those kids get into the White House, myself included obviously?"

Richard Rokos CU Career Bio:
- 25 Seasons
- 8 National Championships
- 36 Individual Champions
- 196 All-Americans

Mark Haas is CBS4's weekend sports anchor and sports reporter. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook.