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SAN FRANCISCO — Dinh Tran’s path to ice skating stardom takes him past drug addicts, prostitutes and the homeless along the pungent streets of the Tenderloin.

The teenager pushes his Razor scooter or takes a Muni bus to get to the Yerba Buena recreational rink about 10 city blocks from his studio apartment. One day last week he was spotted on crowded 4th Street rolling a suitcase filled with skating clothes toward the rink.

“I just got off the bus,” he said.

In a sport known for glitzy wardrobes, polished maneuvers and high-end individualized coaching, Dinh, 16, is not the norm.

“It’s against all odds,” said Jessica Gaynor, Skating Club of San Francisco president.

Dinh Tran is one of 15 up-and-coming Bay Area skaters competing this week in the lower divisions at the U.S. figure skating championships in San Jose. Only the senior skaters are trying to advance to the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond.

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Dinh is scheduled to skate Monday at Solar4America Ice and Wednesday at SAP Center in the fiercely competitive juniors that will preview the next generation of American men.

The Stuart Hall High School sophomore is not favored to win by any stretch of the imagination. But just reaching the national championships at this level is triumphant itself.

Mimi Hoang has reared her four boys in a tiny apartment in the crime-ridden Tenderloin neighborhood where she has lived for years. She and her youngest son sleep in a bed crammed into a large closet. Her oldest boys sleep in a bunk bed while Dinh uses a mattress on the floor of the living room.

“It’s like the curfew of the house: When someone goes to sleep, everyone needs to be home and everyone needs to be quiet,” said Hao Tran, the second oldest son.

Dinh takes it in stride.

“It’s nice to be around my brothers and my mom because that’s how we build a strong relationship,” he said.

Hao Tran said they feel safe though people have tried to steal from his mother. He and his brothers have learned to go about their day without interacting with the sketchy element outside the flat.

“I’m not afraid of where I live,” Dinh said. “If you focus on yourself no one will bother you. You can’t do anything dumb or you will get in trouble.”

Mimi Hoang walks with her son Dinh Tran through San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin district on his way to a figure skating practice at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Tran is competing as a junior in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)

Mimi Hoang rides a city bus with her son Dinh Tran through San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin district on his way to a figure skating practice at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Tran is competing as a junior in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)

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Dinh Tran speaks with his mother, Mimi Hoang, during practice at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Despite challenges posed by growing up in the city's gritty Tenderloin district, Dinh will be competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)



Dinh Tran practices his triple axle at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Despite challenges posed by growing up in the city's gritty Tenderloin district, Dinh will be competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)

Mimi Hoang hugs her son Dihn Tran before his ice skating practice, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017, at their tiny Tenderloin apartment in San Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran walks through San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin district on his way to a figure skating practice at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Tran is competing as a junior in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)



Mimi Hoang walks with her son Dinh Tran through San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin district on his way to a figure skating practice at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Tran is competing as a junior in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)

Dinh Tran confers with his coach Jeff Crandell at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Despite challenges posed by growing up in the city's gritty Tenderloin district, Dinh will be competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area Newsgroup)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, skates in the junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Tran was awarded the silver medal in the division. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)



Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, skates in the junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., enroute to his silver medal. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, skates in the junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Dinh was award the silver medal in the division. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, skates in the junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Tran was awarded the silver medal in the division. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)



Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, finishes his junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Tran was awarded the silver medal in the division. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, reacts after completing his junior men free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Tran was awarded the silver medal in the division. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, receives a silver medal from Samuel Auxier, president of U.S. Figure Skating following the junior men competition, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)



Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, gets a hug from his mother Mimi Hoang after winning the silver medal in the junior men division at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, gets a hug from his mother Mimi Hoang after winning the silver medal in the junior men division at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Dinh Tran, of San Francisco, gets a hug from his mother Mimi Hoang after winning the silver medal in the junior men division at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)



Silver medalist Dinh Tran (left), gold medalist Camden Pulkinen, and bronze medalist Maxim Naumov wave to the crowd after the junior men competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

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Mimi Hoang didn’t know anything about ice skating while growing up in Saigon. Her mother married a Chinese man and left Hoang with her Vietnamese grandmother. The girl went to work at age 8 as a housekeeper.

Her father was an American soldier whom she never met. Hoang represented one of the nagging legacies of the Vietnam War — the throwaway children who are known as Amerasians.

Reports on the children’s horrible conditions led U.S. Congress, in 1987, to give them special immigration status. Hoang arrived in San Francisco two years later at age 18. She didn’t speak English.

Hoang washed dishes in a Thai restaurant and attended school in half days. She now rises at 4 a.m. three times a week to help Dinh prepare for the long days on the ice and at school.

“I always tell my son to work hard and get a better life,” the mother said through tears.

Hoang, who divorced two years ago, supports her family as a physical education assistant at a Tenderloin school. She doesn’t own a car so they rely on public transportation.

It has taken community support to help her son excel at skating.

His path began with the Bay Area Women’s and Children Center, which partners with the Yerba Buena rink to give kids from the Tenderloin free skating lessons.

Hoang took advantage because she wanted to keep her oldest boys active. Dinh followed them to the rink when lacing on his first pair of boots at age 3. Yerba Buena coaches saw something special in the toddler. Soon, the Skating Club of San Francisco gave the family a free membership.

Then a local sponsor got involved. The benefactor, who asked to remain anonymous, has played a prominent role in helping guide Dinh’s career.

“In other countries, people wouldn’t be nearly as generous,” said Hao Tran, who attends Utah State as a marketing major.

The brothers also have been granted full scholarships to attend Stuart Hall, an all-boys college prep school in Pacific Heights.

The oldest two have quit competitive skating but Trieu Tran, the youngest, is a member of the San Francisco Sabercats’ hockey team.

The recreational rink where Dinh trains isn’t ideal. At a recent session, the teenager had to dodge youngsters while preparing for the national championships.

“When you’re not in a big training facility with elite-level skaters you have to find motivation outside of the rink,” coach Jeffrey Crandell said.

But Dinh is used to the conditions.

“It’s annoying sometimes but getting mad at someone being in your way isn’t going to help you,” he said.

If Dinh continues to improve he might have to leave for a place where he can skate alongside the country’s best athletes. It’s why Vincent Zhou of Palo Alto trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and reigning U.S. champion Karen Chen of Fremont moved to Riverside.

Dinh got a taste of it in the summer while training in San Diego with Igor Samohin. The coach’s son, Danny, is the 2016 world junior champion.

Dinh returned to San Francisco much improved.

“It’s nice to see a skater who wants it, who puts their mind to it, has that family support and the community support and shows up and does their job,” Crandell said.

Dinh won a bronze medal as a novice early this year at the U.S. championships. He was second in the intermediate division in 2015 and fourth in the juvenile competition in ’13. The teen also represented the United States in a junior Grand Prix competition in Poland in the fall.

But he needs to master difficult quadruple jumps before advancing to the senior level. It might take two more years, but that’s plenty of time to develop into a contender for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

“I’m dying to get that quad,” Dinh said. “But I have to be careful about hurting myself. I can’t do jumps if I hurt myself.”

The skater has overcome a sprained ankle and shin splints this season to include triple axels in his programs for the first time at the upcoming championships. The axel, which requires an extra half rotation, is the first hurdle to clear before landing quadruple jumps.

He’s also honing his artistic side. The skater works with Kim Navarro, a two-time national ice dancing medalist, and this year won a U.S. solo ice dance title.

“He is taking ownership of his own skating,” Crandell said. “The fact he picked his own music and he’s in charge of his own choreographer, that’s the growth that I like to see.”

Advancing to such a high level means scheduling life around skating. A typical day includes taking the bus to the rink in the mornings, another bus to school, then yet another bus back to the rink in the afternoon and finally a bus to get home.

Pushing the scooter is faster but Dinh only takes it when his mom can carry his skating suitcase.

He also takes BART across the bay Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons to train at Oakland Ice Center. On Saturdays, he and his mother take the train to Oakland for early morning skating.

Then it’s off to the gym before taking private flute lessons. Dinh has earned a scholarship for his musicality too. He plays in a jazz band at school.

“It keeps me on my feet,” Dinh said of juggling everything. “It is possible because I skate before school and after school and I play the flute in school. It fits just right.”

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Karen Chen says she’s still a ‘shy girl’ from Fremont The teen acknowledges he’d have never reached this level without his mother’s persistence.

“When I was small, I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Dinh, adding that he didn’t like skating. “My mom just made me do it. She took me to the rink even when I didn’t want to do it.”

Now?

“I just want to be the best and that pushes me every day.”