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Written by Derek Neumeier
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Friday, 27 November 2009 12:45 |
 It’s not every day that young and aspiring athletes get to meet one of their Olympic idols. It’s even more rare that they get to spend an afternoon training with them, which is exactly what happened to a lucky few on Saturday Nov. 21, at Southland Leisure Centre.
The event, Canada Wins - A Day To Celebrate Recreation And Sport, was created in tandem by Southland Leisure Centre and WinSport Canada as part of WinSport Canada’s ongoing Canada Wins campaign. It offered local youth the chance to register for hands-on training sessions with two prominent Olympic gold medallists, gymnast Kyle Shewfelt and wrestler Carol Huynh, and one renowned Paralympic gold medallist, sprinter Earle Connor.
2004 Olympic gold medal gymnast Kyle Shewfelt was one of three prominent Canadian athletes hosting a training session for local youth Nov. 21.
Photo: Derek Neumeier/Calgary Journal
“When an Olympian stands on a podium and wins a medal they are an incredible inspiration for youth and getting them involved in sport,” she said. “For them to actually get to train with one of their Olympic heroes is an experience they will never forget. They get to learn tips right from gold medal Olympians.”
Shewfelt, who won gold in 2004, spoke during the opening remarks for the day. He said considers his athletic career as a dream come true. Shewfelt welcomed the opportunity to take part in the event because he wanted to share his success with others and urge them to continue pursuing their dreams.
“When I was nine years old that’s when I really wanted to go to the Olympics and win,” Shewfelt said. “Every time I see a nine year old and I ask them what their dream is I tell them that it’s possible, because my ultimate dream came true.
“I really believe that whatever you want to achieve in this world, if you put your mind to it, you work hard, you’re committed and dedicated to that, it can become a reality. I hope that there’s at least one kid today that realizes that, but I have a feeling there’s definitely going to be more than one.”
Connor and Huynh agreed with Shewfelt’s optimism regarding the impact that the training sessions had on the kids in attendance.
“My main goal is that they get some tips to make them a little bit faster, but they also get a bit of inspiration,” said Connor, who won Paralympics gold in 2008 for the men’s T42 100m sprint, a race that he also set a world record on for its kind. “It doesn’t even have to be sport; it can be an A on a test or the trumpet in music class, but they can at least try to accomplish something, try to go down that road to make something a little bit better in their life.
“For me, being an amputee, it’s always enjoyable to relate and to teach, not only about running, which is one of the reasons why I’m here, but to educate about the Paralympics movement, about being a disabled athlete and kind of the struggles that I’ve gone through, just to let them know that truly, though it may be a cliché, anything is possible.”
Huynh, who also won her gold medal in 2008, said: “A lot of people don’t really know about wrestling, especially women’s wrestling, so I was really happy today to have these girls come in for a session. I think that it’s going to have an impact on their confidence levels just knowing that there are different things out there that may not be seen as traditional ‘female’ sports.”
Sisters Victoria and Brooklyn Isaak, who took part in one of the sessions, said that they enjoyed the time that they spent training with Huynh.
“My mom taught me a lot of the moves, but Carol just kind of stepped them up a bit, I got to learn some new stuff,” said Victoria, age 12. “She plays a lot of games. It’s fun but it also increases our skills.”
“It will be really cool to say that I learned my first wrestling moves and that Carol taught me,” added Brooklyn, age 9.
Hockey Canada was also on hand at the event, hosting an on-ice hockey training session.
Cobb said that the co-operation between the three organizations for the event was a “great example of communities coming together, of facilities helping facilities build and grow.”
The proceeds from the event, along with the rest of the fundraising for the in progress Canada Wins campaign, go towards WinSport Canada’s goal of building their new Athletic and Ice Complex at Canada Olympic Park. The planned 500,000 sq. ft. sports institute, which will feature four ice rinks, state of the art training and research facilities and much more, will be the first of its kind in Canada upon completion.
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