Successful local athletes teach elementary school students

Some of the city’s finest athletes took a brief timeout on Thursday and spent the morning teaching the next generation of sports stars the tricks of the trade.

About 15 local athletes, ranging from Olympic hockey gold medalist Haley Irwin to cyclist Katie Spittlehouse, were on hand at Nor’wester View School, shooting hoops, practicing soccer techniques and playing street hockey with an eager group of students hoping to learn a thing or two from their idols.

For Brendon Bukovy meeting Irwin was the highlight of his day.

"She won a gold medal and I’m really into hockey and other sports, like soccer and baseball. I was really thrilled to see a gold medal actually at Nor’Wester View School," the Grade 5 youngster said.

Classmate Nolan Paxton, 11, said he watched almost every hockey game the Olympics had to offer, and the chance to rub shoulders with Irwin, who plans to return to the University of Minnesota-Duluth this fall, was about all he could ask for.

"It’s really fun and special, because if you really want to meet somebody, you may never get the chance again to meet them," he said.

It’s a chance to give back to the community said Irwin, who turns 22 next month and scored four goals in five games for Team Canada at the Vancouver Games.

"When you see their faces and they see the medal, they want to know all about it. That’s why we do what we do. The best part is giving back and seeing their reaction."

Of course inspiring someone to greatness is also a possibility, she acknowledged.

"It’s not just about hockey. These kids are playing other sports right now. Thunder Bay has a great reputation of having great athletes, so you never know, one of these little guys running around might be a superstar one day," Irwin said.

It was a little warm for curler Krista McCarville to give an accurate demonstration of her sport, but with some imagination, a can of spray paint and a bocce ball set, the four-time Ontario champion gave it her level best on grass.

McCarville, 27, a teacher by trade, didn’t hesitate to sign on when school officials approached her.

"I think it’s really good for kids to come out and play a whole bunch of different sports. Obviously it’s great to promote curling. (OK), it’s not exactly curling, it’s bocce curling and we incorporated it together, but it’s really fun for the kids to experience," McCarville said.

Diane Adams, a parent-volunteer at the south-side school who helped organize the event, said the idea behind it was to promote physical activity in a fun way.

"We approached a lot of the local athletes to come and introduce their sport to our stations. We had a lot of class participation. Each class has a 20-minute session with the athletes here today."

Other sports stars on hand included Jamie Searle and Joseph Jones of Lakehead University’s men’s basketball team, Lindsay Druery and Tasia McKenna from the women’s hoops squad, wrestler Steve Daniar, hockey’s Mike Compon and Carter Hutton, torch bearer Janine Landry and soccer stars Brandon Swartzendruber, Nolan Intermoia and Steven Paterson of the Thunder Bay Chill.