I like this image because of the cabbage. It reminds me that cooking is one thing I’m passionate about AND I do it to keep myself balanced.
Even though I admit that cabbage isn’t really that yummy, I do know that when I feed friends and family good food – that makes me happy. The same goes for sport. Sport feeds my soul and I also really enjoy sharing that experience with others. Even though it can sometimes be overwhelming to try and do it all, I keep coming back to this saying, “Follow your passions and a balance will emerge.”

True competition is a cooperation where competitors bring out the best in each other.  One competitor emerges as a winner but both have cooperated to create the performance.  I was recently reminded of this idea when flipping through my copy of Tim Gallwey’s book “The Inner Game of Tennis.”  If you’ve read Andre Aggasi’s great book – Open – you’ll remember him describing the scene with Marcos Baghdatis.  He describes that they were both thankful for the shared experience of some epic tennis.

This is what I’m hoping will happen with the last game of the Canucks season.  Please let the Canucks play at their best.  And, Boston too.  I’d much rather we win the cup in a well played game with no crappy calls or dirty hits or blow-outs.  Just good fast hockey, with good goals, and then this town will erupt.  The Stanley Cup deserves to be awarded in a spirit of competition and cooperation.

This is what we live for…

Does this sentiment apply to triathlon?  I think it does.  I think that’s the beauty of doing races.  The sense of community, the cheering, sharing your energy to help others, racing with friends, celebrating achievements with others.  For me, this sense of cooperation that I find in triathlon competitions might be what keeps me coming back for more.

My cousin and I have signed up to do two races in one weekend. What were we thinking?

We’re doing the Race Across the Lake in Kelowna on the Saturday and then the Peach Triathlon on the Sunday. I’m not sure why exactly… but I’m sure we’ll have fun. Right, K?

I guess we might take after this crazy old fart (his words, not mine).

I’m back. Why yes, thank-you, it IS nice to be back. I set some goals and that felt good. I’m racing the Peach and the Apple – for a fruit inspired season. Then, I’m running the Nike Women’s marathon in San Fransico. Yes, that’s the one where the finishers get Tiffany necklaces… handed out by fireman in tuxedos. Five days in San Fran with friends – it’s going to be great!

I recently wrote this story about how my coaching and athletic experiences and connects to my professional life as an educator. I share this post here (mirrored from my professional site) to get you thinking about how sport carries over into other areas of your own life.

My view is that good teaching is a lot like good coaching.

Trading my Team Canada t-shirt for a Team Mexico shirt at the 2008 ITU World Championships - a highlight for me as an Athlete

Athletes and Coaches from Team Canada (Red) & Team USA (Blue) at the Pan American Junior World Cup, circa 1999 - a highlight from my Coaching experiences

When I reflect on my experiences in sport, I find that there is a lot of carry over into to the realm of education. For example, my involvement in high-level amateur athletics taught me the importance of goals. Celebrating success, how to deliver and receive effective feedback, and how to tap into motivation are all things that I’ve learned about in sport and now focus on in my teaching. I also think that the collaborative relationship that successful coaches and athletes share mirrors a good educator – student relationship. Building on these reflections, I believe that it is my role as an educator to encourage students and to coach them for success.

As a bit of background information about myself, I’ve been involved in sport for many years. I’ve participated in high-level amateur sport, enjoyed recreational leagues, and coached Junior (<19) as well as Masters (40yrs+) athletes. As I tell the story of my athletic experiences, a few achievements stand out as highlights including a 4th place finish at the Pan-American Junior Track & Field Championships, a 2nd place finish in the Honolulu marathon, National Team carding in the Olympic Hopeful category during my university years, and more recently my finish at IronMan Canada.

Throughout all of these experiences, I’ve been lucky to have interacted with some very talented coaches and mentors. My earliest teaching experiences are based in coaching. These experiences range from: coaching experiences in track and field at highschool, university, and provincial levels; being a guest speaker for Sun Run clinics; designing and coaching marathon training programs; participating in NCCP level II certification courses as a guest speaker and participant. Here’s a few more highlights from my own coaching experiences:

• 2000 & 1999 National Team Manager, Canadian Junior Racewalk Team, Athletics Canada.
• 2001 – 1995 Head Coach, Racewalk West Track and Field Club.
• 2000 Coach, Honolulu Marathon Training Program, Joints in Motion, Arthritis Society.
• NCCP Level I, Level II (theory) Coaching Certification for Track & Field, specialization Racewalk

Involvement in sport is a life long passion for me. In addition to being personally fufilling, I’m constantly learning about myself, about good coaching, and about scenarios for success. I’m happy that I can make these connections between two of my passions in life: 1) being active in sport, and 2) being an effective educator.