Alive With Sport » Everything Else

Yup, it’s true, I love what I do!

joannealisonfox — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:48:24 +0000

A Coaching Philosophy

joannealisonfox — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:16:41 +0000

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.

Christmas Day Traditions

joannealisonfox — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:11:35 +0000

Getting outdoors on Christmas Day has always been a tradition for me and my family. What’s your tradition?

This year we did a short hike up to Dog Mountain up at Seymour. There wasn’t much snow but the trail was still fine. At the top, we got a really cool view of the city covered in fog.

In a holiday season filled with eating, driving and visiting, I always appreciate the opportunity to get outdoors. Here’s some pics from our christmas day tradition.

Being a Scientist in Nigeria

joannealisonfox — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:12:58 +0000

Being a scientist in Nigeria means being very resourceful in finding solutions to barriers… the power goes out 2-4x per day or some days does not come on at all. Scientists here are very practiced at being practical & creative at the same time, a recipe for good science. Only one day did I start to think that the barriers were too big… but then the attitude of the students brought me back around. They work very very hard and are very excited about what they are learning. There are ~20 graduate students, medical doctors, and technicians taking our course. The people that I have met here in Nigeria is what I have enjoyed most. They are full of hope that their country will become one of the top 20 countries in the world. (The goverment has a plan called the 20:20 vision – that hopes to use education, science and technology to raise the profile of Nigeria by 2020). It has been interesting to talk to these young graduate students, to get their own views on the corrupt government and the political problems in the North, and the wars in the Delta (the oil rich region of the country). It is a country with many problems. For example, Nigeria’s children account for 18% of the global under-5 mortality rate. The UN has identified Nigeria as one African country that, if it were to improve and aim to meet the Millienium Development Goals, could make the most impact.

-update written during my recent visit to Nigeria

Back from Africa

joannealisonfox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:28:34 +0000

We’re back from our trip. It was an incredible experience! I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Unfortunately blog updates will have to wait, it’s the first week of school which means life’s gone a bit crazy busy.

Packing for my honeymoon

joannealisonfox — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:45:05 +0000

What’s in my suitcase?

joannealisonfox — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:15:47 +0000

Here’s my first Africa update. I thought you might be interested in seeing what’s in my suitcase…. see photo below. It should be an interesting experience traveling through customs. My personal stuff needs to fit in 1/2 of my carry on bag – the other half is the stuff that needs to be on ice (I’m carrying a lunch bag with reagents).

We’re off to Africa! See you in September…

joannealisonfox — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:26:35 +0000

What Hilarious Fun!

joannealisonfox — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:22:01 +0000

Watching over me

joannealisonfox — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:01:38 +0000

I walked out to Hunter trail with the dog today… and took this picture on my phone (believe it or not).
I have a special place in my heart for bald eagles.