Submitted by: Cheryl Ellingson | Despite the cold, rainy weather, 20 athletes came out for all or part of the weekend from Jun 1-3, 2018 to work on their football and baseball skills. During the football on field sessions, emphasis was put on footwork, proper ball handling, and safe tackling techniques. We were able to finish with a 1 hour scrimmage game that gave players live game action opportunities to implement the skills they had worked on.
In addition, we were able to have Aaron Myette in the gym working with baseball players on various aspects of proper pitching and hitting technique.
The classroom workshop sessions were conducted by Olympian, Leah Ferguson with assistance from Monique Smith. During these sessions the ladies stressed the ABCDs of mentally handling challenges in life, whether they be on or off the field. Leah was very clear with her message of how important it is for people to find their true purpose and meaning and how learning about who you are as a person will ground you mentally, spiritually, and physically.
JR LaRose spoke on Saturday night and Aaron Myette was the guest speaker on Sunday afternoon. Both men spoke about their life as they grew up and the path they took to make it to professional sports. They spoke on the dream they shared to make it in sport and also the challenges they faced in life. Both men, through their struggles and obstacles, found true meaning in life in their relationship with God.
The fascinating part was that both acknowledged that as a pro athlete the perception is that they had everything that life can offer yet it didn’t lead to true happiness.
At the Sunday afternoon closing session the athletes, coaches and public that attended were treated to a fantastic show by A Greater Calling as well as a tasty barbecue lunch. It was a wonderful way to wrap up the weekend.
The Swan Valley Total Athlete planning committee is grateful to the many volunteers who helped out and the community for its support of this event. Also a big thank you to the athletes and their parents who were so dedicated even in the cold wet weather!