2017 TEAM Fund Recipient Athlete Bios

Transcription

1 2017 TEAM Fund Recipient Athlete Bios

2 Emmanuel is a Grade 12 athlete who is currently competing at the OSL U21 Provincial and League 1 Ontario level in soccer as a goalkeeper. He trains weekly with his club, Santaax Soccer School. He is the youngest player at this level and is drawing interest from many varsity programs because of his great potential as a goalkeeper. In his first League 1 Ontario match, Emmanuel helped guide his team to a 5-0 win allowing no goals for the opposing team. Emmanuel demonstrates great leadership skills while he is on the field and is well respected by his teammates and coaches. He hopes to continue his soccer dreams past high school and continue to compete at the next level.

3 From left to right, True North Climbing Inc. Owner John Gross, and Indiana Indiana is a Grade 8 athlete who competes at the National and U.S level for indoor rock climbing. Indiana trains from her club, True North Climbing Inc., she has been competing in indoor rock climbing since the age of 8, she loves the level of strategy and problem solving that comes with competitive climbing. She most recently won a gold medal at the Canadian Youth Bouldering Championship in North Vancouver in the Girls B Category. Her current goal is to continue to work hard and train and represent Canada at the Youth World Cup in August 2017 in Austria. Climbing will be one of the new sports that will be added to the 2020 Olympics, so the future of rock climbing is looking very bright for this emerging young star.

4 From left to right, Neon, Nini and Marc Neon (Grade 10), Nini (Grade 10) and Marc (Grade 7) are squash athletes who train, compete and represent the Urban Squash Toronto Club. All three athletes compete at the intermediate level in squash. Nini has competed in the Junior Grand Prix 7 and placed 10 th. Marc and Neon have not yet competed, both continue to train and work hard with the goal to reach competitive level very soon. Their aspirations are to continue to train and gain experience to move up in the levels of high performance squash which will aid them when competing in future tournaments.

5 Ahriahna is a Grade 10 basketball athlete who competes at the provincial and secondary school level. She competes and trains for Bill Crothers Secondary School. Ahriahna has experienced many successes within recent years such as; winning gold medal in the 2015 Canadian National Championships as a member of the U15 Provincial Team, 2015 Centennial Colts and St. Laurent Express Championship gold medalist as part of her school team. Her most recent achievement, being the 2016 Juel Prep All Star Champion. She is currently playing in the OSBA, a new high performance league for basketball through her school Bill Crothers S.S. She aspires to continue to train and improve her game and move up in provincial level and hopefully qualify to play on the National basketball team.

6 Kha Vi An is a Grade 11 athlete who competes in the Division One (Premier) level under the Ontario Volleyball Association. She competes for her club Leaside Lightning in the U18 division. She has been one of the 48 out of 500 volleyball players in the High Performance centre selection, which is a pre-cursor of reaching Team Ontario. During the season, she helped her school, R.H King Academy defend their Junior and Senior volleyball TDSSAA Regional Championship title two years in a row. Kha Vi An has had many opportunities to compete in Team Ontario high performance program camps and tournaments (both beach and indoor volleyball) in both Canada and the United States. She hopes to continue her impressive volleyball career and potentially qualify for Summer Olympics or Pro Volleyball competition.

7 Kiara is a Grade 10 basketball athlete who competes at the Provincial level in the Juel Prep league of Ontario. She represents the Scarborough Blues Basketball Association within this competitive league. Her Juel Prep team has been very successful as they finished 2 nd overall in all of Ontario last year. Her play in the SBA Juel Team has impressed many; several U.S universities are taking notice and monitoring her successes. Kiara hopes to continue her basketball journey as she hones in on her skills remains committed reaching the next level of basketball competition.

8 Sanjade is a Grade 11 athlete who competes in track & field. He trains and competes with the Speed Academy Track Club. In 2016, Sanjade was ranked 5 th in Ontario for his age category, set the record for 80m and 150m track events at Athletics Ontario Championships and placed 2 nd in the Royal Canadian Legion Indoor Championships. He continues to train and wants to build off his successes from the 2016 season. He aspires to continue his hard work and focus into his sport and potentially gain an athletic scholarship, and one day represent Canada in track and field.

9 Tolulope (Tolu) is a Grade 12 track and field athlete who competes at the Rep level. Tolu trains and represents the Flying Angels Track Club. He has achieved great success since starting with his club in 2013, Tolu has recently won the Senior Boys 100m and set a new record. Tolu was a multiple time provincial champion in 60m, 100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x2000m relay, and in 2014, he ranked as the 2 nd fastest male in his age category in North America! He hopes to continue his great successes into the 2017 season and pursue his dream to compete in the Olympics and become the world s fastest man.

10 Shaelene is a Grade 10 athlete who competes in figure skating for the Scarborough Figure Skating Club. Shaelene participates in both Singles STAR skate program and Competitive Ice Dance program. Recently, she and her ice partner have won 2 previous ice skating competitions in 2016 where they defeated 8-10 other ice skating couples in Ontario. Shaelene is a very hard worker and dedicated to improving in her craft as an athlete but also works to maintain her good grades. She hopes this continued work ethic and her drive to be successful will take her athletic and academic career to new levels.

11 Tommy (right) pictured with his Mother Jieming Tommy is a Grade 12 athlete in figure skating who trains and competes with the Scarborough Figure Skating Club. In the past year, he placed 3 rd in the Canadian National Challenge and the Canadian Nationals in Novice Ice Dance. Tommy has seen so much consistent improvement in his athletic development that he has recently been promoted to the Junior Ice Dance level of figure skating. Moving forward, he is currently training and fine-tuning his skills and talents so he can capitalize on his opportunity of being awarded a Junior Grand Prix, which allows him to compete at the international levels of Junior Ice Dance and proudly represent Canada.

12 From left to right, Newtush & Nyanna Newtush (Grade 10) and Nyanna (Grade 7) are two young emerging track and field athletes who and represent the Flying Angels Track Club. These two athletes have seen recent success in their track and field events, Newtush winning a gold medal with his school team in the 4x100 relay and continuing his exceptional growth as a sprinter in his first year of track. Nyanna winning first overall in long jump at the AAU Indoor International Youth Championships in Washington D.C and another first overall finish in the Athletics Ontario Youth/Senior Championships Prep Meet where she had a personal best performance in long jump with a leap of 5.28m. Both athletes love their events and are committed to continue practicing, training and working hard to achieve their personal athletic goals in track and field.

13 From left to right, Chad, Supervisor, Academy for Student Athlete Development at the Abilities Centre and Daija Daija is a Grade 12 basketball athlete who plays in a Prep School Elite League and practices out of the Abilities Centre. Daija s program is very demanding both athletically and academically as the practice she puts in on the court and in her school work is preparing her to excel at both at a very high level. Previously, Daija has played on some AAU basketball teams where she saw more consistent growth in her basketball abilities. She continues to be a model athlete and strives to work as hard as she can to excel in this prestigious basketball program, she has the potential to represent the sport of basketball at the provincial and national level.

14 Kushiah is a Grade 9 basketball athlete who competes and represents the BTB Toronto Basketball Academy. The BTB Toronto Basketball Academy is a talent developing program which job is to create the next generation of players to the reach the next level of basketball. Kushiah has already shown success with his team placing 6 th in the Ontario Cup of basketball. He s currently playing with fellow TEAM Fund recipients Sukhjot, Cordell and Kyle on their Prep League Team. Kushiah hopes to build from that experience and learn all he can in this elite basketball program to take his basketball abilities to new heights and help him accomplish his personal goals of continuing his basketball career to provincial or national levels.

15 Sukhjot is a Grade 12 basketball athlete who plays and trains out of BTB Toronto Basketball Academy. This is his first year playing in the Prep League, alongside other 2017 TEAM Fund recipients Kushiah, Cordell and Kyle, and he wishes to build up on his skills and abilities in basketball and be a force for his team during the season. He is hopeful BTB Toronto Basketball Academy can allow him to flourish as an athlete and potentially reach the higher levels in basketball competition.

16 Kyle is a Grade 12 basketball athlete who trains and compete with his club, BTB Toronto Basketball Academy. He currently plays with fellow teammates Sukhjot, Kushiah, and Cordell on their Prep League. On his previous teams, Kyle has won the Gym Rats National Championship, and his team has also finished as Gold Bracket semi-finalists. Kyle aspires to reach the next level of basketball competition and with his great club and supportive teammates, he s hopeful he can reach that goal.

17 Cordell is a Grade 12 basketball athlete who competes and trains with the BTB Toronto basketball Academy. Cordell plays alongside other 2017 TEAM Fund recipients; Sukhjot, Kushiah, and Kyle in a Prep League. Cordell most recent success was his time playing in this past years King James Classic, where his team finished 2 nd in the tournament in which he averaged points per game. Cordell is determined to take full advantage of his opportunity playing with BTB Toronto Basketball Academy and wants to take his game to new levels and like his fellow teammates and 2017 TEAM Fund recipients, wants to reach the next level of basketball competition and continue his impressive basketball journey.

18 Shyheim is a Grade 10 intermediate track and field athlete who trains, competes and represents his club, the Flying Angels Track Club. In the past year, Shyheim has placed 1 st in his event, the 100m, at the North Region Track and Field Competition. Shyheim is a very dedicated and hardworking athlete who loves and wishes to excel in running. He is currently one of Toronto s top young sprinters and has a bright future ahead of him. He is committed to continue to train and perfect his craft and hopes one day qualify to participate in higher competition levels in running.

19 Amir is a Grade 11 water polo athlete who trains, competes and represent his club, the Mavericks Water Polo Club. He currently competes at the National level in water polo. Amir has played water polo since he was young, being a part of his Youth National Team in Russia. Upon moving to Canada, Amir has continued to participate in water polo and has improved his skills and abilities. Amir has been described by coaches of having a unique offensive and defensive ability and his desire to score allows to stay cool and deliver for his team in pressure situations. Amir aspires to continue his water polo career and hopes to represent Canada, Ontario or his club at the international level. He also hopes to secure a scholarship so he can continue to play water polo and receive an education.