“One of the parents of a player came up to me and said, ‘You’ve basically given my son his life back because this has helped motivate him in so many other areas.’ I don’t take myself seriously enough to think that it’s because of me, but it is because of this whole package that we’ve […]
Feature
“They need to be really persistent…” B.C. high school Class of 2021 grads in tough to find spots on crowded university & college rosters!
VANCOUVER — What’s the toughest challenge for a talented B.C. high school basketball player looking to continue his or her career as a student-athlete this coming season at the college or university level?How about simply finding a place to play?Student-athletes from B.C.’s hard-luck Class of 2021 have not only lost their entire senior season of […]
Adversity’s award: Why the Tessa Beauchamp Scholarships mean so much more to B.C. high school’s courageous Class of 2021!
SURREY — For almost a decade, it has distinguished itself as a memorial scholarship by asking its many Grade 12 student applicants to ponder a question so deeply understood by its namesake.And when you very fittingly digest that same question these days, over the final weeks of the most challenging of school years, it’s hard […]
A Saturday Salute: In a time of tumult, quiet miles and a quiet mind keep Simon Fraser grad Lindsey Butterworth focused on her bid for Tokyo Olympics!
BURNABY — Lindsey Butterworth has always been good at putting in the quiet miles.Now, as she navigates the unpredictable homestretch of her bid to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the North Vancouver native knows it’s just as important to maintain a quiet mind.“If you look at the big picture… start to look at […]
Trinity Western rugby: By sharing the same coaching staff, Spartans’ men’s & women’s teams strengthen team bonds!
LANGLEY — Its blueprint leads you to believe it has been designed specifically to guide its student-athletes through the unique emotional demands of the current global pandemic.Yet the coaching co-operative which was poured as part of the foundation of the Trinity Western Spartans men’s and women’s rugby teams back in 2019 is proving itself to […]
UBC track and field: Two years after its greatest day ever, head coach Primeau & his ‘Birds undaunted in belief that more golden days are ahead!
VANCOUVER — As a student in UBC’s School of Applied Plant and Soil Sciences, Rowan Hamilton is learning the ins and outs of helping to sustain all that is essential within our fragile eco system.Something of a towering tree himself at 6-foot-3, Hamilton is also a key reason that the eco system of a UBC […]
A Sunday Read: Sadie Wilson’s winding road to the front row signals spike in fortunes as UFV’s volleyball Cascades prep for 2021-22 Canada West debut!
ABBOTSFORD — After years of waiting, Sadie Wilson’s inner volleyball radar is picking up the pulses of positivity.Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, speaking in the language of her sport, that the 6-foot-1 right-side hitter is sensing a long-anticipated spike in her fortunes.To her, such peaks are welcome, especially when viewed against all of […]
Varsity Letters’ 15th annual B.C. Recruits List: Please send us the names of our university-bound student-athletes from the Class of 2021!
NORTH DELTA — The B.C. Recruits List turns 15 this year, and based on the events of the past year-plus, I am sure you will agree with me when I say that at no time over that span has it been more important that we acknowledge, in any way possible, our province’s graduating student-athletes.When we […]
Senior Service: Over a season that never was, Simon Fraser’s duo of Tays and Te kept character at the fore for the sake of the future!
BURNABY MOUNTAIN — Bianca Te and Julia Tays never doubted they would finish what they started.Yet the two lone returning seniors with the Simon Fraser women’s volleyball team never figured that the toughest test of their NCAA careers atop Burnaby Mountain would be defined by their response to the day-in, day-out grind of not playing.In […]
At Burnaby’s Byrne Creek, Athletic Council class gives students an empowered ‘voice of community’ in a time of disconnect!
BURNABY — This past September, on what was the first day of a freshly-minted class in the curriculum at Byrne Creek Community School, the teacher posed a defining question to his students.“I had the kids write down what they thought the athletic climate was at Byrne Creek, and how they would perceive us if they […]