Heroes in Our Midst

Michelle is 5’6”, from Steinbach, a small city in rural Manitoba, and has a degree in Piano Performance from the University of Manitoba School of Music.  Knowing only this one may assume that this musical “short girl” who was “not from Winnipeg” would never advance further than a volleyball provincial team (if she could even make the provincial team).  Well, when you assume you make an ass out of u and me.  When one is around Michelle, it is best not to make any assumptions.

A 1996 Olympian in the sport of volleyball, Michelle now refers to being short as a blessing noting that, "When you have disadvantages in sport and life, you want it so much more, and you have to fight like a dog to get it.  You have to go anywhere.  I would have gone anywhere [to play club volleyball].”  And go anywhere she did. It was a four-hour drive each way to practice for the first club volleyball team she made.

Of the path we all walk, she notes this, "All of our journeys are valuable.  When I think about finding heroes in our midst, it doesn’t even seem like a daunting task.  I’m incredibly blessed to have the Olympics attached to my name, but I have met many mothers, fathers, kids, and athletes who will never go to the Olympics, but they are heroes because [real life can be much more difficult].  I have been to the Olympics, and then I’ve lived real life and what I‘ve done since and in those realms seem far more heroic to me than anything I did on a wooden court.  It taught me how I want to approach everything I want to do in my life and to not expect to get attention for all the hard work in between.  You have to get your reward from what you pour into your journey, even if no one sees it."

Tenacious, caring, willing to do the work, and a role model to all.  We are proud to have Michelle on the Heroes team.  She is, without doubt, a hero in our midst.  Please enjoy Michelle's episode.

Like many, Shannon does not think of herself as a hero. In her words, “If I can be a hero to you, I am happy, but do I think I am a hero?  No.”

Before Shannon walked through Steinbach Regional Secondary School's doors and changed the life of Michelle Sawatzky-Koop and many others, she was a volleyball player from Flin Flon, a small town in northern Manitoba.  Following a successful high school career and acting on a friend's advice, she attended an open try out for the University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team was one of four rookies selected to play for the team.  She played two years before transitioning to coaching, where she positively impacted the lives and athletic development of hundreds of athletes in junior varsity, varsity, and club volleyball settings.

As an athlete who came from both the north and a small town, she thought the gap between rural and city athletes was miles, but when she made the University of Manitoba team, she realized that the gap was not that big after all.  Throughout her career, she not only taught all her athletes always to work as hard as they could, but she also demonstrated and proved that anyone from anywhere could make it as far they believe is possible.

Please enjoy our conversation with Shannon Kehler.

A two-time Grey Cup champ, Andrew is a man of integrity who’s battled through adversity his whole life. Despite growing up without a dad and having to switch schools in grade 12, he didn’t fold.

Andrew also took advantage of the opportunities presented to him. His grades weren’t up to par for university football, so he made a name for himself in junior instead. He won three national championships with the Vancouver Island Raiders, but more importantly, became a father.

The birth of his daughter Hazel enhanced his sense of purpose and increased his maturity. When he played for the BC Lions, he knew he was playing for more than just himself and his teammates.

“It was definitely an environment where I started to grow. I wasn't perfect by any means, but [having Hazel] made a big difference in my life. It gave me  a little more sense of purpose and reasoning to work as hard as I was, and to provide and be part of something bigger than just being Andrew Harris. Now, it was Andrew Harris the father.”

Andrew has been through the highs of victory but has also endured scrutiny and experienced loss. A failed drug test in 2019 took a toll on his mental health, but with the help of Dr. Adrienne TooGood, he got back on his feet.

“I had to kind of be vulnerable and talk to talk to someone, so I sat down and talked with Dr. Toogood. And I literally felt like I just cried the whole time for an hour there. And she just listened and just lifted me back up. It took a couple weeks, but it all kind of lined up perfectly with when I got back, you know, into the playoffs. I could be that leader again. And once we got to the Grey Cup, there was so much anger, excitement, pride, I felt like myself again.”

A dedicated father and a role model for many, Andrew’s message is to appreciate everyone for who they are, to celebrate the positives and to show compassion during times of trouble.

“We are all humans. And I think sometimes, we look at people as if they are inhuman. And I think the biggest thing is that it's important to give everyone respect. When people are up or down, you know, just respect them and enjoy the good times and, you know, support in the bad times. That's the biggest thing for me.”

“Be proud of who you are, don’t  feel like you have to assimilate into one way of being, just be yourself and learn as much as you can about your culture as you can.”   Nadya is a 23-year-old Métis/Libyan sprint canoer who has been paddling for 18 years. She has eight World Cup and World Championships medals under her belt and 12 national titles.  She started paddling at the age of six when her Mom took up the sport.  Since Nadya was at the paddling club too, she paddled as well.  She was 17 when she made her first national team, and she would train and compete at the highest levels for five years until she retired in 2019.

Now free from the rigors of international competition, Nadya is coaching. She has partnered with her brother and others to start a not-for-profit organization (waterwayscanada.com) that uses paddling as a tool to re-connect Indigenous youth to their culture through the water and the land in a way that is similar to the experiences of the generations who came before them.  In addition to her work with youth, Nadya currently views paddling as a way of adding goodness to her life.  It is a way to connect to nature and feel the water without trying to be the best in the world.

Growing up as part of the Métis and Muslim community, Nadya often felt like she sat on the fringes of several communities, but when she sat in her boat, she felt like that was the one place she truly belonged and where she felt connected to something beyond herself.  Please tune in to our conversation with Nadya Crossman-Serb to learn about the power of authentically being who you are while simultaneously chasing your dreams.

There is a piece of Kylo’s soul that belongs to Canada’s North.  He grew up in Goose Bay, then a fly-in/fly-out community in Labrador, and spent the early years of his sport career in Nunavut.  He tells us that three types of people move North, those that go to save the world - they last about three months.  Those who go for the paycheque - they last about a year, and finally, those who go for the adventure.  The ones who head North for adventure are not there for a specific purpose, but they are the ones most apt to ask, “how can we help out; where can we pitch in?”  These are the people who change the world.  Kylo doesn’t openly seek to change the world, but he does aim to create the best environments for those around him.  He is also not one to say no to adventure.

Being open to both possibilities and adventure has served Kylo well and shaped his life in ways he never thought possible.  From his choice of university (in Ontario far from friends and family) to saying yes to the North when his life in Toronto was not panning out the way he expected, to moving communities in Nunavut by snowmachine (a 3-day adventure with strangers), to accepting a position in Manitoba where he knew no one.  Kylo has made the most of life simply by being open to the opportunities presented to him.

While not one of the founders of the Grizzlies program in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Kylo was the first staff person with the organization and served as a volunteer coach with female soccer and boys lacrosse.  The experiences Kylo had with the Grizzlies had a profound impact on him, and in the way he leads, in the way he coaches, and the way engages with everyone he interacts with.  Passionate about his role as a sport professional and coach, Kylo also works quietly and tirelessly as a professional behind the scenes as a volunteer to create opportunities for athletes across several contexts, including indigenous teams, girls-only programming, development for smaller sports, and coach succession programs.  He may not recognize that he’s changing the world, but he definitely enhances the world of everyone he engages with.

Please enjoy our conversation with Kylo Harris.

Leisha Strachan knows a lot about excellence.  A talented athlete, she competed at the World Championships in Baton for the first time at age 13. She finished her competitive career with consecutive bronze medals at worlds in the pairs event.  She holds a Ph.D. and is a professor in the faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba.  When asked to share a piece of advice, she quotes this excerpt from “The Four Agreements”: “Be impeccable with your word. Do not take things personally. Do not to make assumptions. Always do your best.”  It is advice that she gives and that guides her life as well.

In our discussion we talk about being a first-generation Canadian (Leisha’s parents immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada from Grenada), what it is like to be the only black person (or one of a few) in the sport of baton, including how hard it is to find tights and shoes for dance in colors that match your skin tone (you don’t really find them, you have to purchase the readily available lighter colored ones and then dye them so they work for you).  We talk about excellence, the power of faith, the importance of community and gratitude for the people who both came before you and who surround you on your journey.

Please join as we uncover another Hero in our Midst in our discussion with Leisha Strachan.

If we would simply list Jocelyne Larocque’s accomplishments, you’d probably agree that she’s a hero. But accomplishment alone is not what we’re looking for in our “heroes.” We want to know their story from the inside out, and Jocelyne’s got a great one. She grew up in a small town called Ste. Anne, Manitoba, and plain and simple, she just loved playing hockey and just knew that she wanted to play on the biggest stage possible. So, she dared to dream big, and it took her all the way to the Olympic Games and not just one – but two!

Most recently, Jocelyne was named the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council’s Female Athlete of the Decade, an incredible honour and SO well deserved.

Jocelyne is proud of her Metis heritage and, no question is a “Hero in our Midst.”

We hope you enjoy the story of Canadian defenceman Jocelyne Larocque… as she takes us through the ups and downs of going after a dream and never, ever quitting.

Jayme Menzies is proud of her Metis heritage. She loves her family and enjoys speaking of her parents’ unconditional support throughout her entire life journey. She played 5 years of post-secondary volleyball at the University of Winnipeg; she is presently the head coach of the Canadian Mennonite University women’s volleyball team, has been the head coach of the 19U Female North American Indigenous Games provincial team since 2012, assistant coached Team ‘Toba to Canada Games gold in 2017, has coached numerous school and club teams, she’s the founder and a head coach for Agoojin Volleyball Club AND most recently, was named the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council’s Female Coach of the DECADE!

And we haven’t even begun to talk about her journey through education, her adventure of working for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits OR the fact that she is “Mom” to a beautiful, 2-year-old boy, Kona Salix.

It’s a lot to take in, but after hearing Jayme share her story, you will find that it’s pretty simple for her. She is on a mission to bring equal opportunity to Indigenous people, celebrate her Metis heritage as an example for others to do the same, and bring her “whole self” to everything she does.

No question, Jayme Menzies is a “Hero in our Midst,” and we hope you enjoy our conversation with her.

Donna is a prairie girl who grew up in small towns in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  An RCMP kid, her family moved several times through elementary school and middle school.  In addition to always feeling like the “new” kid, she was also one of the only students to blend a commitment to sport and music, a sometimes challenging combination that would prepare her for the balancing act that would become her life.

After university, her journey involved working and coaching at the national level in sport.  A decision to walk away from a national team coaching pathway coupled with illness from stress due to a life load that was out of control led to graduate research that uncovered the role of culture, recovery, and connection play in sustaining performance.  The research, while rooted in sport, has applications across many contexts.  One of Donna's biggest takeaways from the research was the discovery that we usually see leaders (in the case of the research, this was coaches) as one dimensional.  We don’t realize that there is a whole other dimension or dimensions to that person and a group of people who share that human, their human (partner, parent, friend, sibling, child) with the world, thus enabling them to lead or coach.  When we learn to see people multidimensional, we have the opportunity to really see them, to understand them, and to connect with them.  When this happens, we not only help them be at their best; we also uncover the heroes in our midst.

Dallas’ favorite quote is, “Be yourself. It's the only way to be excellent at anything and to be a value to anyone else.”  Without question, Dallas knows who she is, and she leans into her values as she tackles tough decisions and creates a training environment where athletes can be empowered and challenged.

As a coach, there are two experiences with results you can have - elation and devastation.  Some days you get one or the other, some days you get both on the same day, and sometimes you get elation on the way to devastation.  She blends the two by honoring each person’s journey and teaching her athletes to be proud of their work, even in the face of grave disappointment.

Please enjoy our discussion with our friend and hero in our midst, Dallas Ludwick.