Gold at Canadian Nationals for Stan Miller
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When did you start competing in Taekwondo and what inspired you to do so?
I started taekwondo when I was seven years old and I've been doing it for 8 years. I originally joined taekwondo because I grew up watching action movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I always wanted to to crazy flying kicks and be able to knock people out with my bare hands. However I quickly learned that Martial Arts are not all about beating people up. There about discipline, self defence, hard work, and for me… Sport.
What are some of your previous accomplishments in the sport and what have you achieved most recently?
My most recent accomplishments in taekwondo include winning provincials and making Team BC. Winning Nationals and becoming a member of Team Canada. And because I won Nationals, I also get to travel to Tunisia, Africa and represent Team Canada in the Taekwondo World Championships.
Who were some people (players, coaches, parents, etc) that inspired you and encourage you to reach the level you are competing at?
Although taekwondo is a solo sport, it does not lack teamwork and a sense of Comradery. I wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren't for my coach Master Thornton and my fellow teammates at Vortex taekwondo.
What is the best part about competing in Taekwondo?
For me, the best part of competing in taekwondo is the travel and the new experiences. I’ve visited cities all across Canada the USA, and now even Africa. I've gotten to visit places that I never would have been able to otherwise, and met new friends around the world.
What are your future goals in Taekwondo?
I don’t plan to stop competing in Taekwondo anytime soon. My most immediate goal would be winning Gold at Worlds. As for a long term goal, it's always been a lifelong dream of mine to compete in the Olympics (Taekwondo is an Olympic sport). And i've just gotten one step closer to it.
WE @ TOTEMS ATHLETICS ARE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS STAN!!!!!!
I started taekwondo when I was seven years old and I've been doing it for 8 years. I originally joined taekwondo because I grew up watching action movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. I always wanted to to crazy flying kicks and be able to knock people out with my bare hands. However I quickly learned that Martial Arts are not all about beating people up. There about discipline, self defence, hard work, and for me… Sport.
What are some of your previous accomplishments in the sport and what have you achieved most recently?
My most recent accomplishments in taekwondo include winning provincials and making Team BC. Winning Nationals and becoming a member of Team Canada. And because I won Nationals, I also get to travel to Tunisia, Africa and represent Team Canada in the Taekwondo World Championships.
Who were some people (players, coaches, parents, etc) that inspired you and encourage you to reach the level you are competing at?
Although taekwondo is a solo sport, it does not lack teamwork and a sense of Comradery. I wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren't for my coach Master Thornton and my fellow teammates at Vortex taekwondo.
What is the best part about competing in Taekwondo?
For me, the best part of competing in taekwondo is the travel and the new experiences. I’ve visited cities all across Canada the USA, and now even Africa. I've gotten to visit places that I never would have been able to otherwise, and met new friends around the world.
What are your future goals in Taekwondo?
I don’t plan to stop competing in Taekwondo anytime soon. My most immediate goal would be winning Gold at Worlds. As for a long term goal, it's always been a lifelong dream of mine to compete in the Olympics (Taekwondo is an Olympic sport). And i've just gotten one step closer to it.
WE @ TOTEMS ATHLETICS ARE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS STAN!!!!!!
Cheerleading WORLD'S in Florida!
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Some may say that allstar cheerleading is about the glitz and glam. Make no mistake, these are athletes to the core. It takes a lot of time, dedication and teamwork to make a 2 ½ minute routine floor ready. Many teams will compete locally and internationally but few will earn the right to attend the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida each year where teams compete against just that, the best in the world. This year, one of our own Semi Totems will be hitting the world stage, accomplishing a goal 8 years in the making.
AVERY GASKIN started her cheerleading career at 10 years old in a local gym at the starting level – level 1. She pushed hard to hone her skillset, even deciding to move to a further gym to train to accomplish her goal of making the highest level in cheerleading – level 6. This year, she has had the privilege of being a member of Blackout, the All Girl International Open Level 6 team at Vancouver Allstars.
On February 3rd, Avery and her teammates competed and ultimately won a coveted partial paid bid to Worlds! She will be taking the floor at the new Wide World of Sports building specifically built and designed for cheerleading in April 2018. We wish Avery the best of luck!
AVERY GASKIN started her cheerleading career at 10 years old in a local gym at the starting level – level 1. She pushed hard to hone her skillset, even deciding to move to a further gym to train to accomplish her goal of making the highest level in cheerleading – level 6. This year, she has had the privilege of being a member of Blackout, the All Girl International Open Level 6 team at Vancouver Allstars.
On February 3rd, Avery and her teammates competed and ultimately won a coveted partial paid bid to Worlds! She will be taking the floor at the new Wide World of Sports building specifically built and designed for cheerleading in April 2018. We wish Avery the best of luck!
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Back 2 Back Championships
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Standing Totem tall: Semiahmoo celebrates its bumps in the road, reaps reward of repeat B.C. AAA title
December 5, 2017 Howard Tsumura -
LANGLEY — Michael Sapic is thrilled that his Semiahmoo Totems players are enjoying the sweet taste that comes with repeating as B.C. senior boys AAA volleyball champions.
Yet the longtime head coach, who made his return to the lead chair this season after formerly leading Totems boys and girls teams to top-four B.C. finishes, isn’t sugar-coating the fact that not every title-clinching run is filled with start-to-finish high-fives and campfire songs.
“In the end it was about how everyone believed in each other,” said Sapic, reflecting Monday on the events of this past Saturday as the Totems rallied against Cranbrook’s top-seeded Mt. Baker, beating the Wild 15-12 in the fifth-and-deciding set at an ear-splitting Langley Events Centre.
“But part of what went on this year is that our team has had so many different coaches each year,” continued Sapic, who had not coached a high school team since leading the Totems girls to the B.C. semifinals in 2009. “And then I came along. They weren’t used to doing the different kinds of things I did, and I think it made them uncomfortable. It was a fear of trying something new.”
Led by the play of tournament MVP Mike Dowhaniuk, the 6-foot-5 senior left side hitter, the Totems played their best volleyball of the season over their final four matches.
In the round of 16, they topped Kelowna 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16), beat Penticton 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-10, 25-20) in the quarterfinals, then swept past crosstown rival Earl Marriott 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-13) in the semifinals.
The way things began against Mt. Baker, the Totems looked immortal.
They led 2-0 (25-12, 25-22) and were going for a sweep before the Wild re-discovered the intensity which made them the province’s top-ranked team for the entire second half of the season.
“After we won the first two, Mt. Baker woke up,” said Sapic. “You couldn’t hear yourself think in there. It was so loud. But after we lost that fourth (set), I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was a train’s headlight coming.”
Semiahmoo’s Jag Gill (blue) goes to the net in Saturday’s championship final match against Carnbrook’s Mt. Baker Wild. (Paul Yates/Vancouver Sports Pictures)To Sapic, it was plain to see that momentum was no longer with his team. So instead of letting them come off the floor ahead of the tie-breaker, he kept them on the court and proceeded to do the only thing he felt would get them back on the tracks.
“I went right out onto the floor and I did the rah-rah, go bananas thing,” he said. “I told them to go and take it and then I pushed them back onto the floor before they even had to go, and it changed their mood.”
After falling 18-25 and 12-25, the came back in the fifth to win 15-12 and keep B.C.’s highest-tiered boys volleyball title in South Surrey.
“The problem when we get too emotionally high is sometimes we tend to crash,” said Sapic. “I just tried to recognize when that was happening. It was about trying to maintain the highs and then pick it up if it got too low.”
As far as reading his team’s emotional barometre, the coach got it right.
And there were so many triumphant stories within the Totems’ roster.
Dowhaniuk finished his high school career as the provincial MVP.
Sapic said his need for a setter was answered when he converted former left side Jag Gill into the team’s playmaker, a position in which over a three-month span he made incredible forward progress.
Adam Paige, the 6-foot-7 dual-sport star who has already begun his senior year with the basketball team, played a role befitting his physical stature, moving from his middle blocker spot and thriving as a ride-side hitter.
“When they all ganged up on Mike on the left side, we needed someone on the other side and Adam was a dream kid,” said Sapic.
The coach had a story to tell about virtually every player on the roster and it was hard to mistake the pride he had for their collective finish.
Yet again, he stressed that the happy ending was possible because the team was willing to confront its hurdles.
“At one point I said to them ‘If you want to find another guy…’” said Sapic about the fact that he offered his resignation if it was going to be in the best interest of the players’ season. “I meant it but I didn’t want to go. I wanted them to recognize that I wanted to help them. I was grasping at straws for ways to bring it all together.
“In the end, it’s so satisfying,” he concluded. “There is nothing better than winning the provincials.”
December 5, 2017 Howard Tsumura -
LANGLEY — Michael Sapic is thrilled that his Semiahmoo Totems players are enjoying the sweet taste that comes with repeating as B.C. senior boys AAA volleyball champions.
Yet the longtime head coach, who made his return to the lead chair this season after formerly leading Totems boys and girls teams to top-four B.C. finishes, isn’t sugar-coating the fact that not every title-clinching run is filled with start-to-finish high-fives and campfire songs.
“In the end it was about how everyone believed in each other,” said Sapic, reflecting Monday on the events of this past Saturday as the Totems rallied against Cranbrook’s top-seeded Mt. Baker, beating the Wild 15-12 in the fifth-and-deciding set at an ear-splitting Langley Events Centre.
“But part of what went on this year is that our team has had so many different coaches each year,” continued Sapic, who had not coached a high school team since leading the Totems girls to the B.C. semifinals in 2009. “And then I came along. They weren’t used to doing the different kinds of things I did, and I think it made them uncomfortable. It was a fear of trying something new.”
Led by the play of tournament MVP Mike Dowhaniuk, the 6-foot-5 senior left side hitter, the Totems played their best volleyball of the season over their final four matches.
In the round of 16, they topped Kelowna 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16), beat Penticton 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-10, 25-20) in the quarterfinals, then swept past crosstown rival Earl Marriott 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-13) in the semifinals.
The way things began against Mt. Baker, the Totems looked immortal.
They led 2-0 (25-12, 25-22) and were going for a sweep before the Wild re-discovered the intensity which made them the province’s top-ranked team for the entire second half of the season.
“After we won the first two, Mt. Baker woke up,” said Sapic. “You couldn’t hear yourself think in there. It was so loud. But after we lost that fourth (set), I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was a train’s headlight coming.”
Semiahmoo’s Jag Gill (blue) goes to the net in Saturday’s championship final match against Carnbrook’s Mt. Baker Wild. (Paul Yates/Vancouver Sports Pictures)To Sapic, it was plain to see that momentum was no longer with his team. So instead of letting them come off the floor ahead of the tie-breaker, he kept them on the court and proceeded to do the only thing he felt would get them back on the tracks.
“I went right out onto the floor and I did the rah-rah, go bananas thing,” he said. “I told them to go and take it and then I pushed them back onto the floor before they even had to go, and it changed their mood.”
After falling 18-25 and 12-25, the came back in the fifth to win 15-12 and keep B.C.’s highest-tiered boys volleyball title in South Surrey.
“The problem when we get too emotionally high is sometimes we tend to crash,” said Sapic. “I just tried to recognize when that was happening. It was about trying to maintain the highs and then pick it up if it got too low.”
As far as reading his team’s emotional barometre, the coach got it right.
And there were so many triumphant stories within the Totems’ roster.
Dowhaniuk finished his high school career as the provincial MVP.
Sapic said his need for a setter was answered when he converted former left side Jag Gill into the team’s playmaker, a position in which over a three-month span he made incredible forward progress.
Adam Paige, the 6-foot-7 dual-sport star who has already begun his senior year with the basketball team, played a role befitting his physical stature, moving from his middle blocker spot and thriving as a ride-side hitter.
“When they all ganged up on Mike on the left side, we needed someone on the other side and Adam was a dream kid,” said Sapic.
The coach had a story to tell about virtually every player on the roster and it was hard to mistake the pride he had for their collective finish.
Yet again, he stressed that the happy ending was possible because the team was willing to confront its hurdles.
“At one point I said to them ‘If you want to find another guy…’” said Sapic about the fact that he offered his resignation if it was going to be in the best interest of the players’ season. “I meant it but I didn’t want to go. I wanted them to recognize that I wanted to help them. I was grasping at straws for ways to bring it all together.
“In the end, it’s so satisfying,” he concluded. “There is nothing better than winning the provincials.”
4 Year Drought Ended!
The TOTEMS Senior Badminton Team has broken a 4 year drought for a senior individuals title! The TOTEMS won 2 last night! In an entertaining finals, Tammy and Rebecca won in 2 very close games. On the boys side, Nick and Brian won an epic match upsetting the number 1 seeds. Their match went to a 3rd game and they won 22-20 in a back-and-forth nail biting game against an opponent that has a junior national badminton title. Outstanding Performance TOTEMS!
Final Results:
Sr. Surrey Individual Badminton Championships
Boys Singles
Adam - 2nd place
Jack - 4th place
Manin - 8th place
Boys Doubles
Nick / Brian - Champions (1st place)
Jeffrey / William - 4th place
Kevin / Charles W - 8th place
Girls Doubles
Tammy / Rebecca - Champions (1st place)
Kelly / Claire - 5th place
Mixed Doubles
Nick / Tammy - 2nd place
Brian / Claire - 4th place
William / Rebecca - 6th place
Seselja Named to U18 Canadian Rugby Team
Congratulations to Berlyn Seselja who has recently been named to the U18 Canadian National Rugby Team. She has been a strong force leading the Totems Girls Rugby program, well done Berlyn!
Another TOTEM Signs as UBC Thunderbird
Congratulations to Mike Dowhaniuk for his verbal commitment to play for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Senior Men's Volleyball Team for the 2018-19 season.
Surrey's Special Athletes Celebrated!
Congratulations to the TOTEMS Bases Athletics Track Team for there impressionable impact in the Surrey Track Meet. Great effort, teamwork, and encouragement was shown by all our athletes. WE ARE ALL TOTEMS!!! The TOTEMS Athletics Program is proud of you all!
Check out the full story from the PEACE ARCH NEWS:
TOTEMS Representing BC in 2017 Canada Summer Games
Congratulations to Mike Dowhaniuk, Adam Paige, and Vlad Mihaila for representing British Columbia at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Mike will be competing on the BC Volleyball Team, while Adam and Vlad will be competing on the BC Basketball Team. Great work fellas, and way to represent TOTEMS Athletics! Check out the links:
British Columbia Gold Medalists: "An Undefeated Season"
Huge Congratulations to the Grade 8 Girls Basketball team for winning the BC Provincial Championships. This is the first ever basketball provincial championship that the TOTEMS have one in the history of the school. Well done girls!
British Columbia Silver Medalists
Special Congratulations to our TOTEMS Table Tennis Team for their 2nd place finish at the 2017 Provincial Championships! The team swept through Steveston-London in the Semi Finals, but finished just short to St. Georges in the Final Championship Game. The boys have worked hard throughout the year, and all their hard work has paid off! Special thanks to Mrs. Mazurkewich for her commitment as Coach to the team!
High Jump Personal Best!
Congratulations to Alexa Porpaczy who won the 2017 April Mt SAC Relays with a personal high jump best of 1.78m, which qualifies her for the National Team for Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas in July. Outstanding performance!
Check out Alexa's interview for Athletics Canada and Runners Space. Go Alexa Go! Way to represent TOTEMS Athletics!!!:
Check out Alexa's story from the Province Newspaper:
Ultimate tournament to honour longtime South Surrey coach
By Nick Greenizan - Peace Arch News, South Surrey, White Rock posted Feb 23, 2017 at 4:00 PM
Semiahmoo Secondary has found the ultimate way to honour the memory of one of its longtime teachers.
In March, the South Surrey school will host the first-ever Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, bringing together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other local high schools.
Winch – a longtime coach and teacher at Semiahmoo, who was also the former athletic director – passed away last September after a battle with cancer.
Until this year, Winch – an Abbotsford resident who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years – had also been Semiahmoo’s only coach of its Ultimate team, which he spearheaded at the school more than a decade ago.
“For a lot of us, it was a shock when he passed away,” said Semiahmoo teacher Tony Chio, who now coaches the Ultimate team with Thomas Salzmann.
“We wanted to do something, and the students came to us and said they wanted to do something too.”
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
For the inaugural event, set for March 29, 12 teams are set to compete, including Semiahmoo’s senior Ultimate team.
The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with money raised helping fund the Go Play Outside scholarship at Semiahmoo, which Winch’s family created in his honour.
The bursary supports students interested in outdoor education, Chio said.
“He was a big advocate of kids getting an opportunity to play… he gave so much to Semi and it only seems fitting to have a tourney in his name,” said Steve Janzen, Semiahmoo’s athletic director.
Semiahmoo Secondary has found the ultimate way to honour the memory of one of its longtime teachers.
In March, the South Surrey school will host the first-ever Myles Winch Ultimate Tournament, bringing together a handful of Ultimate Frisbee teams from other local high schools.
Winch – a longtime coach and teacher at Semiahmoo, who was also the former athletic director – passed away last September after a battle with cancer.
Until this year, Winch – an Abbotsford resident who taught in the Surrey school district for more than 40 years – had also been Semiahmoo’s only coach of its Ultimate team, which he spearheaded at the school more than a decade ago.
“For a lot of us, it was a shock when he passed away,” said Semiahmoo teacher Tony Chio, who now coaches the Ultimate team with Thomas Salzmann.
“We wanted to do something, and the students came to us and said they wanted to do something too.”
Ultimate is a team sport in which players pass a disc – or Frisbee – up the field to one another, and points are scored when teams can get the disc into the opposition end zone, not unlike football.
For the inaugural event, set for March 29, 12 teams are set to compete, including Semiahmoo’s senior Ultimate team.
The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with money raised helping fund the Go Play Outside scholarship at Semiahmoo, which Winch’s family created in his honour.
The bursary supports students interested in outdoor education, Chio said.
“He was a big advocate of kids getting an opportunity to play… he gave so much to Semi and it only seems fitting to have a tourney in his name,” said Steve Janzen, Semiahmoo’s athletic director.
The Self Made Totem
FEATURE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL
"Brian Wallack: The self-made Totem"
January 31, 2017 Howard Tsumura
SURREY — Back in the winter of 2012, coach Edward Lefurgy approached one of the more eager members of his Grade 8 boys basketball team at Semiahmoo Secondary.
“He was always working on his skills and always asking for more coaching,” begins Lefurgy of point guard Brian Wallack, who at the time stood at just 4-foot-11. “One day I told him that if he wanted to grow, he needed to eat more hummus. At the end of the year, his mother came up to me and asked ‘Why does Brian always want to buy so much hummus.’”
Five years later, Wallack is still a point guard, one of the very best in the entire province, and one who now stands at 6-foot-5.
Yet this isn’t a story about unlocking your vast potential through a mash of chickpeas, olive oil and garlic.
Instead, it’s about finding the starting point that best illustrates just how badly Brian Wallack wanted to be a player.
Yes, there’s plenty of comic relief, but there has also been a ton of self-belief.
This weekend, as the No. 7-ranked Totems join the likes of the No. 1 Walnut Grove Gators, the host and No. 2-ranked Kelowna Owls, No. 3 Oak Bay Bays and No. 4 Kitsilano Blue Demons at the star-studded Western Canada Invitational, the star power at the leader guard position will be dazzling.
The Gators’ Ty Rowell, the Owls’ Mason Bourcier, Jaden Touchie of the Bays and the Blue Demons’ Luka Lizdek. All are either provincial team selections or standouts with their touring club sides.
Then there is the outlier.
Wallack has never played club basketball and he’s been cut from provincial team tryouts the last four straight years.
But he is intensely driven, he is a multi-sport athlete, and since the summer, when he was last watched by university basketball coaches at provincial camp, he’s grown between four and five inches. And believe it or not, he is still growing.
University coaches have always said ‘He’s got everything we want, if only he was a couple of inches taller.’”
Now, they have no excuse.
Before this past summer, Wallack, a 95 per cent student and a team leader with a tireless work ethic, already had everything but ther height. Now he’s almost five inches taller.
I know, right?
Mom, can you buy me some hummus?
A TOTEM STANDS TALL
If you want to know just how talented and competitive Wallack is on the courts, consider that this past season he started at off-side hitter for the Totems senior varsity volleyball team and helped lead Semiahmoo to the B.C. Triple-A championship title.
Before his growth spurt, he functioned as volleyball’s version of the point guard, starring as a setter. The sport gives him transfer to basketball, he says. It also helps him say thanks to a mom who has always supported his athletic endeavours.
“My mom was a very competitive beach player and she has put so much time in for me,” begins Wallack, “that I wanted to keep the sport for her. But I also love being multi-sport because I find having different types of skills helps give me a different perspective (in basketball).”
This is inquisitivness at its finest. And Lefurgy keeps breaking out stories from back in the day.
“I gave him a basketball book a number of years ago, one I gave to our whole team,” begins Lefurgy of Wallack, who has managed to retain all of his small-man skills and morph into a big point guard who can literally play and defend any spot on the court. “The other guys might use it for a while and then it just goes away. But Brian, to this day, has just kept refreshing it.”
Over the summer, Wallack went to a point guard college offered in Seattle at the University of Washington.
“The next day, he’s in our open gym with all of these notes written about things they discussed,” laughs Lefurgy. “This is Brian, the kind of person I can have an adult conversation with about our team, about our school’s dynamic. He has high character, he is a sounding board, and at 17, an extension of the coach.”
And Lefurgy, the former UFV Cascades player, not only sees a confidence emerging in Wallack that mirrors his current growth spurt, but he has a good idea why its happening.
“At the start he has very little success so he had to keep working at things so he was never stunted by praise,” says Lefurgy, who himself is a firm believer in everything attained being earned.
“To be a leader, a kid needs to understand what responsibility actually is,” Lefurgy begins. “It’s not something you can just download to your phone. It’s not some kind of an app. Brian has organized our rides, collected forms for travel, managed our money, and on Saturday in Kelowna, he is going to stand up at the breakfast banquet and address the room about what Semiahmoo is all about. I am nudging him to be our valedictorian.”
NO MAGIC ELIXIR
Which brings us back to the real story behind the hummus.
“Yeah it was kind of a joke,” admits Lefurgy. “I can remember visiting Israel and it was at a time when I was trying, as an athlete, to be more healthy. But I always found it hard to eat vegetables so the hummus helped.”
So that’s all it was.
Of course, within the Semiahmoo basketball community, the story has taken on a life of its own, so much so that even the mild-mannered Wallack admits it wears on him.
“It really bugs me when (Lefurgy) tells that story because in a way it portrays me as a fool,” begins Wallack in an understanding tone. “But really what it says is that I will do anything to get better, and if he said eat hummus, then I was going to do it.”
Those days have long since passed.
But almost miraculously, as if some latent remains of the dip invigorated his growth plates, he began to grow and grow and grow.
“And honestly I don’t think I’m done growing yet,” he laughs.
All Brian Wallack wanted to do was get better, and in the end that’s just what he did.
And he knows now that real magic potion was hard work and self-belief.
Brian Wallack Signs with UBC Thunderbirds Men's Basketball Team!
An Inspiration to Us All!
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Grade 11 student Judy Lee is passionate about sport. As an athlete with the BC Wheelchair Sports Association, Judy plays both tennis and more recently rugby. Her success on the tennis court includes a 2nd place finish in the Taipei Cup, as well as showings in the Shinzhu Cup and the local UBC tournaments. Judy has also recently travelled to California and participated in the ITF/USTA wheelchair tennis training camps. Her goal is to be selected for this year’s provincial tennis team. In February Judy will jet off once again, but this time for rugby as she travels with her team to Calgary to participate in the 2017 Ignite Tournament. Judy hopes to continue her growth as a wheelchair rugby athlete and also be considered for provincial team selection in the future. Congratulations Judy, and we look forward to hearing about your future successes.
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"JUDY LEE IS A TRUE TOTEM!"
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"JUDY LEE IS A TRUE TOTEM!"
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HALL-OF-FAME HOOPS COACH 'JUST WANTS TO HELP'
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By NICK GREENIZAN - PEACE ARCH NEWS
February 7, 2017 · 8:37 AM
South Surrey resident and former Canadian national women’s team coach Allison McNeill works with Semiahmoo Totems’ Deja Lee at a morning practice last week. Below, McNeill with the national team. / NICK GREENIZAN PHOTO
To hear Allison McNeill tell it, she is simply helping out where she can at Semiahmoo Secondary, giving a pointer or two to a Grade 8 girls basketball team already loaded with young talent.
But talk about the legendary hoops figure – longtime bench boss of the Canadian women’s team and a member of both the Simon Fraser University and B.C. sports halls of fame – with her co-coach at Semiahmoo, Lori Pajic, and the truth comes out.
“She’s pretty humble, so if she’s playing it down, she definitely has more of an impact than she says she has,” Pajic told Peace Arch News last week, moments after an early-morning shoot-around ended and students scurried off to class.
“It’s a pretty nice addition… needless to say, we’re pretty lucky to have someone of her calibre working with our girls here at Semi, let alone our Grade 8 girls – the beginning development level.”
McNeill, a 57-year-old South Surrey resident, has a coaching resumé as impressive as any in the province. She began coaching high-school basketball – from Revelstoke to Langley’s W.J Mouat and Seaquam secondaries – before moving to the university ranks. She was the head coach of SFU’s women’s team for 13 years, while also coaching Team Canada to a number of world championship and Olympic appearances, the most recent being the 2012 Summer Games in London, after which she retired.
Throw in a stint as an assistant coach with the NCAA’s University of Oregon Ducks, and there’s few basketball courts she hasn’t seen since beginning her career in the early 1980s.
And now here she is, at a South Surrey high school at 8 a.m. on a Friday, teaching a handful of girls the fundamentals of the game.
“When I left Oregon (in 2005) and then left the national team, I did really want to get back into youth basketball,” McNeill explained.
“I just want to help, and I like coming here in the morning because it’s early and I’m going to the gym anyway.”
She’s also quick to admit that many of her young charges “have stolen my heart.”
Despite being retired, the longtime coach has never quite left the game. In the late-2000s, McNeill said she would periodically lend a hand with Elgin Park’s senior girls hoops team, which was then coached by Stu Graham, a friend of McNeill’s. She has coached in a part-time capacity with Basketball BC and a few Lower Mainland club teams, including the Vancouver Sports Club, where a number of current Grade 8 Totems also play.
“That was one of the draws to coming out – I’ve known some of these kids a long time. I just thought it would be fun to get involved, and now I’ve gotten to know the other kids, too, and I love them. It’s been great.”
McNeill has stayed involved in the game in other ways, too, and in recent years has travelled across the globe – from Spain to Lithuania – to speak at coaching seminars. She left last Saturday for Japan, where she was slated to speak at another basketball workshop.
“I’ve never completely left it. That’s gotta happen at some point, I guess, but not yet,” she laughed.
Though she has chosen to slow the pace of her career down in recent years, McNeill said she looks back fondly at her time with both Team Canada and her university squads.
“Coaching the national team was an all-encompassing job. You become obsessed with it – you have to be. And I miss it – I miss the excitement of it. But I was ready to do something else,” she said.
“I was with the national-team program for 16 years… it was time for someone else to have the opportunity.”
Since 2012, McNeill said she has had to tailor her coaching style to better suit younger players, but relatively speaking, says sees the same amount of passion for the game in youth players as she did with players at much higher levels.
“I loved coaching the national team – those women are so driven, so hard-working – but I love this too because these girls are also really driven, they’re just younger,” she said.
“I was probably more of a yeller when I was younger, but I’ve grown to where I’m more of a teacher now. My dad made a comment to me one time that young kids haven’t built up their armour yet, so you don’t want to be too harsh with them.
“As they get older and stronger, then you can be a little tougher on them. But I think both Lori and I have a good balance of being able to push them but also encourage them.”
That strategy certainly seems to have worked with the Totems this year. With playoffs expecting to begin this week, the Grade 8 squad remains undefeated, and the margins of victory have routinely been of the double-digit variety.
And true to form, McNeill lays most of the credit at the feet of Pajic, the players and their parents.
“I’m the beneficiary of their hard work,” she said.
Pajic, however, knows how much McNeill has meant to her players’ development this season.
“Allison’s really good at teaching the fine, technical features of the game – the little things that, a lot of the time, people don’t notice,” she said.
“Those are the things that really translate into the success they’ve had as a team… I hope our girls realize how lucky they are to have someone like Allison coaching them.”
February 7, 2017 · 8:37 AM
South Surrey resident and former Canadian national women’s team coach Allison McNeill works with Semiahmoo Totems’ Deja Lee at a morning practice last week. Below, McNeill with the national team. / NICK GREENIZAN PHOTO
To hear Allison McNeill tell it, she is simply helping out where she can at Semiahmoo Secondary, giving a pointer or two to a Grade 8 girls basketball team already loaded with young talent.
But talk about the legendary hoops figure – longtime bench boss of the Canadian women’s team and a member of both the Simon Fraser University and B.C. sports halls of fame – with her co-coach at Semiahmoo, Lori Pajic, and the truth comes out.
“She’s pretty humble, so if she’s playing it down, she definitely has more of an impact than she says she has,” Pajic told Peace Arch News last week, moments after an early-morning shoot-around ended and students scurried off to class.
“It’s a pretty nice addition… needless to say, we’re pretty lucky to have someone of her calibre working with our girls here at Semi, let alone our Grade 8 girls – the beginning development level.”
McNeill, a 57-year-old South Surrey resident, has a coaching resumé as impressive as any in the province. She began coaching high-school basketball – from Revelstoke to Langley’s W.J Mouat and Seaquam secondaries – before moving to the university ranks. She was the head coach of SFU’s women’s team for 13 years, while also coaching Team Canada to a number of world championship and Olympic appearances, the most recent being the 2012 Summer Games in London, after which she retired.
Throw in a stint as an assistant coach with the NCAA’s University of Oregon Ducks, and there’s few basketball courts she hasn’t seen since beginning her career in the early 1980s.
And now here she is, at a South Surrey high school at 8 a.m. on a Friday, teaching a handful of girls the fundamentals of the game.
“When I left Oregon (in 2005) and then left the national team, I did really want to get back into youth basketball,” McNeill explained.
“I just want to help, and I like coming here in the morning because it’s early and I’m going to the gym anyway.”
She’s also quick to admit that many of her young charges “have stolen my heart.”
Despite being retired, the longtime coach has never quite left the game. In the late-2000s, McNeill said she would periodically lend a hand with Elgin Park’s senior girls hoops team, which was then coached by Stu Graham, a friend of McNeill’s. She has coached in a part-time capacity with Basketball BC and a few Lower Mainland club teams, including the Vancouver Sports Club, where a number of current Grade 8 Totems also play.
“That was one of the draws to coming out – I’ve known some of these kids a long time. I just thought it would be fun to get involved, and now I’ve gotten to know the other kids, too, and I love them. It’s been great.”
McNeill has stayed involved in the game in other ways, too, and in recent years has travelled across the globe – from Spain to Lithuania – to speak at coaching seminars. She left last Saturday for Japan, where she was slated to speak at another basketball workshop.
“I’ve never completely left it. That’s gotta happen at some point, I guess, but not yet,” she laughed.
Though she has chosen to slow the pace of her career down in recent years, McNeill said she looks back fondly at her time with both Team Canada and her university squads.
“Coaching the national team was an all-encompassing job. You become obsessed with it – you have to be. And I miss it – I miss the excitement of it. But I was ready to do something else,” she said.
“I was with the national-team program for 16 years… it was time for someone else to have the opportunity.”
Since 2012, McNeill said she has had to tailor her coaching style to better suit younger players, but relatively speaking, says sees the same amount of passion for the game in youth players as she did with players at much higher levels.
“I loved coaching the national team – those women are so driven, so hard-working – but I love this too because these girls are also really driven, they’re just younger,” she said.
“I was probably more of a yeller when I was younger, but I’ve grown to where I’m more of a teacher now. My dad made a comment to me one time that young kids haven’t built up their armour yet, so you don’t want to be too harsh with them.
“As they get older and stronger, then you can be a little tougher on them. But I think both Lori and I have a good balance of being able to push them but also encourage them.”
That strategy certainly seems to have worked with the Totems this year. With playoffs expecting to begin this week, the Grade 8 squad remains undefeated, and the margins of victory have routinely been of the double-digit variety.
And true to form, McNeill lays most of the credit at the feet of Pajic, the players and their parents.
“I’m the beneficiary of their hard work,” she said.
Pajic, however, knows how much McNeill has meant to her players’ development this season.
“Allison’s really good at teaching the fine, technical features of the game – the little things that, a lot of the time, people don’t notice,” she said.
“Those are the things that really translate into the success they’ve had as a team… I hope our girls realize how lucky they are to have someone like Allison coaching them.”
Semiahmoo's Jessica Williams set to run in family footsteps, as well as create her own.
“My parents have been very supportive about soccer, and especially my mom. She was the one who usually was driving me all over to games and practices.”
Semiahmoo’s Jessica Williams is hesitant to tag herself as a soccer player who happens to run a little track or a 400-metre specialist who happens to play a bit of soccer on the side.
She admits that others make assumptions, considering her family background.
“I do get people who say, ‘Why don’t you just quit soccer and give track a try full-time?’ ” explained the Grade 12 daughter of Canadian Olympic runners Paul Williams and Lynn Kanuka-Williams. “And I tell them, ‘Why can’t I have both?’ When I’m playing soccer, all I want to do is play soccer. When I’m running track, all I want to do is run track.
“My parents have been very supportive about soccer, and especially my mom. She was the one who usually was driving me all over to games and practices.”
The younger Williams, who’s running the 300 m at the Harry Jerome Indoor Games on Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, has found a couple of coaches who agree. She’ll compete in both soccer and track-and-field starting next September at the University of B.C.
“They approached me with the idea. I didn’t even think it was a thing,” Williams said of UBC soccer coach Jesse Symons and track counterpart Laurier Primeau. “I talked to schools about soccer and I had talked to schools about track, and I could never fully get fully excited. I would come home and think about it and say to myself, ‘Yeah, but what about soccer?’ or ‘Yeah, but what about track?’ ”
Williams’ dad represented Canada at three Olympics, starting with the Los Angeles 1984 Games. He was a four-time national champion in the 5,000 m.
Williams’ mom wore the Maple Leaf at two Olympics. She won a bronze in the 3,000 m in 1984. Her brother, Jack, previously ran for UBC, competing in the 800 and 1,500 m.
“There’s some cool stuff around,” she said of mementoes of her family’s achievements, “but no one really makes a big deal of it. My mom keeps all of her stuff in a box, and brings it out when she has to go give a talk or something.”
Jessica has learned to appreciate her parents’ abilities and accomplishments as she’s grown older. She’ll be shooting to achieve a certain time, and she’ll ask her mom what she ran at that stage.
“She’ll tell me, and I’ll be like, ‘Are you kidding?’ or ‘That’s unreal,’ ” Williams said. “She’ll say that (2016 Canadian Olympian) Melissa Bishop called her and she’ll talk about what a nice person she is. It’s weird to think about, but the way I look at Melissa Bishop is the way people like Melissa Bishop look at my mom and my dad.”
Williams has a personal best of 41.83 in the indoor 300 m, which she set last year at the Jerome. It’s the under-18 meet record. She also holds the under-18 meet record in the 600 m in a time of 1:38.75.
She battled through injuries most of the track season last year. Williams has the junior girls provincial championship record in the 400 m, with her 56.34 clocking, in a 2014 victory.
Semiahmoo’s Jessica Williams is hesitant to tag herself as a soccer player who happens to run a little track or a 400-metre specialist who happens to play a bit of soccer on the side.
She admits that others make assumptions, considering her family background.
“I do get people who say, ‘Why don’t you just quit soccer and give track a try full-time?’ ” explained the Grade 12 daughter of Canadian Olympic runners Paul Williams and Lynn Kanuka-Williams. “And I tell them, ‘Why can’t I have both?’ When I’m playing soccer, all I want to do is play soccer. When I’m running track, all I want to do is run track.
“My parents have been very supportive about soccer, and especially my mom. She was the one who usually was driving me all over to games and practices.”
The younger Williams, who’s running the 300 m at the Harry Jerome Indoor Games on Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, has found a couple of coaches who agree. She’ll compete in both soccer and track-and-field starting next September at the University of B.C.
“They approached me with the idea. I didn’t even think it was a thing,” Williams said of UBC soccer coach Jesse Symons and track counterpart Laurier Primeau. “I talked to schools about soccer and I had talked to schools about track, and I could never fully get fully excited. I would come home and think about it and say to myself, ‘Yeah, but what about soccer?’ or ‘Yeah, but what about track?’ ”
Williams’ dad represented Canada at three Olympics, starting with the Los Angeles 1984 Games. He was a four-time national champion in the 5,000 m.
Williams’ mom wore the Maple Leaf at two Olympics. She won a bronze in the 3,000 m in 1984. Her brother, Jack, previously ran for UBC, competing in the 800 and 1,500 m.
“There’s some cool stuff around,” she said of mementoes of her family’s achievements, “but no one really makes a big deal of it. My mom keeps all of her stuff in a box, and brings it out when she has to go give a talk or something.”
Jessica has learned to appreciate her parents’ abilities and accomplishments as she’s grown older. She’ll be shooting to achieve a certain time, and she’ll ask her mom what she ran at that stage.
“She’ll tell me, and I’ll be like, ‘Are you kidding?’ or ‘That’s unreal,’ ” Williams said. “She’ll say that (2016 Canadian Olympian) Melissa Bishop called her and she’ll talk about what a nice person she is. It’s weird to think about, but the way I look at Melissa Bishop is the way people like Melissa Bishop look at my mom and my dad.”
Williams has a personal best of 41.83 in the indoor 300 m, which she set last year at the Jerome. It’s the under-18 meet record. She also holds the under-18 meet record in the 600 m in a time of 1:38.75.
She battled through injuries most of the track season last year. Williams has the junior girls provincial championship record in the 400 m, with her 56.34 clocking, in a 2014 victory.
TOTEMS Meet the Mayor
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TOTEMS MEET THE MAYOR - Our Senior Boys Volleyball and Basketball team were honoured for their athletic accomplishments on Monday, January 30 at the City Council Meeting. Well done boys on willing the Volleyball Provincial Championships and the Basketball Surrey RCMP Tournament.
Here is a link to the video of the Council Meeting:
TOTEMS Senior Boys Volleyball 2016 BC Provincial Champions!
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Dowhaniuk and the rest of the Totems celebrate the win. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures.
By Bob Carter
Langley — Michael Dowhaniuk was a killer shark for most of the night, a racehorse at the very end. When his final hit rocketed to the floor, untouched, the Semiahmoo standout sprinted from the net to the end of the gym in glee with teammates in chase. The second-seeded Totems had beaten season-long No. 1 Kelowna in a tense, well-played, five-set thriller (16-14) for the AAA title at the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships. “It was the best feeling in the world,” said the grade 11 attacker.Saturday’s match was all the near-capacity crowd could have expected: two skilled, hustling teams playing at a high level. Both teams got high-calibre performances from several players in a match that left many drained. Dowhaniuk admitted that he felt weary midway through the final set, when the team’s changed sides with Semi up 8-7. “I just kept breathing for a minute,” he said, “then I was ready to go again.”With the game tied at 14, Dowhaniuk scored his seventh and eighth points of the set to bring Semi the win. He was quick to point out that he got plenty of help, that the victory was a full team effort.“Our defence and blocking was really important,” Semi coach Maggie Knight said. “Our defence was shifting around the block, and our libero came up big.”Brian Wallack, Adam Paige and Braxton Campbell were among those who delivered key blocks. “They were a huge momentum thing for us,” Dowhaniuk said. KSS started slowly, falling behind early and never recovering in the first set. “We were really tight,” said Owls coach Mike Sodaro. “Game 1 was not pretty to watch.” The Totems looked loose at the start. “Their movements were so fluid,” Knight said, “and every hit had a purpose.” The match got tougher for Semi soon after as the Owls’ Justin Peleshytyk, Connor White and Spencer Doody got in a better hitting flow.
Totem’s Gill gets through the block for a kill. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures. KSS took the fourth set after it turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-12 lead with a 10-point run. The Owls then jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth before Dowhaniuk finally prevailed. “It came down to just a few points,” Sodaro said. “It was a good battle.” Unfortunately, the battle ended like his previous three title games (2012-14), in a loss. “I can’t believe it happened a fourth time.” Knight’s reaction to Sodaro’s plight was simply one word: “Brutal.” But Sodaro made no excuses. “You set a high goal, but it’s pretty easy to set them. A lot harder to meet them.” He said the Owls tried plenty of moves to slow Dowhaniuk, but in the end nothing worked good enough. “We tried to serve away from him, we tried to serve to him,” Sodaro said. “But he responded very well, right up to the last hit.”
By Bob Carter
Langley — Michael Dowhaniuk was a killer shark for most of the night, a racehorse at the very end. When his final hit rocketed to the floor, untouched, the Semiahmoo standout sprinted from the net to the end of the gym in glee with teammates in chase. The second-seeded Totems had beaten season-long No. 1 Kelowna in a tense, well-played, five-set thriller (16-14) for the AAA title at the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships. “It was the best feeling in the world,” said the grade 11 attacker.Saturday’s match was all the near-capacity crowd could have expected: two skilled, hustling teams playing at a high level. Both teams got high-calibre performances from several players in a match that left many drained. Dowhaniuk admitted that he felt weary midway through the final set, when the team’s changed sides with Semi up 8-7. “I just kept breathing for a minute,” he said, “then I was ready to go again.”With the game tied at 14, Dowhaniuk scored his seventh and eighth points of the set to bring Semi the win. He was quick to point out that he got plenty of help, that the victory was a full team effort.“Our defence and blocking was really important,” Semi coach Maggie Knight said. “Our defence was shifting around the block, and our libero came up big.”Brian Wallack, Adam Paige and Braxton Campbell were among those who delivered key blocks. “They were a huge momentum thing for us,” Dowhaniuk said. KSS started slowly, falling behind early and never recovering in the first set. “We were really tight,” said Owls coach Mike Sodaro. “Game 1 was not pretty to watch.” The Totems looked loose at the start. “Their movements were so fluid,” Knight said, “and every hit had a purpose.” The match got tougher for Semi soon after as the Owls’ Justin Peleshytyk, Connor White and Spencer Doody got in a better hitting flow.
Totem’s Gill gets through the block for a kill. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures. KSS took the fourth set after it turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-12 lead with a 10-point run. The Owls then jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth before Dowhaniuk finally prevailed. “It came down to just a few points,” Sodaro said. “It was a good battle.” Unfortunately, the battle ended like his previous three title games (2012-14), in a loss. “I can’t believe it happened a fourth time.” Knight’s reaction to Sodaro’s plight was simply one word: “Brutal.” But Sodaro made no excuses. “You set a high goal, but it’s pretty easy to set them. A lot harder to meet them.” He said the Owls tried plenty of moves to slow Dowhaniuk, but in the end nothing worked good enough. “We tried to serve away from him, we tried to serve to him,” Sodaro said. “But he responded very well, right up to the last hit.”
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Aidan Cowell "A True Totem"
Congratulations to Aidan Cowell for his great accomplishment winning "TOP BOYS AGGREGATE GYMNASTICS" at the Fraser Valley Championships. His hard work and dedication in his training has resulted in this great accomplishment. TOTEMS Athletics is proud of you Aidan!
Semi Rugby Girls Repin'Berlyn Sesejla, Kate Richards, and Hera Sifkas (graduated) played on the U18 Team BC girls rugby team this summer. The girls helped the team place 1st at the National Championships this summer in Toronto. Well done girls! We are excited to see you on the field competing for Semi this Spring! |
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