The hero’s journey of Dr. Amit Shah, an emergency physician in London, an instructor at Western University, and the regular Olympia camp doctor for week 7, started from his birthplace in India. His immigration to Canada started when he was 2 years old as his family moved to England before making their way to Canada, where they had stops in Kingston and Chatham before settling in Strathroy, Ontario. He attended Strathroy District Collegiate Institute, where he had the good fortune to be coached and mentored by Vaughan MacPherson.

 

Coach MacPherson encouraged Amit and his brother to nurture their love of basketball by going to Olympia Sports Camp in the mid-80s. Their camp experience says a lot about the culture of inclusivity that exists on Oxbow Lake.

 

“As first-generation immigrants, we were very worried and scared about going to camp,” Dr. Shah recalls. “In Strathroy, we were the only East Indian kids and basketball was always our vehicle to be a part of the school community. When Coach MacPherson encouraged us to attend camp, we were afraid of measuring up to camp standards but once we got there, we found the whole staff welcoming and the counsellors made it all happen. Those were the days of the multi-media presentations in the fieldhouse, and it really pumped us up and gave us direction of wanting to get better at basketball. What better way to be introduced to camp life and a little bit of Canadiana culture and heritage than coming to a place like this. We thought the counsellors were so cool and wanted to be like them.” 

 

Dr. Shah ended up going to camp for two years, but that was the end of his Olympia experience. Or so he thought.

 

After high school, Dr. Shah attended Western University for his undergraduate degree and medical school before doing his residency in Ottawa. He became an emergency physician. One day, a colleague mentioned to him that a camp was looking for doctors to come up and spend a week each summer to act as camp doctor. That camp was Olympia Sports Camp!

 

“I came back to camp in 2001 and I was astounded to be back at this magical place. Each summer, it has grown even more magical as the Olympia family became an extension of our family. We met lots of coaches with young children and that made it so much fun for my four kids every year. They grew up at Olympia.”


( a Facebook-borrowed picture of Dr. Amit Shah and his wife Anita)


 

His children not only had their week 7 family and traditions, but also gave back to Olympia by taking the three-week leadership camp and eventually working as counsellors. Three of them even got involved with Me to We through Greg Rogers and went to Africa to share their efforts with others.

 

“Olympia changed everything about our family experience. My parents had no real understanding of sports, but they were always proud of what we accomplished and especially proud of their grandkids and what they have done through Olympia. I think my parents understood how special it was that my kids were going through the same thing that we went through oh-so-many years ago. As camp doctor, I’m always on call and that meant that my kids had complete freedom. Luckily, they caught on to the personal responsibility that comes with such freedoms, and they were surrounded by loving adults who would help keep them in check if necessary.”

 

The doctor’s cabin is one of the oldest in camp, built in the late 1800's, and to Dr. Shah, this is their cottage for one week a year and nothing much has changed. The shower may be a little funky some weeks but that is just part of the charm of the Olympia adventure. He loves everything about Olympia, but it’s the people that mean the most.

 

“Every year my kids get to reconnect with their Olympia family, and it is so rewarding to see their faces the moment we get to camp. My wife Anita loves it here, too, because of the great friends she has met. What is extra special is that the thread of Olympia links people outside of Olympia. It’s nice to stay in touch but it’s amazing how connected the Olympia ethos is. It became a part of the fabric of our family.”

 

Dr. Shah gives the credit of this culture to a leap of faith taken by Dave Grace in the mid-1970s that has impacted hundreds of lives, including his. When he thinks of Dave Grace, he appreciates the vision, the durability, and the commitment to altering the trajectory of young people’s lives. He sees Dave’s leadership as facilitating all that happens in camp but stands back and lets everyone bring their own leadership style to the forefront. This attracts people who have the same vison, and the vibration is shared.

 

“Dave spends a lot of time learning about himself so that we can learn about ourselves,” Dr. Shah says. “As an emergency room doctor, communication is central to my job, and I have learned a lot from watching what Dave Grace and Greg Rogers do daily at Olympia. I truly believe that Olympia impacted the way I conduct myself personally and professionally. Olympia made me and my kids better human beings who strive to help other people.”

 

“What more can you ask?”


Pay It Forward. 2022 will be a great year as the camp will return and flourish, but we need to be allies. Now is the time to get the word out to our circle of influence The camp website is  www.olympiasportscamp.com Check out the website. Register your kids. Get your kids to get a few friends to join them at camp. Send a note to your club teams, your school teams. Do it for the kid whose life will be changed because they got to go to Olympia Sports Camp in the summer of 2022. Help spread the vibe that after two years the best sports camp in Canada ( with the four reasons we hear at every opening) will be back and be better than ever.  

 

 

 

The link to the blog is TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com

This blog is about the journey of the writing of the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp. The blog will contain excerpts from the book and my personal thoughts on what the place and the people that make up Olympia's journey is all about. The title comes from the great book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The blog's title is recognizing Dave Grace as Camp Director, but all content is my own. 

 

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