Some sports fans may have seen the commercial that involves several  young NHL players making comment on a characteristic of  Gen Z.  Such as "They don't work hard" and then a clip of Connor Bedard showing how insanely hard they work out, or " they feel  entitled" and then Connor McDavid shows the intensity with which he plays the game and how he earns everything he has accomplished. Then 'old man' Sidney Crosby ends the ad by saying " Kids these days" So well done.

Sid should meet Sofia Nguyen 

For generations, Olympia Sports Camp has run a three-week leadership camp that has often been called ' a three week interview' as the Hero's Journey plays itself out over those three weeks.  The leader finds out real quick if this leadership stuff is for them, and they learn a lot about themselves. In my time with Olympia I have seen what that three week course is like. My daughter Nicole did it and that eventually led her to want to travel to Kenya, and  it changed her life. Some of the greatest leaders at Olympia throughout the years were the instructors for this camp. Some of the greatest stories in A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp involve growth adventures through  the leadership camp.

In my eyes Sofia Nguyen is about to have the experience of her life next summer, and I'm happy for her. 

A benefit of writing this blog, and through the support of Associate Director Greg Rogers, is that I come across people who's stories need to be shared. I thought, with Sofia's approval, that I would love to share the cover letter that she wrote in support of her resume. Greg shared it with me and I thought I had to share it. I really think young people who are thinking about leadership in any way will learn a a lot when reading this letter. Thanks Sofia. I wish you every success on your journey. You already have a lot of tools to help you along the way.


Sofia Nguyễn(R) and Avery Duquette Look to the future





















 SAVE THE DATE

Looking for the perfect gift to stocking stuffer for your favourite Olympian? Want to learn about your journey by reading about the journey of others? Want to stop by and connect for a few minutes? 



A Hero’s Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp is a compiled history of the 50-year span of Olympia Sports Camp in Huntsville, Ontario through the lens of its founder and inspiration, Dave Grace, and many long-time Olympia staff and coaches. The hero’s journey of the title is Dave Grace’s adaptation of the writings and teachings of philosopher Joseph Campbell. 

 

The basic tenet of Grace’s hero’s journey is that all heroes go through a 12-step process- from getting out of their comfort zone to finding a 'new normal' in seeking the path they are after. That us growth.  The new normal they find is where the hero bestows knowledge they learned on their journey on others in order to help them on their journey. In analyzing our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual intelligence we are given the tools to find the best version of ourselves.

 

A Hero’s Journey chronicles the people that make up the history of Olympia, but it does far more than that. It serves as an inspirational guidebook for readers to become the hero of their own path. In order to do this the book examines the history of the land on which the camp has been built, from its indigenous origins to the European settlement process of the 1800’s. and the use of the land by the Royal Norwegian Air Force during WWll. The book is built on a collection of stories related to mentorship, sports psychology, and community building. With this book author Chris Dooley honours the 50-year history of the camp while giving us all a window into seeing a deeper level of understanding of the world and our place in it.


Books Also Available at: 

 - Amazon and Indigo.ca

-  Indigo, Burlington Brant Street location.

- The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust Street in Burlington\

- Cedar Canoe Books on Main St in Huntsville

- Etransfer me $30 and I'll drive it to your house ! 

- available online at aherosjourney.ca

- audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes 

If you would like us to come to your town for a book event or get copies into your favourite bookstore , email me at coachdools71@gmail.com. We travel well.

Comments

  1. Greg RogersNovember 4, 2024 at 8:45 PM

    Thanks for sharing this opening stage of Sofia's Hero's Journey through the Leadership program.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 Karl Svoboda began his rugby career at Belleville's Centennial Secondary School and the Belleville Bulldogs club team. When he started with the Bulldogs at 16 he was the club's youngest player. When he retired from the game he was the club's oldest, and probably most accomplished. Karl had success in rugby the world over. He won three OUA championships with the University of Toronto Blues and he first made Canada's national team in 1985. He ended up being team captain of the national team for years and played in the first three Rugby World Cups in 1987, 1991, and 1995. He also played senior rugby for the Ajax Wanderers and attended the prestigious Oxford University in England at the dawn of professional rugby in 1996. I gleaned this information from research because for a decade or more of sharing week 5 coaching duties and sitting around campfires this understated superstar would rather play guitar and talk about fishing or that day's bike ride or swim than boast
Read more
Image
In the summer of 2019,  Blaine Scatcherd  was introducing himself at the opening meeting of week 5 and told the assembly of coaches that he worked as a counsellor at Olympia for 4 ¾ years. People who knew the story, including Dave Grace, roared with laughter at the self-effacing honesty Blaine showed when recounting an incident that may have been the worst in his career, yet a defining moment that changed him forever and made him a better teacher and coach, and a better person.    Blaine Scatcherd is from Ottawa, where he was coached in football at Glebe Collegiate Institute by Olympia coach Skip Riddell. He went on to play football at Acadia University and played professionally in France for 2 years before embarking on his teaching profession.   “Skip recommended to me in grade 11 that I work at Olympia as it was a great place for an athlete and would-be coach, so I applied to Olympia with Skip’s reference. I went down to Toronto for a group interview and thought I aced it. I didn’t g
Read more
Image
They say that a picture tells a thousand words. How about two pictures? In the writing of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp I got to interview a lot of people dedicated to Olympia and to the vision of Dave Grace. Out of this process I learned three things about the 50- year journey of the staff of Olympia: 1- Olympia inspires young people 2- Staff inspire others to do the same 3- Staff move on in their lives, carrying Olympia with them, while others replace  Staff like Randy Kipfer and Kevin O'Reilly This picture of Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal with some amazing counsellors can be found in the book at the start of Chapter 6-Allies and Ogres . It captures an Olympia moment shared by good friends and a world-class basketball entertainer, but the insert is the key element of an Olympia journey that spans decades.  There are literally hundreds of stories of staff who have graced the lands of Interlaken. Every story is unique, every story is echoed th
Read more