It takes but a few seconds to notice that there’s a certain energy and excitement at Louis-Riel high school. It’s the product, in large part, of a student body that’s passionate about sport, and there’s nowhere better to live that sporting spirit than with the exploratory sports program at LR.
The exploratory sports program offers the opportunity for Grade 7 and 8 students to experience a large variety of sports throughout the school year.
“Our program is based on the LTAD model – Long-Term Athlete Development. Between age 10 and 14, students shouldn’t be focused on just one sport,” explains Ken Levesque, the coordinator of the innovative program. “The transferable skills from one sport to another are very, very important to enable higher-level development.”
Exploratory sports students have a physical education class every day. Once a week, they train only in their favourite sport. Two or three times a month, students will try sports that are less traditional in the scholastic setting, such as snowshoeing, curling or swimming, for example. There are also nutrition workshops, and students have access to the school’s elite-level coaches and first-class facilities like the Dome LR.
Avery Rosales trains almost every day with her Tumblers Gymnastics Centre community club, but enjoys the benefits other sports at school give her, especially track-and-field.
“It helps my endurance,” highlights the gymnast who placed 2nd in her age group’s floor event at both the provincial and national championships this season. “When I’m doing gymnastics, I don’t get exhausted.”
Sophie Scully, a hockey goalie and a soccer player, also finds that the variety of sports is advantageous.
“Sometimes when we play handball, it helps me with my positioning,” indicates the Gloucester Blues netminder. “And games like dodgeball, where you have to react quickly, that helps me work on my reflexes. And track-and-field – I’d never done any before, like zero. Now, I’ve started, and I really like it.”
Scully plays Rep ‘B’ hockey with a boys’ team, but appreciates the chance to test herself against Louis-Riel teammates who play ‘AA’ or ‘AAA’.
“I get lots of good shots,” underlines the athlete who also plays competitive soccer for the Cumberland Cobras, having registered both a goal and a shutout for her team this season. “And for soccer, I get lots and lots of practice, and really good coaching.”
The exploratory sports program – just like the sports-study program that begins in Grade 9 and sees students specialize in a single sport – adapts according to athletes’ needs, ensuring all the while that academic success remains #1.
Scully’s out-of-town tournaments are accommodated, for example, while Rosales is able to train with the Tumblers each afternoon.
“My teachers know that I have to leave early every day, so they give me assignments beforehand,” outlines Rosales, who rides a Louis-Riel Rebelles bus to her community club daily. “It’s perfect. My parents don’t need to come get me and bring me to gymnastics every day.”
One of both girls’ favourite parts of the sports-ex program is that they are surrounded by other young students who understand the sports world. Around 2/3 of the 200 Grade 7 and 8 students at Louis-Riel are part of the sports-ex program.
“It’s really great,” adds Scully. “It’s a lot of fun having friends who also love sports. We understand each other because we all have the same kind of life.”