One of Canada’s highly ranked track and field athletes made a whirlwind visit to the Energy City on May 3 to visit Hillcrest School which included a special session with his Classroom Champions, the Grade 1 class.
Sam Effah, who has posted a 100-metre sprint time of 10 seconds and has raced against the world’s champion Usain Bolt in the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, as a 20-year-old, is now training hard in an effort to gain a spot on the Canadian track team that will be competing in the Olympic Games in Brazil later this summer.
But first, Effah had some visiting to do in Weyburn and Estevan, as part of the Classroom Champions program that instills the will to succeed and to give to others, as part of its mission.
Effah said he has adopted six classes that he is mentoring online and, now, in person. He had been to three Weyburn schools the day before, and along with the Hillcrest Grade 1 class, he also has adopted a classroom in Lloydminster, Alta., as well as one in his home city of Calgary, where he was born and raised.
“I was in Louisiana training for the last two weeks, but got to Regina on the weekend. I had to take several different flights to get there,” he said with a laugh, just prior to addressing a general assembly in the school’s gymnasium with all the students and about two dozen parents.
Effah was accompanied by Michelle Comeau, one of the field managers for the Classroom Champions program who said Effah is receiving sponsorship funding from Crescent Point Energy which helps him cover some of his training and travel expenses, since he is not currently a Canadian Olympic team “carded” athlete at this stage in his training. Olympic athletes who get certified or “carded” to receive Canadian Olympic Committee funding, have to have won medals in Olympic and other world class events which qualifies them for sustained financial support. There are other lesser levels of funding for promising athletes who are developing world-class skills.
“I had been carded and got some expense money from them before, but last year I was injured and wasn’t competing, and so I’m not carded right now,” he explained.
Students from the Grade 1 class provided their own written testimonials of how Effah had encouraged them, and provided leadership motivation. His words of encouragement along with their classroom teachers, led the Grade 1 students to raise funds to purchase and then fill and deliver special hospitality and care kits to patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital two weeks ago. The youngsters were encouraged and guided by Hillcrest teacher Brian Hayes, who led the charge, and the other educators at the school.
Effah said it was his second year with the Classroom Champions program and he kind of enjoyed the brief break from intensive training to make his way to visit his six adopted classes and schools.
“Sometimes a break is just as helpful, just to recharge the energy,” he said as he walked slowly from the Grade 1 classroom to the school’s gymnasium for the presentation that included a display of the various track shoes he wears for different types of racing surfaces.
Following his presentation, Effah fielded questions from the Grade 1 students while the parents and other students looked on.
“There are some real good Canadian sprinters out there now, so just to get on the Canadian team will take some work,” he said. But being competitive is what it’s all about, and that’s the message he directs at his young charges.
Effah related the story about racing against the world’s champion, in a 200-metre heat at the World Championships after replacing another Canadian sprinter who had dropped out due to illness. He said just entering the Berlin Stadium, where the world famous Jesse Owens had run in the 1936 Olympics, was awe-inspiring and then to find out he was going to run in Lane 4 while Bolt was drawn for Lane 5 was awesome. He said the stadium of about 100,000 people suddenly turned silent as the runners were instructed to take their mark. But, when the gun went off, Effah said he found himself ahead of Bolt at the 50-metre mark, and still clinging to the lead at 150 metres, but then the world’s fastest man slid past him to win. But, it was still a thrill to have competed against him, he told his audience, lamenting that it wasn’t a 150-metre race, but rather a 200-metre event.
Effah told the Mercury he’s currently working on his finishing drive in the 100 metres, his specialty event, hoping to move his best time below 10 seconds, so he can narrow in on Bolt’s current world record of 9.58 seconds.
He told the children to set long and short-term goals, just as he does and explained how he encountered one of his long-term goals that became a short-term goal at that Berlin track when he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, from being a substitute runner on the Canadian team, to racing against the world champion.
“My thoughts and doubts at that moment, as I was lining up was ‘how do I do what I’m not expected to do?’”
He told the students to set their goals and aim high.
“Who knows, we might have the next Wayne Gretzky sitting right over here,” he smiled, pointing to a group of youngsters seated on the gymnasium floor.
“Look for your great big finish.”
