Adopt an Athlete program

Recently one of my best friends Sean Rupert introduced a program to me where a school class adopts a national team athlete. The program is called Adopt and Athlete and it is run through the Canadian Olympic Committee. 

Sean is a teacher in Vancouver and was keen to give this interactive fundraising program a shot. It would be a great opportunity to involve myself with a community, share my dreams, challenge individuals and positively influence youth to follow their dreams and pursue their passions! Sean and I dove right in immediately and I thought it would be neat to blog the interactions I am having with the class! 

We have had two back and forth messages and I will be visiting their classroom this week for the first time! I am super excited! 

Here is the first email we shared. Enjoy, there great, funny and rogue questions! 

Sean's first email -

We gave a little info of we are from University Hill Elementary and we are Div 3 (grade 6) and Div 12 (grade 2/3). We live in Vancouver and loved the Olympics in 2010!!!!

Here is what we want to know:

• What age did you start playing beach volleyball?
• How old are you? (we want to do the math to figure out how long you have played)
• Who is your partner?
• What sports are your favorite to watch?
• What do you do when you aren t paying beach?
• Where are you from? (I didn't tell them)
• How did you learn volley?

Also Cohen is wondering if you like alligators.....totally random, inappropriate questions. But funny and i am curious!

Andrea (the other teacher) and i will read your response to the class. 

The kids are excited!!!

My response -

Unreal! Love how this is happening, you are right on it!

Here are the answers to your questions.

• What age did you start playing beach volleyball?

I started playing beach volleyball when I was 14 years old. I saw there was a tournament in Parksville on Vancouver Island that summer and entered with my first partner named Patrick Gallager. 

• How old are you? (we want to do the math to figure out how long you have played)

I am 26 years old 

• Who is your partner?

The partner I am going to qualify with for the 2012 Olympic Games is going to be Chaim Schalk. He is a 6'5 and will play defence behind me. He is a fun guy and has a large blonde afro!  

• What sports are your favorite to watch?

I love watching tennis, snowboarding, ping pong and diving  

• What do you do when you aren t paying beach?

I have a passion for physical training so I am always in the gym working out. I also love to snowboard, surf and listen to music! 

• Where are you from? (I didn't tell them)

I am from the Comox Valley which is in the middle of vancouver island on the east coast. To get there you need to take a BC ferries to Nanaimo and then drive 1 1/4 hours north on the Island Highway.

• How did you learn volley?

I learnt volley when I was in grade 5 and have been playing it every year since then. I played basketball, soccer, volleyball and did track and swimming until grade 8 when I chose volleyball as my main sport. I am still learning how to play volleyball every day and I know I will learn every time I play until I retire from beach volleyball.

And for you Cohen, do I like Alligators? We'll I ever since I did a project on Crocodiles in grade six I have been very fascinated with them large reptiles! I love the you tube clip "Battle at Kruger" which is an amazing video involving crocodiles, lions and water buffalo. Also, when I was in India I saw their largest Crocodile! You can see in the photo he is ENORMOUS at 23 feet long.

Thanks for the letter and talk soon!

Martin

--
Martin Reader 

1-778-228-1654

2010 National Champion

www.martinreader.ca

www.martinreader.blogspot.com
Youtube - beachballincanada

"You are as strong as your drive"