ATHLETES/COACH OVERHWHELMED AT HONORS AT WOLFPACK AWARDS BANQUET
James Byra and Shantelle Cooper: Athletes of the year (left)
Shannon Kelly and Martin Korsbak: Dr. Roger H. Barnsley Scholar Athletes (right)
For Immediate release: April 9, 2009
Kamloops, BC—Overwhelmed was the best way to describe the reaction of the players named as the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Athletes of the Year for 2008-09. Soccer players Shantelle Cooper (Nanaimo, BC) and James Byra (Chilliwack, BC) were chosen as the top athletes.
Both enjoyed a lot of success-being named Canadian College Athletic Association All-Canadians. Cooper was also chosen as the BC College Athletic Association Player of the Year.
“To be honest, I thought a golfer was going to win,” said Byra “They did win a National Championship this year. It’s a great way to cap off a five year career. It’s nice to get recognized”.
Byra was one of five candidates for the honor—beating out volleyball player Gord Perrin, Jeff Friesen of the basketball team and badminton player Garrett Babichuk. “ I think I’ve been steadily improving over my five years, “stated Byra who felt the only bigger moment of his university career was winning the Provincial title in 2007 in a shootout.
“It’s such a big award but I have to thank the team for helping me achieve this award, I couldn’t have done it without them,” said the humble Cooper after accepting her award. Cooper edged out volleyball player Richelle Walton and basketball player Diane Schuetze for the honor.
Cooper felt she really worked hard to change her image after struggling with University life when she came to TRU five years ago from Nanaimo, BC. “ I can’t believe I’m getting all this recognition. It’ll probably hit me in a couple of years but right now I am living in the moment.”
Both Byra and Cooper were the captains of their respective teams. But Cooper took it a step further by initiating a number of community activities for her teammates to get involved with—from donating blood, to helping single parent families at Christmas through Big Brothers/Big Sisters to organizing a benefit soccer youth soccer clinic for the Y Women’s Emergency Shelter.
“It truly is overwhelming…this entire year,” she stated. “ I remember when I won BC Player of the Year. I was sitting in class and told myself I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it on paper. It seemed surreal. I was never a player to get recognized before.”
Soccer was the big winner at the 2008-09 Award Banquet. Kyle Bowman and Katie Clark captured the Sports Task Force Scholar Athlete of the Year award. And keeper Shannon Kelly was the female winner of the Dr. Roger H. Barnsley Scholar Athlete of the Year. Volleyball player Martin Korsbak was the male winner of the Barnsley Scholar Athlete of the Year Award.
Retiring Women’s coach Eric Schweizer was honoured with the WolfPack Achievement Award for his long service. “There were a lot of highlights and lowlights during my career. “ he said. “The lowlights were games we could have won. The highlight was winning a National Championship in 1999, being able to help coach my daughter’s team in the late ‘90’s and winning games that we were counted out . “
Schweizer said a bigger achievement for him personally was the developing of his players into role models the community. “ I hope we were a little part of mentoring and guiding them to where they are. Obviously their personalities and charactors are such as they would have gotten there anyways. But the fact they spent a little time with us in a disciplined sport where they had to become leaders, where they had to become very efficient with their allotment of time and share their talent with younger players only helped them. It speaks well of our program that we had three top winners tonite.”