For 13 years now, Rosie Ryan has worked with Special Olympians in the Bay St. George area because she finds the athletes intriguing to coach and rewarding to know.
Someone was clearly paying attention to her efforts, as Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador announced Friday Ryan was selected to be an associate coach for athletics with Team Canada for the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi next March.
It marks the first time a coach from this province has been picked to be a part of the national team and it’s clearly an honour Ryan was not anticipating.
“It was actually a little overwhelming at first when I was offered it because I was kind of not really expecting I would be selected,” she said.
She said Newfoundland and Labrador hasn’t had an athlete go to a World Games since 2011, mainly because the province’s numbers are so much lower than others.
“But I will tell you, it’s a very humbling experience and it’s going to be amazing,” she said.
There is still a chance provincial athletes will qualify for the 2019 Games, as nationals take place at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia at the end of July, which is where the national team selection will take place. There are currently 13 athletes from this province training for the event.
Ryan joked she’s most looking forward to the heat when she gets to Abu Dhabi, before saying the chance to learn more and improve as a coach was the real attraction for her.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what other countries are producing,” she said. “It’s very invigorating to see what people do in warm-ups and cool-downs.
“I’m like a little sponge,” she added. “It’s such an amazing knowledge base to get that interaction and networking.”
