On November 17th, students in grades four to eight at St. John Catholic School had the rare opportunity to see a world class athlete in the form of two-time Canadian boxing champion, Amber Konikow.
In addition to training and competing, Amber passes along her knowledge on the sport of boxing to other young Canadians as a boxing coach. She is a spokesperson and presenter for the Esteem Team program touting physical fitness and a positive self-image. When not dominating in the ring or training for her next match, Amber works as an intensive care nurse in Sudbury’s St. Joseph Hospital.
The ESTEEM Team, a program of Motivate Canada, is a national Goal-Setting Program with three objectives:
To inspire young people to pursue what they want in life
To educate them in the processes that lead to success, and,
To activate them for life!
The team professionally trains Canada’s Olympic, Paralympics and National athletes to deliver a dynamic, personal and motivational presentation on Goal-Setting to students in grades 4 and up.
“Last year, when we ran our Heart and Stroke Hoops for Heart fundraiser, we nominated grade 8 students Jacob Trunzo and Joey Miller for the Hoops Student Leadership Award for their efforts in making our event such a success and they won this event for St. John’s,” explained Katrina Wheaton, former St. John teacher and current OECTA Vice President.
The cost of the presentation is covered by subsidies from Sport Canada and The Heart and Stroke Foundation.
