By Robert Frank
www.thesuburban.com
Stéphanie Dubois knows first-hand how encouraging young athletes, can inspire them to achieve as adults.
As a young girl, Dubois attended Laval’s twice-a-year ceremonies during which the city awards medals to its young athletes. The recognition helped to inspire her subsequent professional tennis career.
Last week, she returned the favour, bestowing medals to 228 members of a new generation of young athletes during a ceremony at Laval collage, Nov. 27.
“They earned the medals for their determination and conviction,” explained Laval executive committee vice-chair David de Cotis, who was on hand for the event. “It’s a way to give a pat on the back and say that the dream never dies.”
Dubois said that wearing those medals gave her the confidence and determination to succeed later in her career. She told the young athletes that they can do likewise with determination and hard work.
To qualify for a medal, the youths had to be Laval residents or member of a Laval sports organization who had participated in provincial, national or international meets between May-Oct 2014.
In all, 201 athletes received a bronze medal for appearing in provincial competitions. Another 23 earned silver medals for competing in Canadian matches and three received gold medals for contesting in international meets.
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