Mens
team,
female
coach

Golf coach Wong
believes a good
leader should
listen to everyone
about anything

By SHABNAM JESSA

na Langara first, the men’s golf
Le: brings on female golf pro
Christine Wong as its coach.

Knowing how relationships are
built in a team is paramount to be-
ing a good coach, whether you're a
man or a woman, Christine Wong
said.

Wong said having a strong bond
with your coach and being able to
talk about anything is really im-
portant to having a great connec-
tion.

She credits her coach and men-
tor at San Diego State University,
Leslie Spalding, with teaching her
that being able to communicate
with players about anything is vital
to having a cohesive team.

In an inter-
view, Spalding
said Langara
is very lucky
to have Wong

because of her

great attitude

for the sport

and for players.

Christine Wong “She’s also

COACH OFLANGARA very — focused
MEN'S GOLF TEAM

when she needs
to be, has a
great mental
golf game and has a natural gift.
And that will transfer to her being
a great coach,” she said.

Wong, who won two BC Wom-
ens Amateur Championships and
was named Pacific Northwest Golf
Association Women’s Player of the
year in 2010 said she recognizes
what her new role means in a game
typically dominated by men.

“It’s a cool opportunity. It's ex-
citing. I didn't expect my first team
to be a men's team” said Wong.
“But I always knew I wanted to be
a coach. My parents are so proud.”

Jacob Vanderpas, named Men’s
Player of the Year in the PAC-
WEST in 2016 and who plays
on the Langara golf team, said he
doesn't see gender as relevant to
the game.

“Christine is quite accomplished
and quite capable of handling the
evaluation process of each player
and goals for improvement,” Van-
derpas said.

Vanderpas said he is excited
to see where the team goes with
Wong’s direction.

Langara athletic director Jake
McCallum said he wanted to make
sure he hired an energetic and pas-
sionate coach.

McCallum added that Wong has
various connections to the smaller
female golf world through com-
peting and teaching, and his goal
is to have an all-female team by
next year.

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Aidan Menard coaches Team Juice from the water in n False Creek, Vancouver. KATE GARDINER PHOTO

Rowing with fiery passion

Langara alumni aim to peak interest in dragon boat racing

By KATE GARDINER

ormer Langara students

will be representing Van-

couver as the youngest

ever coaches of the na-
tional under-24 dragon boat team
in 2019.

Aidan Menard and his twin
brother Shamus, 21, formed the
Langara dragon boat team in 2016.
The team disbanded when the
brothers transferred to the Univer-
sity of British Columbia last year,
but Aidan Menard, who believes
team sports are essential for student
engagement, hopes the team will
rebuild.

“Langara needed more clubs

and extracurricular activities, more
school pride. We wanted to get
people out and having fun, partici-
pating in activities under the school
name, and just getting out there -
getting out of their comfort zone.”

“Tt’s pretty easy for
anyone to just pick
up a paddle.”

— OWEN LI, JUICE TEAM MEMBER

The twins currently coach Juice, a
competitive under-24 team featur-
ing several national team hopefuls.

‘The young paddlers encourage any-

one who's curious about the sport
to get involved, regardless of expe-
rience or, in national hopeful Jeffrey
Fung’s case, physical ability.

“T am horrible with any sport that
requires a lot of hand-eye coordina-
tion, and to just grab a paddle and
start whipping it through the water
is a lot easier,” said Fung.

“T think it’s just a really fun, easy,
diverse sport. It’s something that
doesn’t take a lot. You dont need
to have a necessary skill set in
particular to join the sport, so it’s
pretty easy for anyone to just pick
up a paddle,” said fellow teammate
Owen Li.

Shamus Menard believes the
most exciting aspect of the sport is
connection.

Dodgeball dives into orany work

= ill
| 0

The Vancouver Dodge-
ball League specializes
in community, fun and
dodgeball — in that
order

By ADAM LEVI

hen Jasper Lau joined
the Vancouver Dodge-
ball League he had no

idea it would become such a big
part of his life.

Lau was recruited to the
VDL by a friend.

“She got me into the j
league. We played once |
and I was hooked and
then I started adding more
nights every week,” Lau said.

In 2004, six friends came togeth-
er with an idea: they wanted to play
dodgeball. Their former schools
were willing to host them and their
friends on Tuesday nights. Today,
over 2,000 dodgeball players on
more than 260 teams play at vari-
ous gymnasiums in South Vancou-
ver four nights a week.

‘There are players aged 19-50

from varying backgrounds and a

balance of men and women that are
signed up.

Over the years, players have at-
tended special charity games to
raise money for causes like Big
Brothers Association of Greater
Vancouver and The BC Cancer
Foundation. Since the league’s in-
ception, the VDL has raised over
$54,000. Players have also par-
ticipated in ocean cleanups and toy
drives.

“T would say it’s a living, breath-
ing, amazing community,” said Ve-

ronica Woo, a volunteer with
the VDL.

Despite a minimum re-
quirement of two women
per team, there are also
all female teams as well.

As the community has
grown, the league has nev-
er lost its focus of inclusive-
ness and giving back.

“This group that we have,” said
Truong Cao, one of the six creators
of the VDL.

“We reach out to the community
to help the community with the
continued hope of trying to, ad-
vance dodgeball in Vancouver and
the rest of the world.”

‘The VDL will begin its 27th sea-

son in January.

SSS Oe

Member of the Vancouver Dodgeball League fires off another volley to the

opposing team. ADAM LEV! PHOTO