WHITBY — Alexander German, 19, of Brooklin, has been recognized as an accessibility leader in the world of competitive sports. After being introduced to Deanna McInroy at the 2015 Parapan Am Games, he volunteered to be a coach and sport assistant to McInroy, a boccia athlete with cerebral palsy. June 14, 2017 – Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland
A dozen people and organizations across Ontario, including four from Durham, recognized this year
By Parvaneh Pessian Brooklin Citizen
BROOKLIN — At just 19 years old, Alexander German has already been recognized as one of Ontario’s top accessibility leaders.
The Brooklin resident was recently presented with the David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility in the Youth Leadership category, for his coaching expertise in the world of competitive para sports and his work as a sport assistant to Deanna McInroy — a boccia athlete with cerebral palsy.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said German on his reaction to learning he had won the prestigious award, named after the province’s 28th lieutenant-governor.
“I was like, ‘Out of all these people, they picked me?’ I was shocked.”
He was introduced to McInroy while volunteering with the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games at the Abilities Centre in Whitby, where the judo and boccia competitions were held. Shortly after, he began training with her as a coach and sport assistant.
“We work on drills, we practice game scenarios, work on her shots, and just pretty much get her ready for games and tournaments,” said German, who graduated from Donald A. Wilson Secondary School in Whitby and currently studies recreation and leisure services at Durham College.
As a sport assistant, German receives instructions from McInroy on where to aim and how to set the pitch of the ramp to help her compete. Because she is somewhat nonverbal, he explained, this was challenging at first, but it became easier over time.
“She makes a signal with her eyes or nods her head, and I can pick that up and I know what she’s doing now, and that’s all from practice,” he said.
“At the beginning it was hard, but now we have a system in place. So, I know what’s going on.”
The David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility was created in 2014 to recognize Ontarians who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to improving accessibility for people with disabilities. Twelve people and organizations from across Ontario were honoured this year. The other recipients from Durham Region were John Draper of Oshawa, who won the Role Model Award, and both the City of Pickering and the Town of Ajax, who received Champion Awards.
The Youth Leadership Award, in particular, recognizes a young person (aged 16 to 24) who shows a commitment to developing the potential of people with disabilities. Recipients are given $5,000 each and personalized certificates.
German “plays a large part in Deanna’s success, applying creative expertise to make the sport accessible to her” and help her “achieve her dream of making it to the nationals and playing with Team Canada,” according to a release issued by the province.
They now practise together once a week and she took home a bronze medal at a recent tournament.
“It’s been interesting. I didn’t think we were going to go to this many (events) and win that medal that we did,” said German.
“I thought it was going to be a (way) to get her (to be more) active, like a recreational thing, but it’s turned into so much more. We’re going around and competing with some of these top athletes that played in the Olympics, so we’re right in the mix.”