A professional athlete who has gone through some hard times had a message at the annual Okotoks Dawgs awards banquet Saturday night at the Foothills Centennial Centre.
“You are capable of so much,” said Calgary Stampeders running back Jesse Lumsden, referring to the importance of goal-setting and overcoming adversity.
Lumsden, a Canadian Football League veteran who had a tryout in the National Football League (NFL), spoke to a large crowd who gathered to support the Okotoks Western Major Baseball League club.
Lumsden took the stage and spoke about his remarkable athletic journey.
A highly touted player coming out of McMaster University in Ontario, Lumsden tried out for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins of the NFL in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
After failing to make both rosters out of training camp, the Canadian running back returned to the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats for 2006. Following two-and-half productive seasons there, Lumsden’s Hamilton career was eventually derailed by a shoulder injury.
Another injury to the same shoulder limited Lumsden’s career as an Edmonton Eskimo to one play in 2009. The Edmonton-native then turned his focus to bobsledding and earned a spot as Pierre Lueder’s brakeman in the two-man and four-man events at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He finished fifth in both events.
Lumsden resumed his CFL career in 2010 with a three-game audition with the Calgary Stampeders. His season ended, again, unfortunately due to injury in the regular season finale.
Sporting a crutch, the raspy voiced Lumsden (suffering from benign vocal cord lesions), insisted everything that has happened to him in his life has led him to a new opportunity.
“When a door closes, a window opens,” Lumsden explained.
His message to the young Junior Dawgs players in attendance was a particularly powerful one. Lumsden stressed goal setting and a long-term vision is what kept him on track in the face of countless adversity. He encouraged the young athletes in the crowd to have a similar approach when the tough times come calling.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t set goals,” Lumsden said. “You’ve got to think about the long term.”
In closing, the 28 year-old laid out his goals for the future. Lumsden made it clear he is planning to go to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as a bobsled driver, while jokingly campaigning for corporate sponsorship.
He is also planning a return to the CFL in 2011 with the Stampeders.
“I promise I will try,” an emotional Lumsden said. “You’ll see me along the way.”
He also praised the Dawgs for their mission of fueling their program through the development of local players and promised to attend a game at Seaman Stadium this season.
The evening was a fundraiser for the Dawgs, as well as an opportunity to honour the team’s 2010 award winners and present Junior Dawgs scholarships to up-and-coming players.
Dawgs executive director John Ircandia said the program continued to make gains in the community. Just about the only letdown in 2010 for Okotoks was not being able to claim their fourth straight WMBL title.
Ircandia also addressed the importance of building a new field to accommodate the Okotoks Dawgs minor programs. Acknowledging he was speaking to a “sympathetic” crowd, the Dawgs director urged Town of Okotoks officials in attendance to consider the vital importance of another recreation facility.
Although the snow is still on the ground, January continues to be a busy month for the Dawgs program.
On Jan. 28, the Dawgs will host Greg Hamilton, the director of Canada’s national teams and head coach of the Junior National Team, at the Duvernay Field House at Seaman Stadium.
Hamilton will be in Okotoks throughout the weekend to train with Junior Dawgs Academy players, as well as other prospects from across Alberta.
The first practice session will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Duvernay Field House and will feature Junior Dawgs catcher Jordan Procychen.
Procychen was recently announced as a member of the Canadian Junior National team.
