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Coaching Summer Games athletes to victory in Maple Ridge

Kathy Andrews is coaching the athletics team for her 10th Summer Games
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Kathy Andrews is the head coach of the Zone 3 athletics team at the 2024 BC Summer Games.

In addition to thousands of athletes flooding Maple Ridge for the BC Summer Games, there will also be hundreds of coaches and officials coming as well.

According to the City of Maple Ridge, many of these coaches will even be local, with 31 of the more than 500 coaches being from Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows.

While some of the head coaches are first-timers, others are longtime veterans of the Summer Games.

Kathy Andrews is celebrating a decade of coaching at the Summer Games as she prepares to once again lead the Zone 3 athletics team.

Her first year being involved with the provincial competition was back in 2004 when she got to coach in the same city where she now teaches at Abbotsford Christian Middle and Secondary School.

Since then, Andrews has been an athletics coach at every BC Summer Games, and she's loved every single year of it and looks forward to continuing to help bring out the best in these young athletes.

"I want to continue to support the athletes that I already coach into their BC Summer Games experience and make sure that the athletes who I don't know yet have an equally awesome experience," said Andrews.

She explained that being part of the Summer Games is very rewarding because she gets to witness these athletes take what is often the first major step toward advancing their athletic careers.

"This is often their first 'making a team' experience," said Andrews. "It is a stepping stone to making other teams, such as future B.C. teams."

But for many of the athletes, the Summer Games are about so much more than the thrill of competing and winning medals, explained Andrews. And she personally looks forward to seeing them create some core memories at the upcoming competition.

"I want them to make some lifelong friends along the way," she said.

Included as part of Andrews' Zone 3 athletics team are four Maple Ridge students who will be competing in a variety of competitions.

Sophia Shearcroft is racing in both the 1,200m and 2,000m events, Micah Breedveld is doing the pentathlon, Zachery Foster is in the 100m and high jump events, and Megan Teolis is competing in hammer throw and shot put.

The 2024 BC Summer Games will take place in Maple Ridge from July 17 to 21.



Brandon Tucker

About the Author: Brandon Tucker

I have been a journalist since 2013, with much of my career spent covering sports and entertainment stories in Alberta.
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