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| Benjamin Posavad, 15, of Grimsby holds his medals from the Special Olympics. He will be representing Team Canada in Greece in June 2011 |
Within minutes of meeting Benjamin Posavad it is obvious he is the epitome of a true sports fan. And my inadvertent choice of wearing a Team Canada hockey jersey makes me Ben’s newest friend.
Benjamin,15, grabs my hand and takes me to see the sports shrine in his room. He has trophies, bobble heads, banners and every other football, baseball and hockey paraphernalia ever created. And, of course, as every good Canadian has, there are hockey jerseys. Lots of them. But, unlike many fans, he doesn’t limit his dedication to one team. He celebrates the greatness in all of them; whether it be high profile NHL teams or his local favourite, the Grimsby Peach Kings.
And there are a couple of other sports items of great importance in Benjamin’s room. His Special Olympics medals.
"His medals are all for track,” says Benjamin’s mother, Kim Posavad. “He has three medals from Provincials and two from Nationals; a gold (for standing long jump) and a bronze (for shot put).”
And this June, Benjamin may be adding to that collection.
"Benjamin is going to represent Team Canada at Worlds for track and field in Greece,“ says Kim. “The opening ceremony is June 25th”
Benjamin has been participating with the Special Olympics since 2008, and Kim says without it Benjamin might not be the person he is today.
“He had always been a very competitive kid,” she says. “But around grade 5 we noticed he was losing the spark in participating in sports. I think he was starting to see that everything he went out for he was coming in last. And he didn’t like that.”
When Kim discovered that a group of Special Olympics would be starting in Grimsby she signed Benjamin up.
“Without Special Olympics I think the whole competitive nature of who he is would be buried somewhere. There would be a whole side of Benjamin that isn’t developed or wasn’t encouraged. This competitiveness is truly in him. You can see it in how he does things. Take him to a sporting event and you will even see it in him by his encouragement to others.”
Benjamin was diagnosed with a syndrome called 18q- when he was about 17 months old.
“That means there is a deletion on one of his 18 chromosomes,” explains Kim. “The most significant thing about Benjamin is that he doesn’t speak. Along with the syndrome other common characteristics would be poor muscle tone, poor growth, poor weight and some developmental challenges.”
Benjamin may not be able to speak, but that doesn’t mean he can not communicate. He uses a speech device that allows him to type what he wants to say and those words are then spoken through a voice box.
He also communicates with his facial expressions, mannerisms (such as thumbs up or thumbs down) and best of all, his contagious laughter.
He laughs as he tells me he wants to “have fun and eat lots” when he is in Greece.
And he laughs even harder when he catches his dad, David, making a sports flub while discussing the career of one of Benjamin’s favourite athletes, Montreal Canadiens defenceman, P.K. Subban.
“One thing David has learned is that you never argue sports with Benjamin. You will not win,” says Kim.
“Benjamin reads the sports section every morning…he reads the sports information to understand what is going on with all the sports teams. He follows it all. And he watches sports net and whatever else. I think he’s the only person I know that actually listens to hockey games on the radio.”
Benjamin’s devotion to sports also carries over to his own involvement with the Special Olympics.
“His schedule of training is pretty intense. He trains six days a week,"says Kim.
“Benjamin is in fantastic shape,” says his father David Posavad. “His first training camp was in Toronto in November and then they went to Calgary about three weeks ago. He has put on 11 pounds of muscle since November.”
Benjamin will be competing in the 100 metre race and shot put when he goes to Greece. Kim says it has been Benjamin’s goal to go to Worlds since joining the Special Olympics.
"He started the track and field in 2008, which was a qualifying year for Provincials. Benjamin went to a regional event and he qualified, so he made it to Provincials in 2009. Because he medalled there he was endorsed by Special Olympics to go further,” explains Kim. “From that point on, two years ago, Benjamin’s goal was to go to Worlds. He kept telling us ‘I want to go to Greece. I want to go to Worlds.’”
Benjamin got a spot on Team Ontario in 2010 to attend Nationals in London, Ont. He received a gold for standing long jump, a bronze for shot put, and a recommendation for a spot on Team Canada to represent his country at Worlds this June.
“There were 1000 athletes there (at Nationals) in total and only about 10 per cent of them are picked to go forward,” says Kim. “So to make it that far is pretty amazing. It’s a huge event. For Benjamin to even just go there is a goal in itself. It is a tremendous achievement.”
Benjamin smiles and says he was excited when he heard the news he would be going to Greece.
“We knew before him because he is under age and the parents must endorse the decision first. We weren’t allowed to say anything until Special Olympics told Benjamin,” explains Kim. “So finally the letter came in the mail and we took him out for dinner. I said ‘Benjamin you’ve got mail today’ and he asked ‘what is it?’. When I took the letter out and gave it to him, he saw the logo and he had this huge smile on his face….he opened it and it was the letter with the news.”
Benjamin has been training since October and Kim says they weren’t sure “how he was going to handle the six days of training from October until June, but when we say it’s time to go, he is pumped up and ready.”
Benjamin even has a unique training program at Beamsville District Secondary School.
“We approached his school to see if there was an individual in a senior grade that was interested in sports or athletic training and wanted to do a co-op or peer tutoring. So Benjamin is now working with a young lady in grade 11 and she helps train him five days a week at school, which is kind of neat. Benjamin gets to work out with his peers and student friends.”
I ask Benjamin who he admires the most in the world of sports, surprised that he mentions athletes from his own community, rather than high-profile sports stars. He excitedly points to his Peach Kings jersey and mentions Connor Rilett (team forward). Another “idol” is Raymond Dykstra.
“(He is) another young man from Grimsby. (He) is actually Ben's idol for track and field events, especially javelin. Raymond encourages Ben a lot and they have known each other for years,” says Kim.
Benjamin is an enthusiastic fan and watches “the other athletes very intently” says Kim.
However, she says Benjamin is an exciting athlete to watch himself.
"Oh, it’s very exciting watching Benjamin compete. I think the extra adrenaline of the whole competition is just phenomenal to watch.”
She says the Special Olympics brought back a spark to Benjamin’s life she thought might have disappeared.
"He used to really like to compete and then he kind of lost that spark. We saw it come back again with the Special Olympics. We knew it was a positive thing for him to go out, compete, have fun and have an outlet to do what his passion is; while also making friends and developing other skills at the same time.”
She said when Benjamin won his medals for Nationals it was exciting for him, but there was “a bit of a mishap” so he was not able to participate in an official podium presentation of his medals.
“A massive thunderstorm rolled in and they had to close the games down and there were no medal presentations because it was an outdoor event. And then it was closing ceremonies a few hours later. So Benjamin’s medal didn’t actually get presented to him until he was back in Grimsby and the coach brought it back for him.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Benjamin will get his chance on the podium, if not this year in Greece, then sometime in his near future.
Published in Niagara Life Magazine -May/June 2011
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