University of Guelph-Humber (UofGH) Kinesiology instructor Onika Green had the experience of a lifetime – attending the Paralympics in Paris during the late summer, working with Team Canada’s Women’s Sitting Volleyball. The event runs parallel to the Olympics and shines a spotlight on athletes with disabilities.
Green, who teaches KIN*1250 Stress Management, Meditation and Relaxation, brought back aspects of her experience into the classroom. This is what she had to say:
Q: What brought you to the Paris Paralympics?
A: I travelled to the Paris Games to support Team Canada’s Women’s Sitting Volleyball (TCWSV) on their journey to a podium performance. I have my Master of Human Kinetics in applied sport psychology, and my role on this team is to support the mental performance of our athletes on and off the court.
Q: What's your role as Volleyball Canada’s Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC)?
A: As a CMPC, my role is to help support a culture of excellence within the team. I work with athletes and staff to drive the improvement of skills like confidence, communication, and stress management, which aid in physical performance and overall wellbeing.
Q: Through the perspective of the KIN*1250 instructor, what interests you most about the Paralympics?
A: KIN*1250 is about stress management, meditation, and relaxation – three necessary components of success in high performance sport. It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to facilitate these concepts at the highest level of competition. Specifically, the Paralympics is about so much more than sport excellence – it’s about growing the game and shifting the narrative around disability and sport. These athletes are under an immense amount of pressure, and it takes excellence in these skills to thrive on the world stage.
Q: How could you take what you're exposed to at the Paralympics back with you into the classroom at UofGH?
A: I designed my first lesson back at Guelph-Humber around sharing stress management insights from the Games. Having applied experience in the field allows me to return to the classroom inspired each week. My experience in Paris goes beyond the application of stress management, meditation, and relaxation skills. It’s important to me that students see what is possible if you lead with passion in your career.
Q: What was the best part of your trip?
A: It’s difficult to choose a favourite moment from our trip. There are such highs and lows emotionally at a Paralympic Games event – and in my role, each conversation was one worth remembering. That said, if I had to choose, I’d choose the closing ceremonies. Having achieved our goal of a podium performance, the athletes were the proudest I’ve ever seen them. It was a cold, rainy day, but nothing could stop the joy. The Stade de France was packed with supporters; over 2.5 million tickets were sold. To know that so many people supported this summer’s Paralympics made that moment one I will never forget.
