Adam Prudhomme
Editor
School spirit combined with athletic prowess earned Napanee’s Riley Bird-Lyman the Special Olympics 2023 Student Athlete of the Year Award.
The Napanee District Secondary School graduate will formally accept the award on Oct. 26 at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel.
The award is presented to athletes who excel at Special Olympic sports, while also being involved in school groups and within the community. In sport, Bird-Lyman was a track standout, winning at the local Limestone level before advancing to OFSAA, where he capture silver in the 100 m against athletes from across the province. He was also a member of NDSS’ Special Olympic soccer team. When not participating in sport he was cheering on others, playing the role of the NDSS Golden Hawk mascot.
NDSS School to Community teacher Mike Newstead nominated Bird-Lyman for the award last year. Although Bird-Lyman graduated from high school last June, he found out in September he had been selected for the award.
“Even though he is now graduated, he is someone we have fostered through our system and has shown excellence in sport,” said Newstead. “It’s always good to have these good news stories when you have individuals that came in and they showed so much growth and determination during their time. The reason why he had so much success is because yes, we did our part and fostered what was happening, but also his hard work and determination got him to those places. We can give the opportunity to go to these events, but really I noticed when he was in his graduating year last year, he put in the work. He was dead-set on doing well in these different events and that’s why he was so successful at OFSAA. He trained every single day at lunch and after school with coaches to get better. And he had a positive attitude and was willing to learn.”
Newstead gave full credit for Bird-Lyman for doing the work behind the scenes in order to be at his best on the field.
“Sport offers a lot of various things, not just the sport itself,” said Newstead. “What it teaches about team work, communications, there’s a lot of factors that allow you to be successful after school.”
Having one of their own earn Student Athlete of the Year is just another feather in the cap of NDSS’ Special Olympics program. Despite the school’s relative small size as compared to its Kingston neighbours and the province as a whole, NDSS has had more than its share of success.
“We’ve had two athletes (Jordan Bartraw and Paige Fox) from our program in Napanee here play on Toronto FC, on their field,” said Newstead. “That was a team that they had to go and try out for and they made it. So we had two students from our program that made that squad, and we now have a kid won athlete of the year. Yes we supported those efforts to make that happen, but those kids also put the time and the effort in and that’s why those opportunities presented themselves.”
He says these students provide examples of which their fellow NDSS athletes can aspire.
“This is what’s possible, to see those opportunities because you just never know where it’s going to lead,” said Newstead.
He will travel with Bird-Lyman to Toronto to be there as he accepts the award.