Calvin Dyck, a 60-year-old from Prince George, has been chosen as the Special Olympics Canada male coach of the year for 2013.
Dyck accepted the award last week at the Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto.
"It was a real honour to receive the award," said Dyck, a cross-country ski coach with Special Olympics Prince George for the past 10 years.
"There are many others that have put in an equal amount of time to make [Special Olympics] work for athletes, giving them a chance to get out and enjoy things."
The awards ceremony was held last Thursday and was hosted by Jennifer Hedger and Rod Black of TSN.
"TSN has been a proud supporter of Special O Canada for 25 years and that's wonderful to see," Dyck said.
Dyck, a manager at Yellowhead Road and Bridge, is the first Prince George resident to win the Special Olympics Canada male coach of the year award. The female coach of the year award has twice gone to local residents -- Dee Neukomm and Sallie Szanik.
Dyck's name was put forward by Thom Ross, coordinator of Prince George Special Olympics. Ross, however, actually nominated Dyck for the Howard Carter Award, a provincial honour handed out each year to a coach who exemplifies the spirit of Special Olympics and has done exceptional work with his or her athletes.
"I submitted Calvin's name for the Howard Carter Award to Special Olympics B.C. and they decided to submit his name to Special Olympics Canada," Ross said. "He was shortlisted so we did another nomination form and I'll be darned if he didn't win. It was absolutely awesome and the nicest part about it was I got to tell him myself."
Ross paid a visit to Dyck's house a few weeks before awards night to share the good news with him. All of Dyck's travel expenses were covered by Special Olympics Canada.
Ross said Dyck is very deserving of the award.
"A lot of coaches get stuff done by shouting and screaming at the athletes to do their best," Ross said. "Calvin doesn't do that, and yet the athletes respond. He's very soft-spoken -- I don't think I've ever seen him get angry -- and he seems to be able to get the very best out of his athletes.
"He's the type of guy that doesn't expect any praise or glory for what he does."
Dyck's sister-in-law, Yvonne LeRuyet, is a Prince George Special Olympics athlete so he himself had always been on the fringes of local Special Olympics activities. He was then asked by co-worker Ralph Bramble -- a longtime cross-country ski coach -- if he would take leadership of the ski program.
Dyck typically coaches two days per week and, over the years, has taken athletes to regional, provincial and national competitions, including Canadian championships in Quebec City (2008) and St. Albert, Alta., (2012). In 2011, he was head coach for nordic skiing at the Special Olympics B.C. provincial winter championships. In that role, he was responsible for preparing coaches and athletes for the event.
For Dyck, working with Special Olympics athletes is a labour of love.
"It is phenomenal to see somebody go to a competition, meet with the other athletes, have a fun time and come back with a smile," he said. "Win or lose, they've had a fun time and that's the whole idea."
