There’s Gold in Zorra!
Michael Heath, Zorra’s Own National Champion
- By Karen Calder
As the buzzer sounds, Michael Heath dives into the pool at
Montreal’s Olympic Park. The water surrounds him and he quickly
begins making strong rhythmic strokes. Each stroke powers him
through the water, further from his past trials and accomplishments
and on towards his ultimate dream, to represent Canada at the
2012 Paralympic Games, August 29 thru September 10 in London
England.
Michael Heath’s Paralympic dream started years earlier at a much
smaller venue; the Thamesford Area Swimming Pool (TASP).
Michael was less a year old when his mother, Kelly Heath, took
he and his sister Brooke swimming. Kelly remembers it fondly by
saying, “He hated it.”
It was during a family vacation in Florida that they found out why.
The hotel they were staying in had stairs leading in to the pool and he
knew exactly what to do with them. Michael didn’t want to be held;
he wanted to enter the water on his own terms, one step at a time.
At the age of six years, Michael began his competitive swimming
career in Thamesford. “When Mike was little, Brooke swam; so I
put him in.”, recalls Kelly Heath. Mike loved to compete; this love
was supported by the Thamesford Pool staff members who coached
him. Michael remembers the staff fondly. Little did Craig Adkins,
Suni Ball, Andrea Budden, Stephanie Betzner, Sherri Coccheto, Lori
Ryan, Cathy Sholdice, Kelly Smith and Mike Wiseman know, but
they would help ignite and fuel a young man’s dream of representing
his country at the international level.
Michael took these happy summertime memories with him as he,
Kelly and Brooke moved to Ingersoll, later that year.
At the age of eight, Michael’s happy childhood took a sharp and
disappointing turn. He was misdiagnosed as having Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); the treatment, drugs. In
March of 1999 Michael would lose his beloved father, Michael Sr. to
Lou Gehrig’s disease. Then, to make this time even harder, Michael
found himself the victim of bullies. Further challenges presented
themselves in grade six when Michael wrote the EQAO (Education
Quality and Assessment Office) Testing; Kelly Heath says, “There
was an issue there.” And, even though she pleaded for help, these
issues would not be addressed due to lack of funding. The family
would face the unknown issues on their own.
Misdiagnosed, heartbroken, victimized and now facing unknown
issues, Michael started to withdraw and became introverted. His
family enrolled him in karate lessons; the mind over matter philosophy
of karate truly helped, he remembers, “I excelled in karate”.
Brooke Heath was swimming competitively during this time.
Even though Michael wasn’t swimming, he went to the pool to
watch Brooke. Karate was great, but the pool is where Michael’s
true desire and talent were, so “We put him back in the pool.” says
Kelly. Michael now excelled at two sports, but time and money
made a decision necessary. Kelly recalls, “We just couldn’t do both; it
was time to get out of karate and concentrate on swimming.”
Swimming was Michael’s haven. When he was in the pool he
forgot all problems. He was able to apply the mind over matter
philosophy he learned in karate. It was him, the water, the clock and
the competition.
In 2004, at the age of thirteen, Michael earned his place to
compete in the Canadian Junior Nationals in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He would compete in the Para-athletic S14 category (for athletes
with an intellectual disability).
2004 was the year of White Juan; the winter-storm that lasted eight
hours and broke snowfall and wind records. Halifax was completely
shut down. The competition’s schedule had to be completely
reworked from a four-day schedule to a three day-schedule. All
athletes have a mental process they go through to prepare before
competition and this schedule change was not easy to adapt to. A new
challenge now presented itself to Michael and the other competitors.
Mind over matter, the karate training was not only helpful, but a
necessity. Michael would not only win the 200m freestyle event, he
would shave thirty-three seconds off his personal best.
Michael would continue to work hard both in the pool and
at school. In 2008, he graduated from College Ave Secondary
School in Woodstock. No small feat given that he lived with that
misdiagnosis until he was eighteen years old; the age when he was
properly assessed. Michael did not have ADHD; Kelly states, “The
official medical term is mildly retarded.” For almost six full years,
Michael had been taking drugs for a condition he did not have and
somehow was still able to graduate from high school and successfully
compete in a demanding sport.
Competing at the national level is one thing, but Michael Heath
had his sights set on the international level. There was one major
problem; the S14 category no longer existed at the international level.
In 2000, at the Sydney Paralympics, it was discovered that a team
had used forged documents causing the International Paralympic
Committee (IPC) to discontinue the category. I asked Michael how
this affected him; he said, “It was hard to be motivated in the pool.”
For Michael Heath it was yet another setback and challenge.
Though sometimes it was hard to be motivated, Michael remained
diligent and focused on his training. His discipline was rewarded
in November 2009, when the long awaited and welcome
announcement was made that the S14 category would be reinstated
at the international level. Michael Heath and others like him could
now solidly set their sights on the 2012 Paralympics.
I asked Michael how you get to the Paralympics; his reply was
quick and easy, “You start by going to swim meets.” Sounds easy
enough, but it is a statement of hard work and sacrifice.
Michael is a member of the Wilmot Aquatic Aces. Joni Maertens
became Mike’s coach in June 2010. She has known Mike since 2005
and knows, first hand, about Mike’s work ethic and the sacrifices he
has made. “Mike has had a terrific year. He has worked very hard in
the pool and missed very few workouts; even when he wasn’t feeling
well. He has shown that if you dream big, work hard, then anything
is possible.”
Anything is possible and Michael’s attitude and philosophy is
supported by those around him. His mother Kelly has been by his
side through it all; both Kelly and Michael have been supported by
Kelly’s husband, Jim Hill and Michael’s older sister and role model,
Brooke.
Jim Hill is a proud stepfather, he says it well. “I am so very proud
of all Mike’s accomplishments. I have had the pleasure of being part
of his life since he was just five years old; through the devastating loss
of Michael and Brooke’s father from A.L.S. in 1999, to seeing what
can be accomplished with sheer determination is simply remarkable.
Michael’s sister Brooke has played a large part of his success in the
pool, and will always be one of his biggest supporters.”
Brooke certainly is, she states, “I’m glad I could be a positive role
model for him and help inspire him to follow his dream of being
an Olympian. Michael has had such a strong group of supporters
behind him from the start and we can’t wait to see him makes waves
in London. The tables have turned now; he is my role model; he
inspires me to follow through on my dreams. I’m so thankful to have
him as a brother. “
The support for Michael is heralded by his employer, Dana
Hospitality Inc., the company which runs the cafeterias in all
Canadian Toyota Plants. Michael works in the cafeteria at the
Woodstock plant. His supervisor, Coby Versteeg says, “Mike is a
really nice boy. He does a really good job here and we are glad he
is doing what he’s doing.” Dana Hospitality shows their support by
contributing financially to Michael’s swim team, the Wilmot Aquatic
Aces, and by giving him the required time-off to train and attend
meets.
Zorra Council has recognized Michael for his accomplishments.
In her July 6 blog, Zorra Mayor, Margaret Lupton, posted, “I read
in the paper about Zorra’s newest Olympian—Mike Heath. He
recently competed in the Special Olympics in Greece
and won, not one, but two,
gold medals in swimming.
Council has honoured him for
previous achievements but we
certainly want to recognize
this wonderful achievement.”
After hearing these high
accolades for Michael, I had
to ask that motivates him.
His response was quick
and sure, “The thrill of
the sport; I’m this close to
achieving the goal.”
At the Paralympic trials,
Michael would come
closer to this goal, when
he finished first in the 100
metre Breaststroke and
earned the title National
Champion. Michael placed
second in the 100 metre
Backstroke and fourth in the
200 metre Freestyle. Kelly says,”
Mike’s Olympic trial experience was a very emotional time for
many swimmers and parents too. Mike did have a good week. At the
end of each race, each swimmer who was nominated for the Olympic
team, was asked to sign the big double decker bus, as part of the
journey to England. Now we wait for the official announcement.”
The official announcement will be made June 1, 2012, when
Swimming Canada announces the 2012 Paralympic Swim Team.
We now join in the wait with Michael Heath, Zorra’s very own National Champion.
