Oshawa native joins Olympic Committee
Shannon Galea hopes to bring the lessons she learned as a teacher to her job as a Game Plan Specialist for the COC. (Photo supplied)
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
Shannon Galea, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s newest Game Plan Specialist, is proud of her Oshawa roots.
She spent much of her childhood playing sports, and even played on high school teams, university teams, college teams and club softball.
During her childhood, she went to Eastdale C.V.I., then UOIT and McMaster University, and finally, Durham College before receiving the opportunity to travel around the world.
After finishing her post-secondary education, Galea went on to become a teacher with the Durham District School Board (DDSB). She says that teaching and coaching has been the foundation to everything that she does and creates.
“I have had the greatest support from the DDSB, as well as colleagues who have provided encouragement towards my goals professionally, while creating space for growth in opportunities that advocate the importance of inclusivity in our classroom for all mentalities, physical literacy and physical education, and the direction Canada is collectively taking on this initiative,” says Galea.
Today, Galea is the Game Plan Specialist for the COC. “It is a complete honour and dream come true to be standing where I am today and to be working in a space where leaders in sport are working diligently to raise the profile of sport in Canada in both the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”
According to Galea, “Game Plan is a world-leading total athlete wellness program geared towards holistically supporting our Canadian athletes.”
She says that her role is focused on program development.
“We have programs available in our five main pillars that we feel cater to the whole athlete,” Galea explains. “[Those pillars are] skill development, career management though our employer network, education, networking and health.”
She says that as a teacher, she will also be creating a curriculum and developing strategies that will help improve their network and partnerships for athletes in various stages of their long term athletic development.
“A personal goal of mine will be aligning our education network across Canada through performance pathways and strategies that will create easier access for our services, regardless of any institution an athlete attends,” notes Galea.
While she was a teacher, Galea says that she taught physical education at the high school level.
She has also done plenty of traveling, as she has visited over 40 countries, and has lived in six, including Germany where she was provided with the opportunity to do research as a Canadian delegate at the German Sport University in Cologne, where she received her Masters in the Olympic Studies Program.
Just recently, she was in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Paralympic games. She was there to help with the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Canada House Operations, and also as a Sport Photographer/Social Media Content Publisher for Mpower Sports and Recreation.
While in Pyeongchang, her role was to share the stories of the athletes, as well as key leaders in sport and fans to help increase visibility through media.
Through her work with the COC, Galea hopes to put an emphasis on not only competing, but also on the importance of being a good role model, education and the importance of learning skills that bring about a successful life after sport.
“I hope to be an advocate for athletes by serving them with the best services, so they can be successful in all facets of their life and are left feeling fulfilled,” says Galea.