Life

The Canada Cup Swimming Meet was held from November 25 to 27 at the Etobicoke Olympium. It is a qualifying senior meet and a university level iand international teams including Mexico and Great Britain. The standards for this meet are very fast. They are also the qualifying standard times for Olympic trials which will be held in March 2012 in Montreal.

Simone swam five events this past weekend, including the 50 meter & 100 meter freestyle; 100 meter fly, 50 meter & 100 meter backstroke. While achieving personal best times in 4 out of 5 swims, Simone’s most significant accomplishment this weekend was making consolation finals for the 100 metre backstroke where she placed 4th with a time of 1:03.65. This time makes her #2 nationally for her age group.

In the 50 m backstroke time, Simone had a time fast enough to make the “A” finals. She was the youngest swimmer in that final, swimming against competitors who were 19–25 years old. Simone broke her previous Toronto Swim Club record of 29.83 seconds establishing a new record with a time of 29.52 s. This places her #2 nationally for age group.

Currently, Simone is ranked as a Top Age Group swimmer in Canada in five events including the 800 meter freestyle. It’s going to be a busy season leading up to Olympic trials for Simone!

Thomas Erhard Alpine Ontario Alpin Head Coach visits Ontario Team athlete Karl Kuus at PEAC, his school in Toronto.
Karl Kuus is an international competitor in downhill skiing, and part of the Ontario Ski Team.

Ron Kuus, Karl’s father states “that Thomas came to Karl’s school to assist in making sure the fitness program is delivered in the direction of top Provincial ski athletes. PEAC is a renowned Elite Athlete Training School with top level athletic coaches. I just wanted to make sure the school’s program for skier skill development is in line with Thomas’ objectives and make any tweaks if necessary. By Thomas making such extra efforts for his athletes, he demonstrates his passion and dedication to the team development. Thomas has a true understanding of what a top level coach needs to be on and off the hill. We are very grateful.”

http://www.thestar.com/article/1073889—feschuk-toronto-teenager-the-elite-of-the-elite

More than 15 years ago, when Wayne and Ericka Ho-Sang were expecting their first child, their progeny’s athletic path seemed easy enough to predict. Wayne is a tennis pro. Ericka began taking tennis lessons during the pregnancy in anticipation of hitting balls with their first-born.

But when they presented their new toddler, Joshua, with a racquet, the lessons rarely went according to plan.

“He’d put the ball on the ground, take the racquet and stickhandle. . . . I guess hockey made more sense to him than tennis,” Wayne Ho-Sang says with a laugh. “When he got a little older, he said, ‘Dad, I like tennis, but I’m going to be a hockey player.’ I always said to him, ‘Don’t play sports for Dad. Choose your sport.’ I’m a big hockey fan, so it works. It’s working. It’s all good.”

All these years later, Joshua Ho-Sang, 15, is among the most talked-about teenaged players in hockey. A quick-skating, soft-handed centreman for the Toronto Marlies’ AAA minor midgets, he is expected to be among the top picks in next spring’s Ontario Hockey League draft.

Doug Gilmour, the Maple Leafs great who doubles as general manager of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, calls Joshua “the elite of the elite” at his age level. Warren Rychel, GM of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, says it’s his opinion that Joshua should have been granted exceptional-player status and admitted into this year’s OHL draft a year early, when Rychel figures he would have been the first or second pick. Small wonder that even the occasional NHL scout has been seen at Joshua’s games.

“He gets you out of your seat,” Rychel says. “I think of all the guys I’ve seen since I’ve been here — (Steven) Stamkos, (Taylor) Hall, (John) Tavares — he’s the deadliest I’ve ever seen one-on-one with a goalie. He puts pucks away like nobody I’ve seen at that age.”

If he’s uniquely talented, he’s hardly an atypical GTA teen, locally born of global bloodlines. Both his parents immigrated here around age 10, Wayne from Kingston, Jamaica, Ericka from Santiago, Chile. Wayne grew up Christian, Ericka Jewish. (They met when Wayne, a graduate of Oakwood Collegiate, sang in the reggae band that played Ericka’s prom at Northern Secondary School).

Joshua is being raised Jewish, but he said his family — rounded out by his 10-year-old brother, Khole, who has eschewed both tennis and hockey for football — celebrates “everything,” including Christmas.

“I think I have a piece of me from everywhere in the world, and it makes me who I am today,” Joshua says. “I get an opportunity to experience so many different cultures. I mostly focus on the Jewish and the Spanish and the Jamaican. It’s always fun explaining it to people. They’re always very curious.”

A common question: From whom did he inherit his Chinese surname?

“My dad’s grandfather was from Hong Kong,” Joshua says. “I think that’s part of my culture that I’ve lost a little bit. But we go out for Chinese food.”

Joshua counts among his heroes Drake, the Forest Hill hip-hop star who’s the son of a Jewish mother and African-American father, because “he’s got a great work ethic, and he thinks different than everyone else.” He’s also an admirer of Chicago Blackhawks hall of famer Denis Savard, on whose YouTube legacy he partly patterns his game.

Says Steve Larmer, Savard’s longtime teammate, whose stepson Chad has played with Joshua: “(Savard and Ho-Sang) are similar skating-wise — their quickness and their ability to stop and turn on a dime. They’re very elusive, good in traffic. (Joshua) is a hard man to handle one-on-one.”

Ken Strong, Joshua’s coach with the Marlies, calls him “probably the most dynamic, skilled player in the province, if not the country.”

“He’s still learning how to play as a team player,” says Strong. “But he is really a good kid. Funny. Good in the dressing room. When he uses his linemates to his advantage, for him to get three or four points a game, it’ll be nothing, even against the best teams.”

It’s all heady praise, of course, but Joshua says he understands his ultimate goal, an NHL job, won’t be won with glowing words. Certainly his parents know the odds and the price of professional success. Wayne, who teaches at the Thornhill club where Canadian tennis sensation Milos Raonic began his rise to fame, has seen his share of fizzled phenoms.

“Josh was always good, and now they say he’s one of the top few players (in his age group). But I’m still not convinced,” Wayne said. “Until he’s there, it’s so far to go. . . . It’s continuous work.”

To that end, Joshua is on the ice about six to nine times a week, most weekdays at the PEAC School for Elite Athletes at Downsview Park, where he also attends classes, plus games and practices and tournaments with the Marlies. It doesn’t leave much time for, say, a weekend movie or a tennis game with mom or dad.

“Every year we ask Joshua if he wants to hang up his skates. ‘Are you sure this is what you want to do?’” Ericka Ho-Sang says. “It’s kind of a running joke in our house now. Because if you’re going to play, there are things you don’t get to do. In Grade 6, he had an opportunity to go on a graduation trip (to Niagara Falls) or play in a tournament. When we asked him what he was going to do, you’d think we had three heads. He was like, ‘Of course I’m going to play in the tournament.’ . . . We should all do things that make our heart sing, and he loves the game. Loves it.”

This past Tuesday night, in a North York arena packed with note-taking hockey men, you could see his smile beneath his cage as he zig-zagged through traffic with sharp-edged ease. He laid a board-rattling bodycheck, absorbed a couple of hits, took an ill-advised holding penalty and didn’t score in a 2–1 loss to a Mississauga Rebels team with a few OHL prospects of its own. He was back in skates the next day, and the next. En route to a distant destination, there’s joy in his journey.

“Sometimes I find myself wishing I was on the ice more,” Joshua says. “I’m never happier than when I’m on the ice.”

Nick is currently attending Grade 11 at PEAC and training full time with Gary Waite at the NSA.

PEAC is located in the same building as National Squash Academy. So far it’s working quite well for Nick. He’s training harder than ever and performing well at school.

So to the tournament. Mark Sachvie at White Oaks is hosting. Going into the Boys U17 draw Nick is ranked 5th in Ontario and seeded 5th in the tournament. He got a bye first round, then played a player fairly new to the game from Buffalo 2nd round and won fairly easily.

Next round was against 4th seed Josh Hollings. Nick and Josh have gone back and forth over the years with Josh getting the better of him more often than not. Neither boy played their best, but Nick managed to win 3–0 with 2 of the games going to extra points.

Next match was the semi’s vs #1 seed Sean Vallejos-Sevilla from Ottawa. Nick had never played Sean and Sean was way ahead of him in the rankings. Both boys started strong, Nick played great and won the first game. The highly paced squash continued and Sean squeaked the next game. Game 3 was the same and Sean won again. Sean seemed be tiring in the 4th and Nick stayed steady and won. The 5th was a nail biter, going back and forth, with Sean getting match ball at 10–9. Nick tied it, then went on to win the 5th 12–10! It was a great match by both boys and a big win for Nick.

The final was against #2 seed Jared Osbourne from Kingston. Nick had played him about 18 mths ago and lost 3–1. Nick came out strong in the first and was surprised to win. The second game was the same, and Nick went up 2–0. In the 3rd, Jared adjusted and dominated for the win. Nick came back strong in the 4th and won the game, match and the championship!

It was a very good tournament for Nick and a big confidence booster going in to an important season.

Simone is now ranked in the top 8 nationally for the following events:

50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 Freestyle.
50, 100 backstroke
50, 100 butterfly

This is the greatest number of events she had been in top 8 – so it’s a pretty good year considering she got off to a slow start with her injury. She did quite well at World Trials considering she was one of the youngest there (she finished in the middle at about 20–26th out of a field of 50–60 so she did great!).

Simone keeps shinning! We are very proud of her achievements!

PEAC‘s own Piranha, Mykolai, played with the Mississauga Braves Spring team at the Spring Showdown Canlan tournament this past weekend, and it was Mykolai’s goal in the final game that made his team the champs on Saturday.

In the semi-final game Mykolai scored with less than 2 minutes in the 3rd to tie up the game at 5–5 and lead his team into overtime.

In the final, he scored with 1:18 min. left in the 3rd, making the final score 4–3 against the Vaughan Rangers Spring team.

Mykolai had a great weekend, 6 games played and a total of 3 goals and 2 assists. He played tough in very physical games, drawing many penalties for the other teams but also sitting his own at a total of 20 penalty minutes over the weekend!

Peac Alumni Sean Milne, currently attending Queen’s University to study accounting, has recently been hired to the executive board of the Queen’s Accounting Association (QAA). The QAA is comprised of Queen’s most enthusiastic, diverse, and outstanding student’s who govern and run all accounting related conferences, events, and student relations. Sean will be taking on the role of the Industry Liaison Officer, and will be directly communicating with companies such as Deloitte and Touche, KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Ernst and Young, RSM Richter, and other accounting firms. In speaking with Sean, he has noted that the valuable lessons regarding confidence and composure he learned from his PEAC Teachers and all the support staff, made a big difference in his application process. “I knew that there were hundreds applying, and that they very rarely give positions out to first year students. However, I also knew that I had to show up, be confident, and give it everything I’ve got. I relied on the many experiences I had at PEAC, from managing the Tuckshop and reporting to PEAC‘s CFO, to assisting with administrative duties, to running a stock brokerage simulation and more. These experiences, coupled with PEAC‘s strong academic preparation and my current performance, allowed me step above and beyond the competition to secure this position.” We want to wish Sean the best of luck in his future aspirations to becoming a Chartered Accountant, and look forward to hearing more stories of success.

CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: ONTARIO MARCH 22–26

• #1 CANADIAN MALE SKI RACER TITLE
• OVERALL WINNER – 2ND (USA WON)
• SLALOM (SL) – 1ST
• SUPER COMBINED (SC) 1-run SG & 1-run SL =SC – 2ND (FASTEST SG RUN)
• GIANT SLALOM (GS) – 3RD (FASTEST ON 2ND RUN)
• SUPER GIANT SLALOM (SG) – 3RD

PROVINCIALS: CALIBOGIE PEAKS MARCH 10–13

• PROVINCIAL CHAMPION – OVERALL WINNER 1ST,
• SUPER GIANT SLALOM (SG) – 1ST
• SUPER COMBINED (SC) 1-run SG & 1-run SL =SC – 1ST
• SLALOM (SL) – 2ND
• GIANT SLALOM (GS) – 7TH (FASTEST ON 1ST RUN)

Congratulations Simone on a job well done at the Speedo Eastern Canadian Championships.

50 back – Finished prelims as 8th. In finals Simone placed 7th (and was the only 14 year old in the finals). She is now 5th in the Canadian Age Group Power Rankings.

400 free – Brought her time down by 8 seconds – which is huge (4:40.37 to 4:32.81) – this moves her to #16 nationally for age group – up from #37th, in the Canadian Power Rankings.

Simone did her personal bests!

The Athletic Award goes to Daniel Turk in Grade 12. Congratulations!

The Academic Award goes to Shannon Mackenzie in Grade 12. Congratulations!

The Character Award goes to Sara Conway in Grade 12. Congratulations!

Mykolai Chmilenko received the first Athletic Award for the school year of 2009/2010. Congratulations!

The first Academic Award for the school year of 2009/2010 was given to Megan Spriel. Congratulations!

Melissa Wronzberg received the first Character Award for the school year of 2009/2010. Congratulations!

The March Athletic Award was presented to Julius von Ketelhodt. Congratulations!

The March Academic Award is presented to Ashley Tait. Congratulations!

This month the Character Award was given to Eric Chevrier. Congratulations!

Congratulations to one of PEAC‘s soccer players, Shakeel Madhani for receiving the Athletic Award for February, 2009

Jake Wood, PEAC‘s hockey player, received the Character Award for the month of February, 2009. Congratulations Jake.

Congratulations to Shannon Mackenzie, a swimmer in our Flex program at PEAC, who received the Academic Award for the month of February, 2009.

The Athletic Award was given to Ryan Foss, one of PEAC‘s hockey players at our Burlington campus.

Academic Award was given to Michael Nishi one of PEAC‘s hockey players

Character Award was given to Curtis Jacques, one of our PEAC Hockey players

December 2008 – Academic Award was given to Sean McGovern, one of our PEAC Hockey players.

December 2008 – Athletic Award was give to Jacob Piltzmaker, one of our PEAC Hockey players.

December 2008 Character Award was given to Ashley Tait, one of our PEAC Soccer players.

The Toronto Star features Daniel Catenacci as the prime candidate for a first pick on the OHL draft. Click the following link to read the Toronto Star Article:
http://www.thestar.com/article/561450

Congratulations to Karl Kuus for his Alpine K2 achievements for being one of four Torontonians selected to the Canadian Ski Team (for ages 13 and 14)

Curtis is a brilliant student-athlete. His honour role marks are only a snap shot of what this hard working brilliant student does each day. His teachers have tremendous respect for him as do his coaches. We know Curtis will do very well in anything that he takes on. Congratulations Curtis!

Stephen has demonstrated why he is a truly elite athlete especially when it comes to soccer. Stephen is a grade 7 student who plays like a 20 year old. His ball handling skills are second to none and speed and work ethic are also at an elite level. PEAC is very lucky to have this powerhouse as a part of the program! Keep up the great work Stephen.

Julius has won multiple awards at PEAC for his athletic and academic achievements. However, Julius’ character is really what drives him to take the initiatives and mentoring that he incorporates in his daily activities at PEAC. Congratulations Julius.

Jasper Brand has demonstrated huge improvements this year. Jasper is a AAA hockey player and has been selected for the PEAC Senior Varsity Hockey Team on multiple occassions as a defense.

Keep up the great work!

Congratulations to our grade 12 outstanding student – Julius. As the tuck shop manager and honours student, Julius has captured the Academic award multiple times as well as Character and Athletics. A true elite student-athlete.

Congratulations to the first Burlington monthly award recipient. Damien Bourne, demonstrated outstanding character for the month of October.

Robert is not only a fantastic student but he has also demonstrated a high level of commitment to his PEAC training in hockey. Robert is highly skilled and yet “puts on the workboots” each and every on-ice session. Congratulations Robert!

Jenna demonstated a hard work and consisten effort in school this month. We are very pleased with what you have accomplished. Keep it up Jenna!

Curtis, demonstrated outstanding character this month and was also nominated for the academic award. Congrats Curtis!

Congratulations to Carlos Amestoy. Carlos was recently offered and has accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Maine to play NCAA Division 1 hockey.

Way to go Carlos, we’re very proud!

Hockey grade 9

Hockey grade 9

Goaltender grade 9

Most improved student-athlete award is given to the student at PEAC who has made the most significant gains in sport by achieving a higher level of play or more recognition and also shows that they are serious about school as well. Receiving this award is a testament to the fact that this student-athlete shows great promise in all aspects of their lives.

This award is given once per year and is awarded to the absolute best all around athlete in the school. Receiving this award is extremely prestigious and carries a great deal of responsibility in demonstrating good athleticism and outstanding sportsmanship.

This award goes to the most outstanding student-athlete in the school. This individual demonstrates all attributes associated with citizenship, athleticism and academic achievement. It is awarded 1 per year and is both a mini cup and a large trophy with the recipients name added on to it.

Grade 8 Goalie

Soccer Striker, Grade 8

Hockey Defense, Grade 9
February Recipient

Hockey Goalie, Grade 10
February Recipient

Hockey Goalie, Grade 7

All Around Athlete/Hockey, Grade 9

Hockey Player, Grade 8

Hockey Player, Grade 7

Soccer Player, Grade 8

Hockey Player, Grade 10
Drafted 2007 OHL Sudbury Wolves