FIGHTING for his Track and Field dream as his mentor smiles down on him from up above.

By IAIN KING

FIGHTING for his Track and Field dream as his mentor smiles down on him from up above.

Capers Head Coach John Hudec has a fire burning inside and it was lit by Canadian athletics legend Lyle Sanderson.

Now any time those flames flicker John finds the fuel to feed them in the teachings of the coach who guided the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to national greatness in an incredible 39 years at the helm of the program.

Hudec, by his own humble admission, was not a star athlete when he set out on his academic career in Saskatoon.

As he geared up for the upcoming AUS Championships in Moncton (February 23-24) John smiled: "I played college badminton and the truth is they didn't have my favourite sport.

"So I joined the Track and Field team instead and I had a superb coach in Lyle who was a mentor and an inspiration to me.

"I was a cross country and middle-distance runner and I wasn't really that good to be honest but I had a real passion for it.

"He coached multiple events and guided true world class athletes like Olympic Games pentathlete Diane Jones-Konihowski and he just gave me a love of it because of the way he nurtured you.

"That's where my influence came from, he coached the top athlete the same as he did the bottom one. He had total faith in me."

Sanderson passed away on vacation in Mexico in February 2018. He was 79.

The Canadian Track and Field Hall of Fame coach led his beloved Huskies to 33 Canada West titles and 10 National Championships including their first ever countrywide crown in 1968.

Yet like any master coach his impact and legacy can never be properly measured in trophies and accolades alone.

Instead his true worth is the lasting influence he had on those he guided and John recalled: "I remember I was teaching in the Sports, Physical Activity and Leadership program (SPAL) here at CBU and I asked the students to do an assignment on their Coaching Philosophy.

"I figured if I was asking them to do it then I should do my own and when I completed the task so much of it had echoes of Lyle Sanderson.

"He passed away six years ago now and I vowed to keep going for him.

"We trained in a small gym and fought obstacles in Saskatchewan, just as we have had to do here at CBU to establish the program.

"Lyle instilled me this spirit of persistence to keep chasing after what you want to achieve in sports and not let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your goals."

This year the Capers' best hopes of an AUS medal in Moncton could lie with Faustina Amoako in the Women's Shot Putt and Weight Throw events.

The program has previously celebrated podium success with Promise Akuchukwu's 60metres gold in 2022 and Balwinder Singh Sethi's silver in the 60metres hurdles the same year.

Coach Hudec believes significant steps have been made but he reasoned: "I want us to look like a true Varsity team now as I feel that will make recruiting easier for us.

"Right now, we are up against powerhouse programs but we are trying to build in the right manner.

"We have had some luck in finding the right coaches in the likes of Joe LeBlanc who works on the throwing events and Nick Phillips who guides those in the jumps."

Legacy and vision. Big words for University coaches when they are living the busy weekly cycle of teaching, training and readying student athletes to compete at their peak.

When asked about The Five-Year Plan Coach Hudec pauses in the quiet of our office sanctum as his squad begin to arrive for practice and wave warm greetings from through the glass.

Then he stresses: "Five years from now I dream of seeing this as an established program so the Cape Breton athletes have a place to come and grow and compete.

"I want to be able to recruit from elsewhere in Canada and attract them to the island, I want to keep growing.

"We had a goal this year of 20 committed athletes and we made 19 so I have to be happy enough with that.

"By 2029 I'd love to see the facilities improve and draw people to us through that.

"For now, instead of the walk-ons I'd love our recruits and to be in the same place as the other CBU disciplines in soccer and basketball.

"I refuse to give up and I am always looking at ways to bring students into our program."