About this episode

Adam Van Koeverden discusses the importance of physical literacy and access to sports for Canadian youth.

Adam Van Koeverden has paddled over 120,000 kilometres in his lifetime. He's a four-time Olympian, a multiple world champion, and one of the most decorated kayakers Canada has ever produced. He's also Canada's Secretary of State for Sport, and that may be where his biggest race is being run. In this conversation, Adam traces the full arc of a sporting life that began with a mom who needed somewhere for her kid to go after school. The Oakville canoe club was affordable, it was welcoming, it ran on volunteers, and it changed everything. Adam wants every Canadian kid to have access to that same kind of experience, and he's now in a position to do something about it. He talks candidly about the $755 million federal investment in sport recently announced, and what it's actually designed to do. As Adam puts it, every world champion Canada has ever produced started out splashing around in swimming lessons or kicking a ball at a community center, and the foundation for elite sport is an active society. He also weighs in on the issues sports parents know too well: early specialization, the pressure to travel at young ages, the cost of living squeezing family budgets, and the gap between…

People in this episode

Host: Scott Rintoul

Guest: Adam Van Koeverden

Topics covered

• youth sports
• physical literacy
• Olympic sports
• parenting in sports
• community sports access

Keywords

• Adam Van Koeverden
• physical literacy
• youth sports
• community access
• Olympic athlete

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Canada, Oakville canoe club, Norwegian model, Canada's Secretary of State for Sport, federal government

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