OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks are proud to congratulate alum Shannon Galea on being named to the position of game plan specialist for the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).
There are few moments more fulfilling than when life takes you full circle and that is certainly the case for the Oshawa native who graduated from UOIT in 2011 with a bachelor of education. A decorated student-athlete and international scholar, Galea now begins a career where she is applying years of research to improve the lives of her fellow Canadian athletes.
"Game Plan is a world-leading total athlete wellness program geared towards holistically supporting our Canadian athletes," said Galea. "Our program provides a service that enables athletes to find their passions beyond the field of play as well-rounded individuals, while maintaining a healthy balance in their high-performance career."
The Game Plan team is comprised of trained psychologists, mental performance coaches, organizational leaders and life coaches; who draw from their knowledge of high-performance sport, career development, transition planning and goal-setting; to provide athletes with the support they need to perform at their best.
Galea's role is geared towards program development. Game Plan has programs available through their five main pillars that cater to the whole athlete; skill development, career management though an employer network, education, networking and health.
A prolific athlete, Galea was a member of the squash and rowing teams during her tenure at UOIT. However, just as significant as her achievements in uniform, were her contributions behind the scenes, as her interests extended to athletic organization and representation. She was a founding member of the rowing executive, a governing body she saw as a precursor to an eventual athlete's council. She was also the chief architect of the women's flag football extramural league, which involved students from both UOIT and nearby Durham College.
Galea was honoured as an OUA Woman of Influence, won the UOIT athlete of the year award, and was honoured as a UOIT all-academic.
Following graduation, Galea's career led her to competing professionally in six different International Softball Federations (Holland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, New Zealand and Australia). This experience, as well as the insight of her teammates, coaches and colleagues, shaped her future research.
"Having close friends in other sports who represented Canada on the world stage discover that there was no support in funding for them throughout their time competing … and very little support towards managing their life after sport."
Galea subsequently got in touch with former student-athletes across Canada, completing interviews where she learned about the inadequate support network during their years competing and their lives post-retirement.
"I wanted to be an advocate towards the importance of not only competing, but the importance of role-modeling, the importance of education and more importantly learning skills that harvest you for success in life after sport."
As she embarks on her next journey, Galea credits UOIT with fostering a learning environment that enabled her to develop her skills and connections.
"The UOIT community was phenomenal towards allowing my experiences to be robust and supportive towards innovative opportunities within the teaching profession."
Her passion for culture and cooperation has turned her into a global citizen, travelling through 40 countries and living in six homes abroad – in March she attended the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang to share athletes' stories. UOIT looks forward to seeing the new and exciting heights to which she will reach with the COC.
"I have to thank UOIT for continuously supporting me in all of my endeavours and remaining curious about their alumni in the community. I would not be where I am today without the opportunities their institution provided."
For more information about Game Plan:
mygameplan.ca/about/our-team.
